Travelers4Fun Blog | Stories From the Road

New Orleans: “It’s Pronounced ‘Nawlins’”

Posted By: Alessandra Roqueta on 2012-08-29 18:24:51

I was lucky enough to take a trip to New Orleans this past week and see what it has to offer. It had always been one of the top places on my bucket list, as I’m sure it is for many others. The food, the music, the French influenced architecture, and of course, the rich history, bring people to this delectable melting pot of a city. Although many warned me of the smothering August humidity, I seized my opportunity to go regardless of the temperature. Plus, it was no secret among my friends that I loved being blanketed by humidity, to their chagrins. We stepped off of the plane and taxied our way over to the French Quarter, only a half hour away. The small cobblestone streets and hidden alleyways alluded to the city’s age, which was built during a time where a horse and buggy were the main mode of transp » 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

Bryce Canyon: Land of Spirits and Imagination

Posted By: Alessandra Roqueta on 2011-12-09 09:32:17

Category: Pre-Trip

Bryce Canyon: home of the hoodoos. If you don’t know what hoodoos are, then you are in exactly the same boat as me a couple months ago. Actually, before this trip I had never even heard of Bryce Canyon (let the gasps of silence ensue). It’s funny actually, because it became one of my favorite places during our West Coast trip. It was truly spectacular: one of those sights of nature that you just have to sit down for a moment to take it all in. Hoodoos are giant rock formations eroded from time. The native americans believed that the hoodoos were actually spirits trapped in rock form, and that’s why many are given names that personify their rock shapes. It always amazes me that the forces of nature can create landscapes that look more like works of art. In Bryce Canyon, for example, the giant hoodoo rock formations seem like something » 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

Last Stop: Yosemite!

Posted By: Nina on 2012-05-07 08:52:12

Category: Pre-Trip

Yosemite was one of our favorite family vacation destinations, so I was excited to revisit the beautiful park after a decade had passed. Our tour group got an early (very, very early) start to our day, and made it to Yosemite by 9 am. March turned out to be the perfect time of year to visit the Yosemite, because the waterfalls were flowing at maximum force as the snow started melting heading into the warmer months. Our first stop gave us perfect views of El Capitan. At 3,000 feet from base to summit, El Capitan is one of the largest granite monoliths (mountain consisting of a single massive rock) in the world and a favorite challenge for rock climbers from around the globe. The next stop was Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America. Our group made the short easy hike to the base of the falls where we got up-close views of the water freely flowing over a tall cliff through m » 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

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 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.