Spring Excursion to Virginia

Space is still available for our April 28 to May 1, 2010, Virginia tour.

Highlights include Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Hermitage Foundation Museum, Chrysler Museum of Art, Tuckahoe Plantation, Monticello, and Montpelier.

Members can purchase tickets contacting the membership office at (302) 658-2400, ext. 235.

Hagley Member Travel Opportunities

A Grand Tour of Ireland, especially planned for Hagley Members and friends
September 11-22, 2010

Click here to make your reservations online.

Join the Executive Director of Hagley Museum and Library, Geoffrey Halfpenny, for a stunning tour of Ireland. Highlights include Trinity College and the eighth-century Book of Kells; Powerscourt Gardens; tea with the Honorable Desmond Guinness; the Royal Gunpowder Mills, founded in 1794; a sheepdog demonstration; a catamaran cruise through Ireland's only fjord; the Hunt Museum, one of Ireland's greatest private collections of art and antiquities; the town of Cobh from which many Irish immigrants sailed to the United States; and the beautiful towns, villages, and countryside of Ireland.

Our tour itinerary begins with an early afternoon departure from Hagley Museum and Library for the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to board an overnight flight to Dublin. Dinner will be served during the flight.

In Dublin we will meet our driver/ guide who will escort us on the motorcoach tour. Enjoy breakfast at a local venue before setting off on an orientation drive around the fair city of Dublin. We will make a stop at Trinity College to view the eighth-century Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the gospels, before checking in at the Alexander Hotel for our three-night stay. This evening dinner and entertainment will be at a local cabaret. Breakfast and dinner are included on day two of your tour.

From Dublin we will drive south through the mountains to visit Powerscourt Gardens, a superb collection of trees, shrubs, and flowers gathered from around the world. This former home of Lord Powerscourt is a delightful experience with terraced Italian gardens and abundant floral displays. On returning to Dublin, we will visit Dublinia and The Viking World, a medieval heritage center where history comes to life through life-sized figures and includes an excellent collection of artifacts from nearby Viking excavations. The balance of the day is at leisure in Dublin for independent activities and dining. Breakfast is included in day three of your tour.

On day four we will drive inland to County Kildare to visit Leixlip Castle. The Honorable Desmond Guinness has created a delightful garden within the ancient walled enclosures of his medieval home. Mr. Guinness set up the Georgian Society and is a well-known writer. See the garden and enjoy tea with Mr. Guinness himself before returning to Dublin to visit the Guinness Storehouse where this world famous stout was created. Finish your visit in the roof-top bar, Gravity, where you can sample a draft Guinness and enjoy views of the city. Breakfast and tea are included in day four of your tour.

After breakfast, we will travel through the Irish countryside and stop at The Rock of Cashel for a guided tour of these majestic church ruins which are clustered high on a limestone outcrop. Of particular note are the highly decorated Cormac's Chapel built during the twelfth century and the large cruciform cathedral from the thirteenth century. We will continue to travel south to the town of Kinsale and enjoy a brief guided walking tour. This town dates back to 1177 when the Anglo-Normans founded it. It grew as a port town and today the harbor is favored by yacht owners. We will check into the Trident Hotel for a two-night stay with time to relax before dinner. Breakfast and dinner are included in day five of your tour.

We anticipate another great day as we drive a short distance to the town of Cobh, the harbor town for large ships. A guided walking tour, the Titanic Trail, will show you the streets of Cobh, revealing locations and incidents directly connected to the Titanic and the port's history. We continue our drive to the town of Ballincollig to visit the Royal Gunpowder Mills, which were established in 1794 by Charles Henry Leslie. This gunpowder mill became one of Ireland's most successful industries producing gunpowder for the military, most notably during the Napoleonic Wars. We will then return to our hotel in Kinsale for a free evening. Breakfast is included in day six of your tour.

Day seven finds us traveling along the coastline of Cork through attractive fishing towns such as Clonakilty and Skibbereen to Bantry, where we will tour Bantry House. Built in 1740 for the Earls of Bantry, this home contains furniture and objects d'art from all over Europe. The extensive, well-tended gardens are delightful to wander through and offer great views of Bantry Bay. We than continue through Glengarriff, renowned for its sheltered bays where subtropical plants flourish. You will see a surprising number of palm trees here! Cross the Caha to Kenmare and on to Moll's Gap for views of Killarney, its three lakes and mountains. We will check in at the Killarney Plaza Hotel for a two-night stay, with time to relax before dinner. Breakfast and dinner are included on day seven of your tour.

