Jane Hopson

Travel Advisor at Lightheart Adventure of Louisville, LLC, an Avant Travel Affiliate

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Jane-Hopson1-New-Orleans-Plantation-600x400Jane has loved traveling abroad since doing a grand tour of Europe at the age of 17 that culminated with her being presented at the International Debutante Cotillion in Madrid, Spain.  One of the highlights of that trip was meeting Queen Elizabeth at a garden party at Buckingham Palace!

 

Jane discovered that her knowledge of European history and her ability to speak French made her travels so much more enjoyable that she continued to major in history through college and graduate school at both American University and the University of Louisville.  After working in Washington, DC for five years, Jane returned to Kentucky where she worked in court administration and served as the Executive Director of local and national associations for over twelve years.  Association management served as the starting point for her introduction to travel consulting since in that role she regularly planned annual conventions and educational meetings at resorts and cities across the country.

 

Jane began working in travel full-time over 25 years ago.  She has been affiliated with a Virtuoso agency for over 15 years and values what that affiliation provides to her appreciative clients.  Jane and her husband Ed, a retired attorney, often travel with groups of clients on cruises.  They have especially loved their many Silversea cruises with friends sailing the Mediterranean, Alaska, and the Caribbean.  They have enjoyed the opportunity to serve as Voyager Club hosts for Virtuoso on both Silversea and Azamara Club cruises.  They are looking forward to their first transatlantic cruise in the near future as well as the Silversea World cruise in 2017.

 

Jane loves cruising in Europe and in the Baltic.  She fondly recalls her first river cruise on the Uniworld River Duchess for a 12-night journey along the Danube River from the Black Sea to Vienna.  Like any seasoned traveler, Jane found a way to work in a visit to Istanbul prior to that river cruise since it is one of the cities she finds most fascinating.  Jane loves river cruising since it is such a leisurely way to visit the beautiful cities of Europe, arriving city center at these historic places.  She is looking forward to an upcoming Uniworld river cruise of the Provence and Burgundy regions of France.

 

Jane and Ed live in Louisville, KY, where their two grown children and four grandchildren live.  For several weeks each winter, Jane and Ed like to escape to the warm Pacific coast climate of Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, where they continue to be amazed at the international restaurants, especially French, they have discovered in the colonial town of Bucerias.  Each new winter’s visit gives them more time to explore the Nayarit state that is home to so many beautiful resorts, including four Virtuoso properties.  Jane enjoys nothing better than lunch on a sandy beach on Banderas Bay in February.

Favorite Hotels: 

  • Hotel Bristol, Vienna
  • The Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver
  • Le Royal Monceau, Paris
  • Four Seasons London at Park Lane
  • The Palace, San Francisco
  • Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez, France
  • Four Seasons Ritz Hotel Lisbon, Portugal
  • The Westin Excelsior, Rome, Bauer II Palazzo, Venice.

Favorite Restaurants: 

  • Le Crocodile, Toronto
  • Le Bistrot, Bucerias
  • Ciudad Condal (tapas), Barcelona
  • plat du mer @ Le Boeuf sur le Troit, Paris
  • Bistro Le Relais, Louisville
  • Le Petit Café, Santa Monica, CA
  • Frascati, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico.

 

*Note that there is a slight French bias!