So, UK fans have finally been treated with the UK Blu-ray debut of Scream and Scream Again, featuring both the US and UK versions, courtesy of the newly-formed Radiance Films (September 2023).
The film had its first Blu-ray release by Twilight Time in October 2015 (region-free), featuring just the US cut. Both cuts were later included on the Blu-ray release by Kino Lorber in April 2019 (region A) in the US (and the UK, but also Region A) and by Wicked Vision in Germany in April 2021 (region free), where it made its European premiere.
So, is the Radiance Films Blu-ray HD release of the cult 1970s Frankenscience-thriller worth a region-free ‘triple-distilled dip’? Below is how it stacks up against the previous releases.
But in a nutshell… Given that the same Kino print is used in all of the releases (with some extra restoration work carried out on the digital file for the Radiance release), it’s really down to the extras. For me, the Wicked Vision release comes up trumps against the US releases, and even if you can’t read German, it includes a fabulous 24-page booklet.
But I’m really happy to include the new Radiance Films UK release to my Vincent Price collection, if only for the inclusion of the interviews, both new and archive (the Julian Holloway and Clifford Earl ones are the most interesting), Ramsey Campbell’s contribution, and Anne Bilson’s essay (I so chuckled at her calling the film ‘a prime example of Surrey-ealism’). Plus, Jonathan Rigby is always a pleasure to listen to (and comes up with some real trivia gems about some of the film’s major and minor players while also comparing the film with the source novel) – while Kevin Lyons makes a suitable sidekick (offering up some local info on the filming location.
However, as to me gleaning any new info myself from those interviews and commentary… well, a couple of things have been added to my 20 Things You Must Know About… however, the location of the Crossways house used at the end of the film remains a mystery to us all.
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET…
High-definition digital transfer of both the US and UK cuts. The British cut was supplied by Kino and is the same one used on the Wicked Vision release.
UNIQUE Audio commentary with Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons. Twilight features a commentary by David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, KIno has Tim Lucas, and Wicked Vision has David Del Valle and writer/producer Phoef Sutton.
UNIQUE Interviews with… – Actor Christopher Matthews (October 2020, 7 min) – Actor Julian Holloway (May 2023, 8min) – Editor Peter Elliott (July 2019) and Props-person Arthur Wicks (January 2023, 4 min)
Archive Interviews with… – Actor Clifford Earl (2015, 18 min): UNIQUE: This was filmed by Derek Pykett, but I don’t think it has been included in any previous DVD releases. – Uta Screams Again: actress Uta Levka (2000, 8.43) Available on both the Twilight and Wicked Vision releases)
UNIQUE Ramsey Campbell on Christopher Wicking and ‘Peter Saxon’ (2023, 11min)
Gentleman Gothic: Gordon Hessler at American International Pictures (2015, 23min) Ported over from Twilight release and also included on the Wicked Vision release.
Super 8 Version The Radiance release is a re-creation of the German version, with Scream and Scream Again title in English. The Twilight release has the title: The Living Corpses of Dr. Mabuse, while the Wicked Vision release is: Die lebenden Leichen des Dr. Mabuse.
Deleted scenes (included in the UK version) – Slyvia and Keith are Watched – Bellaver throws rocks – Extended Discussion and End as Vincent says: ‘But the dream?’. And Lee replies: ‘ There is only time for nightmare’, before ending with a shot of the empty operating theatre. These are also available on the Wicked Vision release.
Mick Garris: Trailers from Hell (2013, 2.33min) Also on Kino and Wicked Vision releases.
Trailer A blue-tinted German dubbed version is on the Wicked Vision release, while the Twilight Time and Radiance Films releases have the US trailer with the classic Cushing credit error.
UNIQUE Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
UNIQUE Limited edition booklet featuring two essays, An Exquisite Corpse of Incongruous Surrey-ealism by Anne Bilson (2023) and A Termite in a Crazy Circus: Chris Wicking (1998/2023) by Julian Petley, cast and crew info and transfer notes
UNIQUE Three postcards
UNIQUE Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip
NOT INCLUDED: Radio Spot US language version available on Twilight and Kino releases, and a German version available on Wicked Vision.
