Europe Trip: Day 2: The Louvre, Notre Dame, and Sacre Couer

Like every trip with my father, we started early in the morning and had a large breakfast in the hotel’s executive lounge. We walked the 5 minutes to the Opera house, following a busy thoroughfare to the tourist office.

After a quick photo session in front of the opera house, we reached the tourist office to purchase our most important item in Paris: The Paris Pass. With free admission to 99% of the biggest attractions in and around Paris (Including heavy hitters like Versailles, the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc.) and priority admission at the Louvre (skipping a 1.5 hr. line), this pass becomes worth it if you plan on visiting more then a few attractions.

Anyway, we walked to the Louvre, and after flashing our passes for direct admission, began our perusal of some of the world’s great artistic treasures. 

However, they happened to be unbelievably underwhelming; I saw no reason for the hype around the Mona Lisa (puny) or the Venus di Milo statue (same as every other). However, my sister and I enjoyed seeing many of the paintings that seem to be engraved on textbooks for as long as we remember; my favorite was Pieter Brugel the Elder's The Tower of Babel.  



This museum was the first time I had ever seen my dad actually appreciate a work of art; he was quite astounded by the level of detail in The Tower of Babel and impressed with the various Da Vinci's in the museum. 

After leaving the Louvre, we began the walk towards Notre Dame, stopping for crepes and pizza along the way. At Notre Dame, although our passes got up free admission, we still had to wait in an extremely long line in the searing heat to get in.

The interior was awe-inspiring; an iridescent sheen reminiscent of mother of pearl greeted us, along with amazing architectural work and ornate detailing. 

After finishing with the Cathedral, we rested our weary selves in a row on the Seine riverbank. After our quick rest, we began our search for the Center Pompidou, Paris's eminent modern art museum, and our first of many. 

At this point, my mom and sister headed home, while my dad and I headed out to Montmartre and La Sacre Coeur Basilica.

Europe Trip: Day 1: Welcome to Paris

After a long flight courtesy of American Airlines,  Paris's CDG International Airport greeted us through the fog. It was early in the morning, and we had 4 bags between the 4 of us; this led to us taking 2  cabs to our hotel. The Paris Marriott Opera House, is an old, historical place in one of the best parts of town; after checking in and dropping off our bags, we rode the metro to the Eiffel Tower. The best part? The metro stop is literally 1 block from the hotel door! 

We arrived at the Eiffel Tower stop, got out, and immediately scratched out heads. We appeared to be in a pretty nondescript, business-ey looking area. After turning the block, however, we got our first real glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. The approach to the tower was nice and scenic; fountains, staircases, and grassy patches greeted us, as well as a bridge. Under the tower were the entrances, and by extension, the lines.Although guidebooks scare you with horror stories of extremely long lines, we found the lines to not be too bad, even at 10-11 in the morning. Perhaps half an hour to an hour?

 My father and I decided to climb the stairs up to the second floor, while my mother and sister opted for the standard lift line. This was not a good idea, and I don't suggest that anyone else do the same thing. The 2 groups got separated for a long time on the middle layers of the tower, and eventually met at the top after hours of waiting.

The views at the top were very nice, but, more then anything else, it was nice to be finished with one of Paris’s most important sites so early into our trip.

On our way down, we spent some time relaxing on the 1st level of the tower, where there is a cafe, and for the adventurous, see through floors. After coming down, we ate some crepes at the foot of the tower while taking in the hectic, touristic atmosphere. One observation I made was that the sheer number of street vendors here is incredible; they mainly hawk selfie sticks and little Eiffel Towers models.

The evening saw us taking a boat cruise on the river Seine; the first of many river cruises on our trip. We bought tickets literally at the foot of the tower, and boarded our boat nearby. A long, lazy loop ensued, going as far down the river as Notre Dame before turning back around.

Big Island- Day 5

Today was the 5^th day, and we were staying in Hilo. It was time for us to go snorkeling somewhere real, not just on a regular beach. To this end, we called Body Glove Cruises early in the morning and booked 4 seats. The ship docks directly next to our hotel, saving us from a walk. Once we arrived at the ship, the crews enthusiasm was infectious. They really loved what they were doing! 