Explore the Ring of Kerry on day eight--100 miles of Ireland's highest peaks and a coastline of golden beaches and rocky headlands. A local farmer will provide a sheepdog demonstration with his flock of sheep! We then cross to Valencia Island to visit the Skellig Expereince which describes a way of life of early Christian monks. Take a brief walk around the village of Sneem before heading back to Killarney. Breakfast and dinner are included on day eight of your tour.

After breakfast we travel north to Talbert for a twenty-minute ferry ride across the River Shannon estuary to view the Cliffs of Moher, a magnificent rock formation. Pass through Barren Country, an area of rocky limestone hills, dolmens, and prehistoric monuments. See Galway Bay shoreline before arriving at the Radisson Hotel in Galway for a two-night stay. The afternoon is at leisure. Breakfast and dinner are included on day nine of your tour.

This morning tour Connemara for sweeping views of boglands, misty mountains, and areas where the locals cut peat for home heating. At Leenane, take a short catamaran cruise aboard the "Connemara Lady" through Killary Harbor, Ireland's only fjord, and where seabirds, seals and otters live in the waters. Breakfast and dinner are included on day ten of your tour.

Travel round the shores of Galway Bay sightseeing enroute to Limerick to tour the Hunt Museum, a private collection of art and artifacts dating from classical Egypt, Greek, and Roman eras to nineteenth century and includes many Irish treasures. Continue to Bunratty for check-in at Bunratty Castle Hotel and an evening of fun and feasting at a medieval-style banquet. Breakfast and dinner are included on day eleven of your tour.

Morning transfer to the Shannon Airport where you will clear U.S. immigration before boarding your flight to Newark, New Jersey, where transportation will be waiting to return you to Hagley Museum and Library.

Costs: $3,499 per person (single supplement $649) for Hagley Members or guests. $250 per person deposit is due with each reservation. No refunds for any cancellations after June 1, 2010. Deposits must be received no later than May 31, 2010, when final payment is due. Trip cancellation/interruption insurance is highly recommended at a cost of $159 per person which must be paid at time of deposit. Insurance is only for medical reasons for cancellation. To purchased, contact Barbara Osman, 4 Seasons Tours, at (302) 594-1030. We suggest you make early reservations to avoid being disappointed.

Trip includes roundtrip transportation from Hagley Museum and Library to Newark Liberty International Airport, in Newark, New Jersey, roundtrip air Newark/Dublin-Shannon/Newark airfare (airfare and taxes subject to change until ticketed), accommodations for ten nights in first class and superior hotels based on double occupancy, admission to all sightseeing as per itinerary, meals included full Irish breakfast daily plus breakfast on arrival in a local venue, five dinners, a dinner cabaret,and a farewell banquet, plus meals in flight; taxes and gratuities for hotels, included meals, luggage handling; services of a driver/guide throughout the tour.

For more information, or to make your reservation, please contact Kim Kelleher at (302) 658-2400, ext. 235, or kkelleher@hagley.org.

Broadway Musical Day Trip - The Addams Family

This trip is sold out - please contact Kim Kelleher at (302) 658-2400, ext. 235, or kkelleher@hagley.org, to add your name to the waiting list.

Join Hagley members for a theatre outing to New York to see the much-anticipated Broadway hit musical, The Addams Family, on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Depart at 8:30 a.m. from Hagley's library overflow parking lot. Please use the Buck Road entrance off Route 100 and follow the signs to the trip parking lot. We anticipate returning at 7:30 p.m.

The weird and wonderful Addams family, created by New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams, comes to life in a new Broadway musical starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. This magnificently macabre new musical was created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by award-winning songwriter Andrew Lippa.

Storm clouds are gathering over the Addams Family manse. Daughter Wednesday, now 18, is experiencing a sensation that surprises and disgusts her--caring for another person. Young Pugsley, jealous of his sister's attention, begs her to keep torturing him, while mother Morticia, conflicted over her daughter's lurch into womanhood, fears being upstaged and discarded! All the while, father Gomez--master of the revels, mischievous and oblivious as ever--would prefer everything and everyone to remain they are. But when outsiders come to dinner, the events of one night will change forever this famously macabre family--a family so different from your own...or maybe not!

Lunch before the show will be at Terrace in the Sky with a choice of menu. You may choose your entree at the restaurant.

Costs: $227 for Hagley members and guests. Full payment is due with each reservation no later than February 17, 2010. No refunds with any cancellations after February 17, 2010, unless replaced by another passenger. We suggest you make early reservations to avoid being disappointed.

Trip includes round-trip transportation from Hagley to New York; lunch at Terrace in the Sky; orchestra seats for The Addams Family; and taxes and gratuities for lunch and for the motor coach driver.