How would you like to spend a couple of weeks on and around the Black Sea with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev?
Well, you’re in luck, ’cause San Francisco-based World Leaders Travel on 500 Third Street is asking just $23,990 per person (double occupancy) to attend Global Challenges in a Post-Perestroika World: A World Leaders Symposium in Russia and the Black Sea this summer, August 30 through September 15th 2010.
No, Silly Billy, you won’t sail on the Chevron Condoleezza Rice - they renamed that vessel years ago.
You’ll be on the Silver Wind, whatever that is.
(America, what a country. In your country you have movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. In Soviet Union, KGB knows what you did last summer! In America, you sail boat. In Soviet Union, boat sail you!)
They’re calling it “educational travel” so maybe it’s deductible or something…
Bon voyage!
All the deets, after the jump
“Condoleezza Rice to Headline Black Sea Cruise Aboard the Silver Wind
Exclusive educational travel event from Moscow to Istanbul also features William J. Perry, Mikhail Gorbachev, luxurious accommodations, and customized excursions
San Francisco-based educational tour operator World Leaders Travel today announced its 2010 World Leaders Symposium featuring former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, and a team of leading figures in fields ranging from technology and the U.S.-Russian space race to cultural history and global affairs. This one-of-a-kind travel event from August 30 to September 15, 2010, features a 10-night cruise aboard the privately chartered Silver Wind, with specially arranged shore excursions in Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Turkey.
Focusing on the cultural, historical, and political highlights of the Black Sea region, the Symposium begins in Moscow with three nights at The Ritz-Carlton. Travelers will experience a Moscow rarely seen by visitors and attend a gala dinner with Gorbachev. Participants then fly by chartered jet to Istanbul, Turkey, to board the luxurious Silver Wind, which serves as the primary venue for presentations by Rice and others. The ship, among the highest-rated small cruise vessels afloat, will circumnavigate the Black Sea with visits to Batumi, Georgia; Sochi, Russia; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Yalta, Sevastopol, and Odessa in Ukraine before returning to Istanbul. After disembarking the Silver Wind, guests will move in to the elegant Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel for two nights, and enjoy private special events and lectures during the trip’s final days. Optional extensions to Kiev, Chernobyl, and Moscow, and to Istanbul and Ephesus, are also available.
An unparalleled educational program includes off-the-record discussions with globally significant leaders and valuable context and insight provided by a team of scholars from sponsoring organizations. Featured speakers include Librarian of Congress James Billington; Google’s Vinton G. Cerf, widely regarded as one of the “fathers of the Internet”; former diplomatic correspondent Marvin Kalb; EastWest Institute president John Mroz; and astrophysicist Michael Shara, among others.
Symposium sponsors include American Museum of Natural History Expeditions, Chautauqua Institution, Foreign Affairs magazine, Harvard Alumni Association Travels, Princeton Journeys, Alumnae Association of Smith College, Smithsonian Journeys, and Yale Educational Travel.
For pricing information, a detailed brochure, or to book today, please contact one of the Symposium sponsors, your professional travel advisor, call World Leaders Travel at (800) 395-3288, or visit WorldLeadersTravel.com.
Web Site: http://www.worldleaderstravel.com/