Author Archive

The Empire State Building

14 Feb 2013 By

During our previous visit to NYC we had a chance to enjoy the view of Manhattan from the Top of the Rock, so this time we decided to experience it from the top of the Empire State Building. Everyone knows that the Empire State Building is an icon of New York City, as well as the United States of America. Located at 350 Fifth Avenue (between 33rd and 34th Streets) in New York City, the Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper. The height of the building to the top of its lightning rod is actually 1,454 feet or 443.2 meters. We obtained Main Deck & Top Deck Express tickets online, which allowed us to skip the lines, except a security line, to both observation decks. The Main deck on the 86th floor and the Top deck on the 102nd are marked in the following picture.

ESB

Read More

Category: Cultural Events, Travel  Tags: ,  Comments off

National September 11 Memorial & Museum

04 Feb 2013 By

When planning our trip to NYC, the 9/11 Memorial was a unanimous “must-see”. Our trip would not be complete without going to pay our respects to the thousands of people who lost their lives that day and for the families who suffered such a loss. Also huge respect for the continued efforts from the workers at the Memorial who have made such a devastating place somewhere beautiful you can go and reflect and remember. The last time we were there, 5 years ago, there was not much at Ground Zero except for a fenced area that would become the Memorial that stands today. It was shocking to come back and see its transformation into a moving and serene place of hope.

IMG_1332

Read More

Category: Cultural Events  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Christmas Time in NYC

29 Jan 2013 By

For the majority of people, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Dave and I decided that there is no better place to be at Christmas than NYC and took off for a road trip with a couple friends. New York didn’t disappoint us. The city is a pretty spectacular sight at that time, with Christmas trees, department-store window displays and other holiday attractions popping up around the city.

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is the main attraction at Christmas time, drawing a huge crowd of holiday visitors every day. An interesting fact is that the tree is donated every year, and interested Giant-Norway spruce owners can submit their trees for consideration. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, this season, resident Joseph Balku from Flanders (N.J.) offered his tree, which survived Hurricane Sandy.

Christmas tree 2012 is an 80-year-old Norway spruce which weighs about 10 tons and stands 80 feet tall. It is wrapped in about five miles of LED lights with 45,000 bulbs, topped with a 550-pound LED-powered Swarovski star studded with 25,000 crystals, and had no other ornaments.

IMG_9835

More Pictures

Category: Cultural Events, Entertainment, Travel  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Delightful Florida Beaches

21 Jan 2013 By

After visiting Universal in Orlando, Dave and I spent the rest of our short vacation with family in Florida. We had a very nice relaxing time there.  Of course, we couldn’t miss spending some time on our favorite Florida beaches. One day we dedicated to go to delightful Daytona Beach, which is considered one of the best beaches in the country. Daytona Beach has 23 miles of sandy, white beaches, which are open to pedestrians 24/7 with free access! This time we entered the beach from the side of the open amphitheatre, which is located on the North end of the Boardwalk amusement area and overlooks the ocean.

IMG_9397

More Pictures

Category: Travel  Comments off

The rest of Islands of Adventure

19 Jan 2013 By

IMG_8999Universal Islands of Adventure is one of two theme parks in the Universal area of Orlando in Florida and it is the better of the two in my opinion. My husband and I visited Halloween Horror Nights at Universal one day and the next day we spent enjoying Islands of Adventure. There are 7 different islands in the theme park and they are all completely different, which makes exploring them a whole lot of fun. Islands of Adventure and it’s sister theme park Universal Studios are both part of Universal Orlando, along with the CityWalk shopping/entertainment area and their resorts. The 7 islands are: Port of Entry, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Seuss Landing, Marvel Super Hero Island, The Lost Continent and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

1. Point of Entry Island is the actual park’s main entrance and is home to many shops and services. The featured attraction of the island is the lighthouse, which is seen by the visitors as they are approaching the island. The lighthouse icon towering 130 feet over the main entrance is inspired by the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, that was constructed in 350 B.C. and fell during an earthquake in the 14th century. Each night, this real, functioning lighthouse sends out a bright beam to lead visitors to and from the park’s gates (source: wikipedia).

Read More

Category: Adventure, Entertainment  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Marvel Super Hero and The Lost Continent

13 Jan 2013 By

Marvel Super Hero Island is my second favorite island after Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando’s Islands of Adventures theme park. It seemed like we were stepping through the pages of popular comic books with their Super Heroes and Villains. Here we found amazing theme sets of Spider-Man, X-Men and Captain America among others, as well as some great rides.

IMG_9102

  More Pictures

Category: Adventure, Entertainment, Travel  Tags: , , , ,  Comments off

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

29 Dec 2012 By

Our visit to Universal’s Islands of Adventures in Orlando started at the most exciting and crowded place there – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of seven themed areas within the park. We spotted the lighthouse tower indicating that we are approaching the Islands of Adventures (IOA) from Universal’s City Walk.

IMG_0821

Read More

Category: Adventure, Entertainment  Tags: , , ,  Comments off

Best Halloween Experience! – Part 2

13 Dec 2012 By

The Street experience added the most to the Halloween experience, in my opinion. The scary creatures could be seen all over the park, trying to scare the visitors. We could hear screamers and laughs mixed with music almost everywhere. Here are some pics of the street crowd.

DSCN4451

More Pictures

Category: Entertainment  Tags: ,  Comments off

Best Halloween Experience! – Part 1

12 Dec 2012 By

IMG_0738Halloween is a very different holiday. It’s not like any others, is it? Every year Dave and I try to do something special on Halloween. We visited a couple of Haunted houses in previous years and, of course, we carved traditional pumpkin Jack-O Lanterns.

This year we combined our visit to Florida with a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. During the 2 hour flight from DC we watched as hurricane Sandy was moving towards the Northern States of the East Coast, including our home. JetBlue is one of my favorite domestic airlines for its spacious leg room and for the direct TV, which makes it possible to follow real time events.

Read More

Category: Entertainment, Travel  Tags: , , , ,  Comments off

Cancun – Paradisus (Gran Melia) hotel

11 Nov 2012 By

This is the last post on our Cancun vacation, which I want to complete with some pictures of the hotel we stayed in. Formerly known as the Grand Melia Cancun, the Paradisus Cancun has consistently won the AAA 4 diamond award and is part of Preferred Hotels of the World.

It has modern pyramidal design and consists of 5 pyramid-like buildings. Picture of the hotel building and the room can be viewed here. The 5 star Paradisus Cancun is located ocean front and is an elegant, spacious and distinguished hotel. Here is the beautiful hotel lobby where guests are greeted with a new flower arrangement every day.

IMG_7286

More Pictures

Category: Mexico, Travel  Tags: ,  Comments off
« Previous Entries
Next Entries »