NOT INCLUDED: Isolated score track Included on the Twilight release.
The 1975 political thriller Journey into Fear was an all-star contemporary adaptation of Eric Ambler’s seminal 1940 novel of the same name. A flop at the box office, it had a scant theatrical release on 8 August 1975 and was aired on HBO on 9 January 1976. It then virtually disappeared for many years (appearing briefly on VHS) until a recent Blu-ray release.
When I was compiling SUPPER WITH THE STARS with my co-author Jenny, we included this long-forgotten film as it featured Donald Pleasence and Shelley Winters – two of Vincent’s many legendary co*stars who, like Vincent, were also big foodies.
Asked to participate in the Devilishly Delightful Donald Pleasence Blogathon, I thought I’d share the recipes from both Donald and Shelley that we included in the cookbook (catch them at the end of this post), along with our review of Journey Into Fear. So, was the Canadian-made thriller a recipe for disaster?
Possessing valuable information about Turkey’s untapped natural resources, American oil exploration engineer Mr Graham (Sam Waterson) becomes the target of an assassination plot. In a bid to protect him, the head of Turkish security, Colonel Haki (Joseph Wiseman), fakes Graham’s death and sneaks him out of the country on a boat bound for Genoa. But also on board is Banat, a professional killer (Ian McShane) and the mastermind behind the plot, Dervos (Vincent Price).
Journey into Fear had all the ingredients to be a terrific film: a spy story that’s an influential classic of the genre, an award-winning director, and a superb international cast. Shot for $3.5m over seven weeks in July and August 1974, it was touted as the biggest film to come out of Canada at the time.
But while the film was ultimately let down by its weak script and rushed production, this second film adaptation of Eric Ambler’s seminal novel does have its moments. Director Daniel Mann and cinematographer Harry Waxman make effective use of the Turkish, Greek and Italian locations while also providing some well-staged action set pieces, and there’s an exciting score from composer Alex North.
While a fresh-faced Waterson gives a nuanced performance as the laconic Mr Graham, it’s the supporting players who are the film’s highlight. Zero Mostel chews the scenery as a Turkish oil agent, as does Hollywood legend Shelley Winters as shrewish American tourist Mrs Mathews. Her dinner scene, in which picks at her (foreign) food in disgust, is a highlight. In his final film role, Stanley Holloway plays her henpecked husband with great sincerity, and Yvette Mimieux (who will always be remembered by movie buffs as Weena in the 1960 sci-fi classic The Time Machine) provides the love interest.
A standout, however, is Donald Pleasence. He plays Kuvelti, a Turkish agent masquerading as a bungling tobacco salesman who is shadowing Mr Graham. He pops up in a couple of scenes – very much on the periphery of the action – before getting bumped off (which isn’t a spoiler if you happen to possess the paperback tie-in).
Donald’s best scene takes place on location in Athens, where he frantically searches the streets after becoming separated from Mr Graham, – who is being hunted down by McShane’s sweaty assassin. Pleasence’s character doesn’t have any scenes with Price (nor did he in another Price classic, The Monster Club). It is a shame, but then we do get a typically quirky Pleasence turn – which makes this a fun watch.
Price, of course, has a blast playing Dervos – an Arab agent pretending to be an art-loving amateur archaeologist (how very Vincent), and he brings much depth to his duplicitous character. His explosive death scene (by a flare gun) is actually one of Price’s more gruesome screen deaths, and kudos to him for doing his own stunt on camera as his clothes catch fire when he is shot by our hero in the film’s climax.
DONALD PLEASENCE’S SOLE BONNE FEMME This recipe was featured in a 1975 episode of the Canadian TV show Celebrity Cooks, where Donald prepared it for host Bruno Gerussi. It was later included in a tie-in cookbook and now can be found in Supper with the Stars.
