Travelers4Fun Blog | Stories From the Road

New York City: Bright Lights, Diplomats, and Waxy Celebs

Posted By: Alessandra Roqueta on 2011-11-28 11:47:37

Everyone dreams about the big city, the Big Apple, Manhattan, the “city that never sleeps”—New York City. I’ve been to NYC many times, I went to school in New York and my mom lives in Manhattan, but with a city so bustling and full of things to do, it was definitely a different experience to see it on a Tours4Fun tour. I saw so many things that I didn’t have the time to see before—or didn’t even know existed! The intrepid Air and Space Museum was one of these. I would have never thought to go to this museum before, but I was so glad I got a chance to explore on my T4F trip. It’s a pretty huge museum full of vintage planes and artifacts. It almost felt like you were stepping back in time, in an old air hangar filled with war planes, fighter jets, and army helicopters. It was a mix between Top Gu » Read More

Travelers4Fun Team Takes SF! 1st Stop: Solvang

Posted By: Nina on 2012-03-20 15:24:12

Category: Pre-Trip

Solvang, CA Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!<br/>The bus picked us up from LA, and then the Travelers4Fun Team was off! First stop: Solvang, a Danish village nestled about an hour north of Santa Barbara. A sunny spring day was a perfect backdrop for the colorful red, green, and yellow buildings and charming, wood-thatched wind mills. Once off the bus our tour group quickly dispersed, each of us following our noses toward a medley of delicious scents coming from all directions. From freshly-baked, authentic Danish pastries, to chocolates made on the premises, to home-made ice cream shops on every corner, Solvang was a sugar-lover’s dream. <br/><br/>I personally couldn’t resist Ingeborg’s Handmade Danish Chocolates, their display of giant chocolate Easter bunnies was too enticing to pass up. Two friendly chocolate-makers were kind enou » Read More

San Francisco Here We Come!

Posted By: Nina on 2012-04-06 10:04:48

Category: Pre-Trip

A bright and early start on Day 2 of our San Francisco Tour gets us to San Francisco from our nearby Fremont Crowne Plaza Hotel by 7:30. We are dropped off near China Town for breakfast. It’s typical San Francisco Spring weather: gray, drizzly skies and temps in the mid-60s. My first mission is to find some caffeine, which isn’t too hard since there are several cute cafes nestled below the tall sky rises. We have 90 minutes for breakfast, so I spend my last hour wandering around the financial district, people watching and snapping photos of the amazing architecture and cool statues and art. Our first official sightseeing excursion of the day is Lombard Street – famous for its steepness and pinpoint curves. Those of us who are up for it are encouraged to hike to the top and take in the breathtaking views. Anna and I accept the challenge and are greeted at the top of the » Read More

San Francisco's Rich History - Explained by Our Tour Guide, Ariel

Posted By: Nina on 2012-04-13 13:13:58

Category: Pre-Trip

1) The Palace of Fine Arts:Situated on a picturesque lagoon housing ducks and swans, the Palace of Fine Arts was originally built to exhibit art during the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. It was one of ten palaces built for the exposition, and the only palace left standing. The palace had to be re-built in 1965 due to structural problems and poor materials. 2) The Seven Sisters: These seven houses, located in Alamo Square, represent San Francisco’s famously characteristic Victorian architecture. They were also made famous from the opening credits of Full House. 3) Grace Cathedral:Located on Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral is famous for its stained glass windows, mosaics by de Rosen, and a replica of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. 4) San Francisco City HallSan Francisco’s City Hall was completely destro » Read More

Hearst Castle - The Travelers4Fun Adventure Continues

Posted By: Nina on 2012-03-26 13:49:26

Category: Pre-Trip

Continuing along Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!After the Travelers4Fun team wrapped up lunch in Solvang, CA, we were off to our next stop: Hearst Castle. Nestled atop a hill North of San Luis Obispo – about a two hour drive from Solvang – we arrived mid-afternoon. The Hearst Castle Tour is optional, and at $25 I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves art, history, architecture, or old Hollywood glamour. Many of the tapestries, paintings, sculptures, and mosaics are one-of-a-kind, and some pieces date all the way back to the 3rd century! A little history: Hearst Castle took just under three decades (28 years, to be exact) to complete. William Randolph Hearst worked closely with architect Julia Morgan to design a Spanish Revival-inspired estate. As a child, Hearst traveled through Europe with his mother, and inspiration from his tra » Read More

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New York City: Bright Lights, Diplomats, and Waxy Celebs

Posted By: Alessandra Roqueta on 2011-11-28 11:47:37

Category: Pre-Trip

The intrepid Air and Space Museum was one of these. I would have never thought to go to this museum before, but I was so glad I got a chance to explore on my T4F trip. It’s a pretty huge museum full of vintage planes and artifacts. It almost felt like you were stepping back in time, in an old air hangar filled with war planes, fighter jets, and army helicopters. It was a mix between Top Gun and Indiana Jones. The hangars were dark and spacious, and you could feel an echo reach you from across the room. The planes themselves were immaculate, as if they were fresh off the factory line. Bright, beautiful paints shone off their wings and sides, glimmering with serial numbers and safety warnings

With three levels, including a rooftop that acted more like an aerial parking garage, there was certainly enough eye candy. The rooftop platform was definitely an impressive sight because you could see the Manhattan skyline gleaming in the distance behind the already beautiful spanse of memorabilia.

Another stop on our New York City tour was the famous (or infamous) Wallstreet. I have to say I didn’t see any cutthroat executives walking down the street, but maybe it was too late in the morning to catch their worktime commute. NYSE, also known as the New York Stock Exchange was an impressive and historical looking building smack dab in the heart of the Financial District. The street narrowed to an end right at a statue of President Washington, as if all the Financial District ended and represented the ideals of our founding fathers. We passed by the bronze charging bull that represents the volatility of the stock market.

After Wallstreet we headed to the United Nations, and you could definitely feel something different in the air. Unlike the empty streets of Wallstreet, the UN was bustling with Ambassadors, Ministers, and Foreign Diplomats, all donning their official UN badges of prestige. It was a gloomy day in the city, but it brought an overlying sense of seriousness upon our UN landscape. The myriad of flags blowing in the wind seemed to guard the center, and give a feeling of fortitude among intruders. The entrance held two large sculptures: a giant gold globe structure, and a twisted gun. I knew I had seen the sphere before, but I’ve never been to the UN. Apparently the “Sphere Within a Sphere” can be found in many places, two of which I’ve been to and probably recognized it from: the Vatican Museum in Italy and the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

After all of the official scenes of NY, we saw NYC’s more entertaining side at 42^nd Street—Time Square. The pinnacle of hustle and bustle, Time Square was teeming with people left and right and it seemed almost wrong to stand still. The lights, the TV screens, and the constant stream of strangers were everything you would imagine it to be. After taking it all in, we took a mini escape into Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. If you love taking funny photos, Madame T’s is the place to be. Filled with all of your favorite celebrities, Madame Tussaud’s wax sculptures are uncanny. It was ridiculous the number of times I thought the wax sculpture was a real person out of the corner of my eye. Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, Britney Spears, Leonardo Dicaprio, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and too many presidents to count—all made Madame Tussaud’s their home.