We boated out for about an hour to a little area on the side of the coast. After a brief explanation of how to snorkel, it was time for use to get out. It was awesome, since I saw lots of fish and other wildlife. Within 30 minutes, however, it was lunchtime. Burgers and veggie burgers. The veggie burgers were amazingly good, especially after snorkeling.

After eating, I decided to jump off the top deck of the ship, where a little platform and a waterslide existed. It was my first time in memory ever doing anything like this, and it was awesome. I jumped off lots of times. After jumping, I went back to snorkeling.

Soon, however, it was time to turn back. We got back on the ship for the boat ride back. After returning to shore, we returned to our hotel. My dad and sister both decided to go on a submarine ride, so off they went. My mother and I packed up our bags and moved everything to the car for our imminent move to the Hilton Waikoloa Resort, about 30 minutes up the highway and out of town.

After the 2 explorers returned from the submarine, we shifted over to Waikoloa Resort. This was one of the most luxurious places I had ever stayed at.  To get to our hotel room, we had the option of taking a boat, riding a tram, or walking the .8 miles through a museum gallery walk. The hotel was made of 4 buildings but had 7 or 8 pools, including 2 for kids with water slides. In addition, it had a lot of beachfront property and quite a few restaurants and boutiques.

            However, at this point, it was closing in on late evening. We needed to eat, and so went to a pizza/Italian place. One of the coolest items in the restaurant was their Macadamia nut sauce, a Hawaiian only specialty.  

Big island, Day 4

Day 4 started the same as Day 3; we were back in Hilo again; this time for a zip lining adventure! But first, we had some time to kill, so we went to the “famous” Hilo Farmer’s Market. There were some interesting sights to see in the market; this included cool stone weaponry and the usual tourist items: tees, braclets, etc.

Our zipline experience; known as Zipline Through Paradise, started from  a nearby “adventure" store similar to REI. It (and we) departed the store in a van, and drove 30 minutes along very bumpy roads to the company’s private property on the outskirts of town. Peacocks roamed the starting area, where we were given our safety and equipment briefings. 

One of the best things about this zipline was its stopping system: completely hands free and handled by the employees; it uses the basic principle of magnets: like repels like. This magnetic breaking system gave us the freedom to spend the entire time enjoying the ride. WE began on some bunny “slopes” but quickly ventured off to some very cool lines, one of which was a half-mile long and went over a waterfall! The views from the zipline were great and we got to see some really cool views; in retrospect, it was one of the best things we did on our vacation.

After the zipline tour, we decided to take a longer, more scenic route home. The problem with this was that most things in Hawaii close really early; the things we wanted to visit were no exception. One of the Big Islands best waterfalls, Umaumau Falls, is located in an “Adventure park” of sorts and has an admission fee.  It too, closed, while we were driving slowly and leisurely. However, we did get to visit Akaka falls, the same one that we saw by helicopter.  After that, it was a long drive back to our hotel. 

Big Island - Day 3

Day 3 was an earlier day; we were planning on driving to the other side of the island to get to Hilo for a Helicopter ride. We had breakfast (bread and butter and milk) and then drove off upward, towards a road that didn’t exist on Apple Maps: Saddle Road. This road essentially goes right across the middle of the island horizontally, making travel time much shorter from the previous circuitous path. We arrived in Hilo at 12 for a 2 o clock helicopter ride, and needed to find things to do.  One problem was that there was a cruise ship at port; all the major activities were full!

Our first attraction, and a very very cool thing(s) to see, was Banyan Drive. This is a road with lots of Banyan Trees on both sides, planted by famous people of the 50’s and 60’s. (think Amelia Earhart and Babe Ruth) These trees were enormous and there were a lot of them, making it quite an interesting thing to see. They were like organic skyscrapers.

After that, we hung out at a nearby garden named Queen Liliuokalani gardens. They were made in the Japanese style, and were a nice place to take pictures! After the gardens, we went out to Saddle road but took a different exit to go look at some cool waterfalls.

There were 3 sets of falls along this road; we visited all 3. They were quite interesting to look at; but we had to rush just a bit to get back to the airport in time.

We arrived at the airport and got ready. We listened to the orientation before heading out. I put on my Go Pro and took videos as we flew over the volcano and to the sea and a burning forest and also visited flew over a lot of falls. After getting out of the helicopter, I thought it was alright, but my dad thought it was the best thing. Looking back, though, it was quite overrated for its price of close to a thousand dollars. I think it would be a really good thing to see if there was actually a lot of lava flowing or erupting, but this wimpy orange glow was extremely overrated.