INGREDIENTS: 1 sole, filleted 1 cup stock (get head, bones, etc. for the stock or use an extra fillet, chopped) 1/2 lb. button mushrooms 1 doz. medium mushroom caps
INGREDIENTS – BEURRE MANIE: 2 tbsp. flour 2 shallots (finely chopped) Lemon juice Oil Bouquet garni White wine (enough wine to cover fish plus wine to add later, but no more than 1 cup altogether) 2 tbsp. butter Liquid drained from baking sole
METHOD: Make the fish stock, using the head and bones, etc. or an extra fillet. Put in a saucepan, add a cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain. Season to taste.
Preheat oven to 350°C.
Put fillets in the bottom of a buttered earthenware baking dish. Sprinkle with finely chopped shallots and button mushrooms. Add enough wine to cover the fish stock.
Now add the bouquet garni, bring to a boil, cover with buttered paper, and bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes.
Drain off the liquid from the baking dish and add some more white wine, making the total wine used no more than 1 cup. Put this liquid in a saucepan and keep it warm.
Make a beurre manié by kneading the flour and butter with your fingers as though you were rubbing fine pastry. Form into small balls and add them to the liquid, stirring well. It will thicken.
In another pan, sauté the mushroom caps in oil and lemon juice. Pour sauce over the sole and decorate it with the mushroom caps.
Place under a grill to brown lightly and glaze. Remove the bouquet garni before serving.
Serves 4.
SHELLEY WINTERS’ CAESAR SALAD 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced 1/2 cup olive oil 1 cup cubed French bread or ready-made croutons 1½ teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon dry or hot mustard Freshly ground black pepper 5 anchovy fillets Few drops Worcestershire sauce 3 tablespoons wine vinegar 1 raw egg Juice of 1 lemon 2 heads cos/romaine lettuce 2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Soak the garlic in the olive oil for 24 hours.
Sauté the French bread or croutons in 2 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil. Place salt, mustard, pepper, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar and remaining olive oil into a large salad bowl. Blend with a fork. Now add the egg and lemon juice and mix well. Break the lettuce into a bowl. Toss well with the dressing. Add the cheese and croutons before serving. Toss all well. Serves: 4
13 February 2022 UPDATE! A huge thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of our limited edition hardback of Supper with the Stars. We released 250 copies on Halloween 2021 and to date we have just 13 copies left. Having sold out of the signed bookplate, we have 7 Thank You presentation cards signed by Peter Fuller, which we are offering up in lieu of a signed copy. So don’t delay, order your copy today!
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The Vincent Price Legacy UK is delighted to present Supper with the Stars, a fantastic new cookbook fusing film legends and food with the culinary endeavours of screen icon and original foodie Vincent Price. Written by Peter Fuller (your curator) and film archivist Jenny Hammerton (Silver Screen Suppers), this limited-edition cookbook features 52 recipes from the kitchens of Vincent’s most famous co-stars paired with some fantastic dishes of his own. With wicked illustrations from Ben Wickey and a Foreword by Victoria Price, this is a must-have for film fans and foodies alike.
Supper with the Stars has been published in a special limited edition hardcover (only 250 copies) and is available to buy in the UK with a choice of edition and postage options.
FOR EUROPEAN ORDERS (including the Republic of Ireland), postage will be £15 (including tracking). Please use the Vincent Price Store link below if you have a European delivery address.
FOR NORTH AMERICAN ORDERS, postage will be £35 (including tracking). Please use the Vincent Price Store link below if you are ordering from North America.
The Vincent Price Legacy UK and Silver Screen Suppers are proud to present the exclusive London book launch of Supper with the Stars on Monday 25 October (from 7pm) at the legendary Phoenix Arts Club in London’s West End in association with the lovely folks at Misty Moon.
Written by Peter Fuller (curator of the Vincent Price Legacy UK) and film archivist Jenny Hammerton (Silver Screen Suppers), Supper with the Stars features 52 recipes from the kitchens of Vincent’s most famous co-stars paired with some fantastic dishes of his own.
