: The English who went on a Tour de Force.

IF they'd been fortunate enough to have been around in the late 18th or early 19th century I might have expected it if one or both of my children had announced their intention of taking the Grand Tour. In those days, it was a part of a young gentleman's (and woman's) education to take six months or so off to see Europe.

Some went straight to Italy by sea, others by an often circuitous overland route with fresh relay teams of horses to pull the coach at every stage. Paris was a favourite starting point for most Grand Tourists, usually followed by Vienna, Rome and Naples. An intrepid few reached Greece, although this was not officially recognised as a part of the Grand Tour. Itineraries were planned with painstaking care so that arrivals in different countries coincided with great annual events. They included Venice's memorable Carnival or the city's celebration of Ascension Day. The climax of any Tour, though, was Holy Week in Rome with the Pope blessing the crowds on Easter Sunday.

Learned ``governors'' - usually impoverished dons from English universities - travelled with parties to act as guides and to explain the intricacies of the Renaissance and post-Renaissance architecture and art treasures they encountered.