From the Archives: Elderhostel’s Lecturers Were Amazing
"What has Elderhostel meant to me as a lifetime lover of fine art? Simply stated: galleries of the Louvre, Prado, Uffizi and New York Metropolitan. These repositories of the world’s great art treasures are but the foremost of a profusion of museums that have welcomed me and companion Elderhostelers In the same cities we explored the Orsay, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Bargello, and Frick Collection. And how can my memories of the world’s great salons not include the Chicago Art Institute, the Getty Museum, and the Barnes Foundation? All were made available by Elderhostel, along with a host of others from Vienna to Los Angeles.
Although it had been my pleasure to experience some of these museums previously, Elderhostel provided new vision by offering concise and authoritative expositions on each institution’s treasures. Elderhostel’s lecturers were amazing in the depth of their knowledge and experience as well as presentation. Carefully prepared and illustrated remarks by experts neither talked down to those of us with varying amounts of expertise and familiarity, nor overwhelmed others with less training. Both connoisseurs and neophytes received adequate information and proper guidance.
We Elderhostelers were dispatched to each of the great museums with preparation that permitted full and proper enjoyment of our artistic exposure. Such knowledge was invaluable in helping develop balanced assessments and understanding in the study of great art treasures.
And, visits to the museums were never lonely expeditions. The famed companionship of Elderhostel provided conversation and camaraderie. Never overlooked were the simple logistics involved in artistic or any other kind of study … the transportation, ticketing, food and housing necessary for well-rounded encounters with artistic greatness. Elderhostel left nothing to chance, and the results were truly aesthetic Adventures in Learning."
—Peggy Dawson
Dallas, Texas
This story is excerpted from Elderhostel Odyssey, published in 2005.