Although CityMouse Connect is currently on hiatus because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we intend to get back to business as soon as possible.
Our mission is to connect you with events and places that pertain to your special interests and that are overlooked by most international tours. We offer opportunities for you to "put on" the culture of the visited areas and to taste their history at an intimate, person-to-person level.
We shun tourist traps and experience traditions and customs that have endured to our days. We visit places of pilgrimage and worship; we experience architecture, painting, sculpture, music, religious liturgies, and continuing folkways. We see the impact of tradition on our contemporary communities and civilization.
We connect you to unfamiliar cultures and communities through visits to towns and villages, new and restored museums, church buildings and monasteries, staying in centuries-old pilgrimage accommodations and experiencing a different way of living.
We do not rush from country to country or from place to place, but allow time to absorb and appreciate what we see, hear, taste, smell, and do. We offer you a full but carefully paced program aimed at enhancing your understanding and appreciation of other cultures.
The name Citymouse Connect comes from the Aesop Fable of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse. City Mouse knew how to find all the riches and delights of places that Country Mouse proved too timorous to enjoy. Under the leadership of Tony and Manela, Citymouse Connect offers new and surprising experiences for well-traveled, adventurous participants.
Who we are
Tony and Manela Diez were born in Cuba, but in the early 1960s they both left their homeland--he to Venezuela; she to San Juan Capistrano, California. They subsequently met in Washington, DC, and married in Virginia in 1967. Manela has traveled extensively in the United States and abroad. She has conducted pilgrimages to Portugal and to Cuba. Her rich travel experience gives Citimouse participants access to deep cultural roots in the countries we visit. Tony was Traveling Exhibitions Director of the Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon, until 1975. He was Associate Director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service (SITES) until 1998, when he became Executive Director of the Oregon Arts Commission. After moving back to Washington, DC, he became the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department, where he specialized in conservation and preservation of historic structures. Over the years, he has traveled extensively and managed group tours for the Smithsonian, university alumni groups, and arts organizations. He has lead groups to Central and Eastern Europe, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, China, Australia, New Zealand, Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru. After Tony retired from the Treasury Department, he and Manela established Citymouse Connect LLC to explore the world with adventurous and curious travelers willing to go off the beaten track of commonly traveled tourist roads to look for hidden treasures. Manela holds a BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology and an MA in Conflict Resolution, both from Georgetown University. Tony holds degrees in Architecture and Art History from the University of Oregon. They have two married daughters and six grandchildren.