We drove back to our hotel, had dinner, and went swimming and exploring around the town. 

Big Island - Day 2

Today we woke up and ate our previously purchased milk and Krave while sitting on our balcony. My dad and I got ready first and drove out to a nearby Starbucks while the other 2 showered. Soon after returning to the hotel, we were on the road to Hawaii Volcanos National Park. We went down along the southern coast of the island, stopping and checking out various scenic points and things along the way. We made a 12-mile detour off to a place my Dad had previously researched, South Point.

This is the southernmost point in the United States and is a very scenic area. A 3 mile hike leads you to an area known as the Green Sand Beach, which is an apt moniker. Although we did not visit due to time constraints, it seemed like a very cool place to go.  After South Point, we finished the drive to the Park. 

Once inside the park, the first thing we did, just like always, was visit the Visitor Center and grab maps and information (and a junior ranger package for my sister) At this point, we were all starving, so we eat at the only restaurant in the park, the Volcano House. Although the food took forever, costed a ton, and the portions were small, there was no complaint. We were sitting in full view of the Kilauea Volcano and its steaming vent!

After eating, we ventured around the park and down the famous Chain of Craters road. The Chain of Craters road essentially takes you down a lot of volcanic landscape and lava flows and around a few older craters of past eruptions It ends slightly before the area where some lava flows ended up covering the near the coast, with a walk (that we skipped) down to the covered parts of the road itself. There is a very nice sea arch visible here.

We came back up , and ventured around the other side of the park, walking through the steam vents, before ending up at a museum, where we listened to the end of a rangers speech. We got a good look at the steam vent from a different angle.

At this point I was starving, and the rest of my family was not that far behind me. However, there was nowhere left to eat, since the park is in a secluded area and Volcano House was closed. We ended up rushing to a nearby general store with prices akin to a highway robbery. We finally ate chips and Cadbury for dinner, or at least until we drove back to Kona.

On the drive back, we stopped at a black sand beach for my first extraterrestrial experience: The black sand was radically different and cool. 

Big Island Trip- Kona!

It was quite the surprise! After being told (and planning for) a trip to San Diego and the Grand Canyon, we reached the airport. My sister incessantly bugged us after looking at the departures board: There was no flight for San Diego! I tuned her out, but was soon shocked to learn the truth: We were going to Kona!

            After that, we went through all the mundane activities needed at an airport: check-in, security, and baggage, before walking to the gate and onto the plane. The plane flight was long, thankfully I was sitting next to college sophomore and quickly struck up a conversation.

            And then we landed in Kona. I had never seen an airport anything like this. There was no indoors; even in India the airports I landed in had indoor corridors and check-in. It was warm, but not ridiculously hot, and there were trees everywhere. We took a complimentary shuttle service to the National rental car agency, where my dad rented a Ford SUV.

 We drove to downtown Kona, which was maybe 15 minutes away and right on the shore. Kona is a very laid back, old-styled kind of a town, with random patches of beach everywhere. One of the first things we did when we got there was venture to the nearby Wal-mart and buy a few packs of water bottles,some milk, and some cereal,  something we almost always do on trips.

After that, we drove down Alii drive, essentially main street Kona. There are lots of old fashioned buildings and quaint restaurants, but also a few multinational fast-food havens. We visited severallittle shop/stall areas that sold little touristy items like bracelets, necklaces, and t-shirts. Since everyone was starving after the meager snacks served on airplanes, we stopped at Subway to eat.

After eating, my sister and I were roaring to get into the famous Hawaii water. We drove to a nearby enclosed beach/cove called Kahalu'u , and broke out our new snorkeling sets. It was quite an experience; I got to see fish, coral, an eel, and even a sea turtle!

At this point, it was time to check into our hotel, the King Kamehameha’s Courtyard Marriot, located right at the start of Alii drive.  It was a nice hotel, although relatively simple. It’s main perk was its location, right in the heart of town, and the great views.  Everything you could want to do was literally right outside or within 2 blocks: submarining, parasailing, scubaing, and boat riding.

After checking in, my father and I left my sister and mother to their own devices and explored Alii drive, walking down a mile or so before sitting in a quite area and eating some ice cream.