A must-have for film fans and foodies alike, Supper with the Stars will be published in a special limited edition hardback (only 250 copies printed in the UK) with pre-sales starting soon. However, if you attend the event – you will be first in line.
Victoria Price will be our special guest (via zoom – live!) for the evening, which also marks the 28th anniversary of her dad’s passing. Expect fun and surprises – including an extraordinary clip show featuring never-before-screened footage of Vincent’s culinary endeavours. In order to ensure that you get a book, please pre-order using the link below and you can collect it in person at the launch.
I will be announcing full details on how to order the book very soon. Please do not order the book if you are not attending the event (especially if you are outside of the UK) as we will have a special link to do just that.
52 recipes from the kitchens of Vincent Price’s Co*Stars paired with 52 recipes selected from his iconic cookbooks
52 films from Vincent Price’s extensive big-screen career
52 insightful biographies and film reviews, with fun facts and trivia
Full-colour galleries featuring poster art and rare stills
Extra Helpings chapter featuring hints, tips and more recipes
Beverages chapter
Conversion chart
A-Z glossary
Introduction from Victoria Price
RECIPES FOR COOKS OF ALL ABILITIES
Easy-to-make instructions
Great for both novices and the kitchen-adventurous alike
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and party ideas
Helpful culinary conversion chart
Kitchen tested by Vincent Price fans & foodies from around the world
A VINCENT PRICE CULINARY JOURNEY
Host a Vincent Price movie night and dinner
Over 100 recipes tested, reviewed and updated for the modern palate
Each Co*Star dish expertly paired with one of Vincent Price’s recipes
PLUS Vincent Price movie-themed cocktails, drinks and more
COME INTO THE KITCHEN
Hollywood Icons: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Lillian Gish, Robert Mitchum, Ronald Colman Hollywood Beauties: Anne Francis, Ava Gardner, Gene Tierney, Jane Russell, Lana Turner Horror Legends: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr, Peter Cushing, Peter Lorre Hollywood Heavyweights: Charlton Heston, Charles Bronson, Dana Andrews, Victor Mature British Greats: Diana Rigg, Ian Ogilvy, Jane Asher Comedy Greats: Groucho Marx, Terry-Thomas Plus The King — Elvis Presley …and many more
FUN FACTS AND TRIVIA
52 extensive biographies of Hollywood and British cinema legends
52 comprehensive film reviews
THE FILMS
A selection of classics ranging from Service de Luxe (1938) to Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Includes film noir, comedy, thriller and drama favourites such as Laura (1944), Champagne for Caesar (1950), Shock (1946), Dragonwyck (1946) and The Whales of August (1987)
PLUS 20 years of chills and thrills: From House of Wax (1953) to Theatre of Blood (1973)
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT OUR UPCOMING PUBLICATION PLANS FOR SUPPER WITH THE STARS!
As there’s no chance of getting out to the shops for the usual January sales, how about checking out these fantastic Vincent Price themed goodies in our Vincent Price store
There are two gorgeous posters illustrated by Graham Humphreys, a glow-in-the-dark tee, Vincent’s wonderful musings about the great women in his life, and a knock-out EP featuring Vincent reading Poe’s The Conqueror Worm to a mind-tripping electronic beat.
Call out for test cooks! Absolutely everyone welcome, whatever your cooking prowess – there is even a GREEN SALAD recipe up for grabs folks! Choose a recipe and spread the word….
I’m excited to announce that I am working with Jenny Hammerton of Silver Screen Suppers on a new book featuring 100 movie star recipes. I will be writing about 50 of Vincent’s films and co stars and Jenny has chosen two dishes to accompany each movie. There will be a Vincent Price recipe for each, with a Co*Star accompaniment.
We are allocating one test cook per recipe for the book, but if you’d like to try more than one, Jenny will be happy to send them out to you.
