May 23 Art and Carol from New Jersey have taken six trips with European Focus since 2006. On the 22nd of May they arrived in Lisbon for their seventh. This time around we will be exploring parts of central and southern Portugal, along with southern Spain including Seville, Cordoba, Toledo and Caceres. Art and Carol […]
Germany Small Group Tours
We have a home and office in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany and it makes perfect sense to be headquartered there as this is one of the most famous of the medieval walled towns, and a place where we love to bring guests on our private, custom-designed micro group tours of Germany. To find out […]
Scenes around Burgundy, France
May 9 We are on an 18-day adventure with repeat clients Gayle and Peter from Amarillo, Texas. We started this trip in Chartres, France and will end in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Along the way we are exploring historic sites connected with the medieval pilgrimage route from France to Santiago. Millions of feet have passed […]
Christmas Markets Tour Germany 2014
May 2 There is one more opportunity for a Christmas Markets Tour starting on or about December 3 and lasting anywhere from a week to ten days. Please submit your application form prior to October 21. Remember that all tours conducted by European Focus are custom-designed around your wishes, interests and abilities. No cookie-cutter tours, […]
The origin of the phrase ‘hold your trap!’
May 2 This is a common sight in ancient churches in Europe. Choir benches, made for monks or priests to stand for hours reading, praying, chanting, or whatever monks and priests did in the times when churches were primarily for prayer and not for tourists. There is a story that goes along with those solid […]
Chartres, France is a medieval jewel
May 2 We just finished two days of exploring Chartres, a city about a hour to the south and west of Paris but many more miles away in terms of peace and a small-town feeling evoking a time more than 900 years ago. Chartres is not just amazing for its huge cathedral, although that is […]
The Awful Vatican Museums And Why We Will Never Return
Photo courtesy Dan LaValley May 2 Pope Francis – please if you have time with all that you have to do add this to your ‘To Reform’ list about the way the Vatican Museum including the Sistine Chapel is operated. Your museum is, in the words of my stepdaughter, a ‘Shit Show.’ Harsh words for […]
This Couple Lives on Top of Roman History
May 2 I was invited to have dinner with Roland and Anne Geiger recently. As we sat in their cozy dining room heated by a wood-burning stove with our nostrils being savagely attacked by the wonderful smells coming out of the kitchen behind the wall, Roland entertained me with stories of what he has found […]