Friday, September 27, 2013

Itinerary for MacKenzie Childs 2014 Tour

May 5 through May 9, 2014 tour throughout the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. 

DAY 1
Monday, May 5th
 4:42pm
Arrival into Ithaca Airport - Your motor coach and tour guide will meet the group at
the airport and assist with luggage handling onto the bus.
 5:15pm – 6:30pm
Fabulous Falls Above Cayuga Tour: Our Fabulous Falls Above Cayuga Tour is a one
hour tour that is perfect experience for getting you acquainted with Ithaca and the natural beauty of our area. The group will experience three waterfall stops where we get out and explore the gorges carved out by Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creeks. These creeks border the beautiful Cornell University Campus and provide beautiful sites along its shores. We will traverse the famous Cornell Suspension bridge - a pedestrian bridge that is suspended 138 feet above the water, then see the falls surrounding College Town, as well as Cascadilla Falls. The tour culminates with an up-close-and-personal visit to Ithaca Falls, downtown Ithaca's own 135 foot waterfall. 









The tour is filled with narration about Ithaca and Cornell history in addition to the beautiful natural sites. There is not a lot of walking on this tour, although the last waterfall stop requires around a 200 ft walk on an uneven path to get to the base of the falls.

 6:30pm 
Dinner at Cornell’s Statler Hotel
• 9:00pm
Hotel Check-in
Accommodations – 4 nights: Courtyard Marriott– 15 rooms reserved.


DAY 2
DAY EVENT
Breakfast: At Hotel
• Bus departs by 9:00 am
• 10:00am – 11:45am
MacKenzie-Childs: Experience the unique Victorian estate of MacKenzie-Childs,
world-renowned maker of beautiful hand-painted ceramics and home furnishings.
Tour the restored Victorian farmhouse showcasing their designs.



• 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Lunch at the Aurora Inn : Enjoy waterfront dining and the flavor of the Finger
Lakes with a lunch featuring fresh regional products and ingredients.
• 1:15pm – 3:15pm
Return to MacKenzie-Childs for shopping in their exquisite show room and
explore first hand their beautifully unique products and gifts.
• 3:15pm – 4:00pm
Enjoy a garden tour of the MacKenzie-Childs Victorian farm with estate manager
Mariann. The 65-acre farm includes the Production studio, a restored Victorian
farmhouse, a duck pond, the gothic revival Chicken Palace aviary, and a meadow
where a herd of Scottish Highland cattle graze.


• 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Explore the lakefront and storefronts of Skaneateles.
• 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Enjoy a private 3-course dinner at Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles
• 9:00pm
Return to Hotel

DAY 3
Breakfast: At Hotel
• Bus departs by 9:00 am
• 10:00am – 1:00pm
Morning at The Corning Museum of Glass:
At Corning Museum of Glass -
Two-hour guided tour with Museum tour guide. During this tour, your group will be
guided through: The Contemporary Glass Gallery, one of the best collections of
contemporary glass art; The Glass Collection Galleries featuring the most
comprehensive collection of glass artifacts anywhere; The Hot Glass Show, where they
will experience a live, narrated glassblowing demonstration; and the Glass Innovation
Center, an interactive, high-tech science and technology experience.
Afterwards, the group will participate in a Make Your Own Glass Workshop where they
will have the opportunity to create their own sand-blasted glass souvenir

• 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Enjoy the museum Glass Shop followed by lunch on your own at Museum of Glass Café
• 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Wine and Local Cheese Tasting at Standing Stone Vineyards.
Enjoy a wine tasting featuring local New York State cheeses paired with fabulous
Standing Stone Vineyards wines, including their highly rated ice wines.


• 5:30pm
Vineyard Wine Dinner at the Red Newt Bistro
Enjoy a classic farm-to-table wine dinner at Red Newt Bistro. With a focus on regional
cuisine, This winery restaurant crafts regionally expressive menus with ingredients
sourced directly from local farms. Enjoy your meal paired with Red Newt’s awardwinning wines.
• 8:30pm
Return to Hotel

DAY 4
Breakfast: At Hotel,
• Bus departs by 9:00 am
• 10:30 – 1:00pm
Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion:
Enjoy a guided walking tour of the whimsies and wonders of the beautiful Sonnenberg
Mansion and Gardens. The mansion is a 40-room Queen Anne building perched atop a
sun-bathed hill and surrounded by nine formal gardens styled after European and Asian
designs.



• 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Seasonal Chef Demo and Wine Pairing-Lunch and Learn at the New York State
Wine and Culinary Center
Watch as a NYWCC chef creates a delicious recipe from seasonal NYS ingredients. You will be served a lunch-sized portion of the creation and explore how it pairs with two
NYS wines. The wine tasting instruction will be provided by one of the center’s certified
Wine Instructors. Incredibly educational, entertaining, and fun!



• 3:00pm – 4:00
Explore the Wine and Culinary Center:
After lunch at the Culinary Center on your own. Enjoy a flight of New York State wines or
beers in the Tasting Room, where you can taste and bring home one or more of the 225pm wineries, craft distilleries and microbreweries represented throughout the year. Browse and splurge in the Culinary Boutique where you will find NY State specialty foods, wine accessories, culinary tools, locally-made art, books and more.
• 7:00pm
Lakefront Dinner at the Boatyard Grill
Celebrate your final night in the Finger Lakes at Ithaca’s popular lake front restaurant.

DAY 5
Friday, May 9th
• Breakfast: At Hotel
• 10:30am – 11:30am
Shuttle to Airport:
Experience! The Finger Lakes will provide two vans to shuttle guests to the airport for