We totally understand that during the Covid-19 epidemic certain ingredients might be difficult to obtain but we can discuss suitable substitutions. Take the plunge and pick something, it will be fun, we guarantee it!
All test cooks will be thanked in our acknowledgements, and we may use some of your feedback about the recipe to add some FLAVOUR to the book!
Produced on the back of the expected success of 1953’s House of Wax, The Mad Magician returned Vincent Price to the world of three-dimensional horror for a third time (Dangerous Mission was released in March 1954, with The Mad Magician following in May).
Here he plays Don Gallico, a creator of illusions for stage magicians, including the Great Rinaldi (John Emery). But his opening night is thwarted by his boss, Ormond (Donald Randolph), who has already stolen Gallico’s wife (Eva Gabor) and now wants his latest invention – the buzz saw. In a moment of madness, Gallico decapitates his employer.
To cover up the crime and the ones that follow, Gallico dons a series of elaborate disguises, but he hasn’t counted on his assistant Karen (Mary Murphy), her detective boyfriend Alan (Patrick O’Neal) and mystery writer Alice (Lenita Lane) from getting in his way…
Originally released on Blu-ray in the US by Twilight, The Mad Magician gets its UK premiere Blu-ray from Indicator with a Limited Edition (3,000) release featuring the following special features…
• 2K restoration • 3D and 2D presentations • Original mono audio • New audio commentary with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons • Three-Dimensional Magic (2020): and appreciation of The Mad Magician and the 3D filmmaking boom of the 1950s by cinematographer Frank Passingham and archivist Tom Vincent, presented in 3D and 2D • Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation in anaglyphic 3D • Pardon My Backfire (1953), Three Stooges short presented in 3D and 2D • Spooks! (1953), Three Stooges short presented in 3D and 2D • Image gallery • Original theatrical trailer • New and improved English subtitles • Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Kat Ellinger on Merv Taylor, a look at the career of producer Bryan Foy, an archival interview with director John Brahm by David Del Valle, the promotional campaign of The Mad Magician, contemporary critical responses, Jeff Billington on the Three Stooges’ 3D shorts, and film credits
As we are all now at home in lockdown, if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, then why not check out what’s screaming now – Vincent Price-wise here in the UK!
And decorate your at-home workspace with these wicked limited edition posters from Mad Duck Posters : https://bit.ly/39Bpv2h
It was back in 1928 that a 17-year-old Vincent Price first stepped foot on European soil as part of his Grand Tour, where he finally got to see the great works of art that he was so passionate about. His tour took in seven art capitals, beginning in the UK on 14 July and ending in France on 26 August.
Recently, ESC Tours – which is run by his daughter Victoria Price and Vincent Price Legacy UK curator Peter Fuller – put together a series of bespoke tours in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, that not only followed in Vincent’s footsteps, but also paid homage to his life philosophy – to be forever curious about the world around you. Here’s what happened…
On Tuesday 21 May, our first port of call was the historic Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk, where Vincent Price stayed with his tour group in 1928. It was here that, according to his personal diary, he had a transcendental connection with his mother back home in his home town in St Louis, Missouri. We took a bracing walk along the beach, attempted a little ESP connection to those who had gone or lived apart from us – just as Vincent did – then toured the hotel where Vincent’s group stayed 91 years ago. Much has changed of course — lots of renovation and extensions have taken place on the historic hotel (where the Dutch royals once resided alongside the upper classes here) — but it was a great start to our journey.
We then headed off to Delft, famous, of course, for the Dutch Baroque Period painter Johannes Vermeer and its iconic blue and white tiles. Our tour of the city mainly centred on the town square, which was featured in an iconic sequence in Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre.
Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre was partly filmed in DelftThe gang pose outside the house that inspired Vermeer’s The Little Street (Het Straatje)
On Wednesday 22 May, we headed into Wallonia, famous for its ancient castles, fortresses and beautiful scenery, where we visited a museum dedicated to the Belgian cartoonist Hergé (of Tintin fame), took lunch at Maredsous Abbey, where they produce their own beer and cheese, and toured some castle ruins in Montaigle. We also happened to chance upon a film shoot taking place at remote property that looked ever so spooky — we think it may have been for a horror film.