Poisson clown fish and Transparent stamp from France

Adeline André drew a heart in love, heart, hot, molten, a patch to apply love to fall in love " which is created as two fully transparent stamps to illustrate the hearts designer 2012. "the idea of a transparent stamp immediately imposed to me as it will for the background color of the envelope, parcel on which it is pasted. 's heart, symbol of love, the heart stamp used to send letters of love, wedding invitations. 

Clown fish stamp : The clownfish form a subfamily of fish belonging to the family of Pomacentridae . It contains thirty species , classified in one genre Premnas , the other part of the genre Amphiprion . These fish a few inches in shades of orange and black. Some species have stripes or white bars. They frequent the lagoons and coral reefs area Indo-Pacific and Red Sea where they usually feed copepods and larvae of tunicates. (From: Wikipedia)

Children Day - Olympic and Central Bank of India Stamp : Cover from India

Cover from India with Children Day stamp, Olympic stamp and Central Bank of India.

India issued London 2012 Olympic stamp which has  Rowing, Sailing, Volleyball and Badminton. This cover has rowing stamp.

Also this cover has 3 Children Day Stamp with Kite Flying, Spinning Top and Indian dolls stamp issued in 2010.

Central Bank of India stamp has it's founder and building picture on stamp. It was established on 21 December 1911 by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala with Sir Pherozesha Mehta as Chairman, and claims to have been the first commercial Indian bank completely owned and managed by Indians.

Thanks Avijit for sending me this cover with  beautiful stamps 

I had send you following cover  on October 2nd to celebrate International Day of Non-Violence. (My dad collect this.!!) To read more click following link.

http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.com/2012/10/international-day-of-non-violence.html?spref=tw

XXX Olympic Games London 2012 stamps cover from Poland.

First cover with Olympic stamp.

Thanks Andrzej. This cover is from PolPostman (no introduction needed).

This cover has 2012 miniature sheet from Poland to celebrate XXX Olympic Games in London.  Nice sheet with background of City of London with most notable London bridge.

This sheet has 4 stamps of Rowing, Volleyball, Weightlifting and Discus Throw.

Also thanks for sending me postcard of "I Love Nowy Sącz"

Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County.

The town Nowy Sacz has many historic features, including: (From Wikipedia)

One of the largest marketplaces in Europe, after Kraków, the largest rynek in Poland. The late 19th century Ratusz (city hall) is centered in the square.

Saint Margaret's basilica, Bazylika kolegiacka Św. Małgorzaty (15th century). 

A 15th-century house Dom Gotycki containing a regional museum.

A gothic Franciscan church.

The Great Synagogue, dating from 1746, now the Galeria Dawna Synagoga, a gallery with some historical displays.

Saint Roch, a church of wooden construction from the 15th century, in the Dąbrówka district. The old cemetery chapel St. Helen's Church is another example.

The partially restored ruins of a mediæval Royal Castle from the 14th century during the reign of Kazimierz the Great.

The mountainous country around Nowy Sącz is also popular with tourists, hikers and skiers, especially the Beskid Sądecki mountains (part of the Carpathians), of which the highest peak is Radziejowa (1,262 m (4,140.42 ft) above sea level).

Looks like very nice town in Poland. I would like to visit one day.

M.M.Packoba : Russia Cover

First cover from Russia with M.M. Raskova stamp and Wrangel Island Nature Preservation stamp.

Stamp 1 : Marina Mikhailovna Raskova (March 28, 1912 – January 4, 1943) was a famous Soviet navigator. Raskova became a famous aviator as both a pilot and a navigator for Russia in the 1930s. She was the first woman to become a navigator in the Soviet Air Force in 1933. A year later, she started teaching at the Zhukovskii Air Academy, also a first for a woman. 

Stamp 2 : Wrangel (Vrangel) Island Nature Preservation : Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. Wrangel Island lies astride the 180° meridian. The International Date Line is displaced eastwards at this latitude to avoid the island as well as the Chukchi Peninsula on the Russian mainland. The closest land to Wrangel Island is tiny and rocky Herald Island located 60 km to the east. The distance to the closest point on the mainland is 140 km.

Thanks Yuri for sending this to me. I already posted your cover with conversation stamps.

Also I had send you following cover  on October 2nd to celebrate International Day of Non-Violence. (My dad collect this.!!) To read more click following link.

http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.com/2012/10/international-day-of-non-violence.html?spref=tw