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

Category: Pre-Trip

Twenty-eight oak trees line the awe-inspiring driveway of the decadent Oak Alley Plantation in New Orleans, Louisiana. These were the reason why Jacques Joseph Roman chose this plantation to woo his wife into moving from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter and into the countryside. Marie used the plantation as a social gathering point for all of her city friends and entertained guests on their own country retreats. The plantation was even the site of many popular films like Interview With a Vampire and Primary Colors.   The plantation cultivated sugar cane and its owners became one of the richest families in the South.  Since then Oak Alley Plantation has become an icon of New Orleans and its rich history has attracted people all over the world to visit, get married, and have special events.   Our tour began with a pickup point along the Mississippi Rive   » Read More

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 Gu   » Read More

Category: Pre-Trip

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

Category: Pre-Trip

One of the most surprising destinations on our list was the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York.  I imagined something out of Color Me Mine, but this was quite the contrary.  If a museum of glass doesn’t really peak your interest, you’ll be amazed by the unique and interesting artworks that people create with this delicate material.    Our tour guide told us that this particular artist (see image above) built an entire table out of glass to hold this amazing showcase piece: a glass ship with solid gold embellishments.  However, the glass boat was so heavy that the table couldn’t withstand its weight, and the artist had to rebuild it with a marble slab to better distribute it.  The details are so intricate you have to wonder just how they sculpt these spectacular pieces out of hot glass! The museum held an extensive collection ran   » Read More

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Pictaresque Lake Powell Cruise

Category: Pre-Trip

We started off our day in Salt Lake City waking up at the crack of dawn, groggy eyed and morning-breath stricken, but it would be worth it.  After taking another power nap on our morning bus ride, we were finally woken up by our tour guide’s enthusiastic salutation, “Good morning everyone, and welcome to Lake Powell!”  Lake Powell marked my first official cruise of this whole Travelers4Fun journey, so I was pretty excited to step out of the bus and see the glimmering morning rays of sunshine reflecting on a beautiful desert lake.  Yup, it was definitely as scenic as it looked in all of the pictures.  We stepped into the visitor center and began perusing through the gift shop filled with an explosion of Native American souvenirs.  We were surrounded by cowboy hats, feather dream catchers, and precious stone jewelry.  After getting our tickets from our tour guide we walked down to the dock, by this time our morning perkiness had kicked in and we were ready to start a full day of exploring through the western countryside.  The...

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