The Musée Hergé in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium is a must visitEnjoying a tipple at Maredsous AbbeyThe ruins of the medieval castle of Montaigle in Onhaye, Belgium
Thursday 23 May and it was time to board our Mystery Machine again for the drive to Ghent where we strolled through the famous ancient city, visited St Bavo’s Cathedral to see the famed Ghent Altarpiece, Het Lam Gods, and took a self-guided tour Gravensteen Castle (where we were rather disappointed to find that its dungeon was no more).
Glorious Ghent
After some retail therapy and a rest-up at a local cafe, we headed to the coast, to Oostende, where we checked into the glorious Thermae Palace hotel — a real gem and reminder of the past — where Harry Küme’s classic Belgium vampire horror, Daughters of Darkness (aka Les Lèvres Rouges), was filmed (check out my now and then shots below). During our walk on the beach at sunset we couldn’t resist recreating our own version of the Ghent Altarpiece when we chanced upon a steel sculpture inspired by it.
Now and then with the Daughters of Darkness at the Thermae Palace in Oostende, BelgiumNow and then with the Daughters of Darkness at the Thermae Palace in Oostende, Belgium
Our road trip concluded on Friday 24 May with us heading back to Schipol via the abandoned city of Doel. Now this is not on any normal tour, but is a must. It’s a ghost town that’s turned into living art – and the total antithesis of the other attraction we visited – Kinderdijk, a picture postcard Dutch village filled with windmills and coachloads of tourists (which the locals hate BTW).
Windmill overload at Kinderdijk village in South Holland
Saying goodbye to our Mystery Machine, and to some of our group, we took the train into Amsterdam, where we met up with a new group of campers for a welcome dinner at De Kas, a fab farm-to-table restaurant located in a set of greenhouses that date back to the 1920s. This would be the first of three elaborate meals that we would have during our stay. The Dutch love their taster menus — and boy do they know how to do them.
Our Amsterdam adventure kicked off properly on Saturday 25 May with a visit to the Rijksmuseum, home to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (one of the key works of art that Vincent saw for the first time – up, close and personal – in 1928).
We also visited the All the Rembrandts Exhibition, which presented 22 paintings, 60 drawings and more than 300 best examples of Rembrandt’s prints. Interestingly, Vincent’s first piece of art that he bought was a Rembrandt etching. Unfortunately, it was never recorded as to which piece it was — so we shall never know what became of it.
One of the activities we do on our tours is pick our favourite piece from each art collection that we visit and then discuss it later. This piece, Saul and the Witch of Endor, attracted the attention of three of us in the group — probably on account of its occult themes and its fantastical creatures.
Saul and the Witch of Endor (Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, c. 1472/77)Rijks Restaurant, Amsterdam
We were also treated to a mammoth three-hour five-course lunch at the Michelin-starred Rijks restaurant, which had ‘traded spaces’ with a farm-to-table restaurant in Bali called Locavore. The quality was excellent, and the quanity bountiful — but no room for dinner this evening.
The Museum Quarter in Amsterdam was a great place to start our city break, and some of our group took the opportunity to visit the new Moco Contemporary Art Museum, which was dedicated to the works of the street artist Banksy, as well as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Daniel Arsham. I think I loved the setting, the historic Villa Alsberg, as much as the artwork.
Moco Contemporary Art Museum
Sunday 26 May found our group splitting up to visit Rembrandt’s House and the Amsterdam Dungeon (which was whole lot of fun), then we all met up to tour the Anne Frank House, where Anne, her family and four other people who hid from the Nazis in rooms in the secret annex during World War Two. This was truly a sobering, educational visit, and is a must-do when in the city.
The evening was all about Vincent Price as we headed to Lab 111 for a presentation by Victoria about her dad’s legacy, followed by a screening of House of the Long Shadows starring Vincent alongside Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing — which was perfect as it was Peter’s birthday today, while Vincent and Chris’ birthday is May 27.
And speaking of birthday’s, on Monday 27 May, we celebrated what would have been Vincent’s 108th birthday by doing the things he would have done – we headed to an art museum, of course. In this case, it was the Van Gogh Museum, which was a true delight and a place I could happily return to time and again.
You can’t not head to Amsterdam without doing a canal cruise, which took in the well-known districts of the Pijp, the Jordaan and the Red Light District, as we sailed past iconic bridges and the picturesque merchant houses — including ones that featured in the Bondclassic, Diamonds Are Forever, starring Sean Connery.
In 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s 007 visits Jill St John’s Tiffany Case at 36 Reguliersgracht in Keizersgracht, Amsterdam
We ended the day with a meal at the Restaurant La Rive in the Amstel Hotel, where Vincent and Mary Price also visited and included in their acclaimed culinary tome, A Treasury of Great Recipes. This was another gastromonic affair where we got a true taste of haute cuisine.
The classy and classic Amstel Hotel
On Tuesday 28 May, we had planned on a day trip to of Haarlem before taking the train to Paris — but misfortune struck in the form of a public transport strike. So we ended up on a Eurolines coach — which took many hours. Not a great start to the final part of our European adventure, but we are all laughing about it now.
A transport strike didn’t stop us from continuing our Euro tour
Vincent Price ended his Grand Tour of 1928 in Paris, where he visited so many of Paris’s justly famous cultural sites. We planned to do the same — and added in a few more that have since become part of the pantheon of the City of Lights.
So, on Wednesday 29 May, we began with a morning tour of the Musee d’Orsay art gallery set in a stunning converted Beaux Arts railway station, followed by lunch at 1.30pm at the Eiffel Tower’s 58 Tour restaurant (which has the best views of Paris in my book). In the afternoon, we cruised the Seine, and concluded with dinner at Café de l’Empire, where confit duck was the speciality. A big day indeed… and much needed after that long journey the day before.
For horror fans, visiting Notre Dame and the Palais Opera Garnier is a must when in Paris — especially regarding their links to those classics of the horror genre, The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. While Notre Dame was closed due to the recent devastating fire, when we visited on Thursday 30 May, some of the group took a tour of the Opera House while others explored the nearby Galleries Lafayette, for a bit of retail therapy.
Then it was off to the Louvre – unquestionably one of the finest art galleries in the world with some 380,000 objects from pre-history to the 21st century with 35,000 works of art over 8 departments on display. After a good few hours there, we finished the day with dinner at La Grande Mosquée de Paris — which was so relaxing after the hussle and bustle of the Louvre and its many tourists.
On Friday, 31 May, we had a couple of different options. Some went off to explore some obscure sites of Paris, others wanted to rest, and another group headed to Fontainebleau to visit the historic town and take in an equestrian fair.
Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
On Saturday 1 June, Victoria lead an EverWalk excursion through the Marais, while I took a group to visit the Catacombs — but a yellow vests demonstration resulted in the police closing it for most of the day.
But all was not lost as we headed to Père Lachaise Cemetery for the rest of the afternoon and ended the day with one of the most touristy things ever — dinner and a show at the Moulin Rouge.
We finally did make it to the Catacombs of Paris… and its was so worth it!Following in Vincent’s footsteps, we had to try out all the rides – including the Mad Hatter’s tea cups
Our adventures ended on a real high on Sunday 2 June with a trip to Disneyland Paris. Yes, I know its for kids and families — but we were guests of Disney because they have reintroduced Vincent’s original narration into the Phantom Manor attraction.
Victoria Price with the Disney Ambassadors at the Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris, where Vincent’s original English narration has been re-instated
This was a fantastic opportunity to accompany Victoria as she listened to her dad’s voice again after so many years. We also got a personal guided tour of the park and were first in line for all the classic rides. It was, without doubt, a day to remember — and the perfect end to such an adventurous tour. Until next time, that is!
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