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Monday, December 30, 2013

Paris, France - The Apartment Window

This window view always gives me a thrill.

Paris, France - La Fresque

Located near the apartment and the metro stop on Rue Rambuteau, this cozy restaurant was quite a surprise. We had boeuf bourguignon, quiche and salad.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Paris, France - Louvre from the Latin Quarter

Panoramic view of the Louvre from across the Seine.

Paris, France - Louvre Pano


We walked along the river across from the Louvre. This is an attempt to capture the size of the building.

The video was taken with my iPhone and the panoramic made from the video. The truck is to hold the camera steady and pivot turn the camera just so. There shouldn't be a curve of the ground line. Mine slopes downhill!

Paris, France - Hot Chocolate on a Winter Day


Nothing chased away the winter cold faster than hot chocolate from Angelina's.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Montmartre, France - Au Clairon des Chasseurs

Located on the north side of Paris very close to Sacre-coeur, this is one of the very crowded and reasonably priced places to eat. And to have a warming Hot Wine to take the chill off.

Hot dog, fries, croque madam (ham and cheese grilled with an egg) and French onion soup.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Paris, France - Day Trip Maps

These are our travels for the Paris trips during the day.  Individual blog posts will detail all that happened along the way.  This map will be updated as I work through the days.  I will prompt the post to resend until the page is complete.

Maps were created using "MapMyRun.com" so that the miles walked could be calculated.

December 27 - Arc de Triomphe, Trocodero, Eiffel Tower and Champs de Mars.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Phoenix, Az - The Henry

"The Henry" opened on December 17, 2013.  It is on Camelback just east of 44th Street.  I went to meet a friend for coffee in the afternoon, and was very surprised.  There was a lot of seating (it was actually dinner time) and has a lot of patio space and indoor coffee group space.  I was also told that a walk way was made in the back fence to make it easy for the neighborhood to get to the gathering spot.  Smart idea!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Honolulu, Hawaii - Military Museum

We toured a museum with memorabilia and displays from multiple wars.

Honolulu, Hawaii - Schofield Base

The tour continued through Schofield Base. We toured and had lunch at the Kolekole Bar and Grill along with the servicemen and women.

Honolulu, Hawaii - Pearl Harbor

A ceremony is planned for tomorrow in memory of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
My mother told me that this has been updated since she was here years ago.  It is worth seeing.


Honolulu, Hawaii- Pearl Harbor

The view of Pearl Harbor from the USS Arizona Memorial.

There is a memorial in Phoenix with the mast, anchor, and flags.  You can see it here:
http://ladeetravels.blogspot.com/2012/01/phoenix-uss-arizona-anchor-and-mast.html


Honolulu, Hawaii - Brewseaum

Brewseaum?  Yes, a brewery and a museum combination.  The tour company also owned a collection of World War II memorabilia and proudly displayed their collection.  This is a true family owned business.

Honolulu, Hawaii - Scenes Along the Way

This is a beautiful island and Honolulu is a big city. Here are some views that I saw from the bus window. You can see big city, farmland, lush hills, and homes.


Honolulu, Hawaii - Punchbowl Cemetary

This was a beautiful military cemetery high above Honolulu.  The banyon trees were incredible.


Honolulu, Hawaii - Pacific HQ

We drove to the historical area of the Pacific Army.  This was a beautiful older building.  A new one is planned.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Maui, Hawaii - Midway up Haleakala

We stopped midway and this is the view looking in to the valley and the sea in the distance.

Keaau, Hawaii - Mauna Loa Macadamia Shopping

It is now time to see what kind of tasty morsels are available in the gift shop.


Keaau, Hawaii - Mauna Loa Macadamia Factory Tour

The Mauna Loa Macadamia production facilities were in high gear.  A self guided factory tour is available and I always like to take these types of tours.


Hilo, Hawaii - Exterior of the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Farm

This is one of the entrances to the production area.  The property is owned by Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, the world's largest producer of macadamia seeds. It has been a subsidiary of the Hershey Company since 2004. The company takes its name from the volcano Mauna Loa. Their headquarters and main processing plant are near the mountain, south of Hilo in the Puna District of the island of HawaiÊ»i, known as the Big Island. (source wikipedia)


Hilo, Hawaii - Drive to Mauna Loa Nut Farm

We continued the tour at the Mauna Loa Nut Farm.  Here are some typical scenes along the way.

The tall grasses are cut so that there is clearance along the road.


Hilo, Hawaii - Big Island Candies

Our first stop on the Hilo tour was at the Big Island Candies.
This is a photo of a home along the way.

Hilo, Hawaii - Road to Kamehameha Statue

Our tour guide explained the upcoming day, time schedules, etc.  Our first segment of the tour gave us views of the local area, homes, business, parks.

Hilo, Hawaii - Morning Sail-In

Land ho!  Our first stop after a four day crossing.  I am very excited to see Hawaii (I've never been here before) and go to the top deck to see what I can see.  There is an overcast sky as we approach Hilo, and I can see a tall mountain in the distance.  The pilot tugboat comes out to give us a helping hand.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Pacific Ocean - Day 4 at Sea

Last full day at sea for a while.

iPhoto pics

Check out the Princess Patter and see that we will be pulling in to Hilo, Hawaii at about 9AM tomorrow.

 The water is very calm so I walk outside to get an interesting cloud photo.
 I try to take a selphie with the ocean and clouds in the back ground but this camera struggles with the bright brights and dark darks.  The shadow works for me!


 Took some time to read up on Hilo.

Out for the night for a little fun, then off to get a good night's sleep so that I am ready for my first foot step in Hawaii.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Pacific Ocean - Day 3 at Sea

Another day at sea as we sail from Los Angeles to Hawaii.

iPhone photos:

Day starts early with yogurt and Cappuccino at the International Cafe.


Check out the Daily Patter and plan to do a lot or nothing at all.


The sea and sky.



The champagne tree.  Fancy entertainment on Formal Night.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Pacific Ocean - Day 1 at Sea

After a good night's rest, we were up and moving to take advantage of a full day's activities at sea.

Zumba class in Club Fusion with Brit Karen.



A coffee break (it was really water) after an hour of Zumba.

Yes, I took a class on how to make these.

The ship was decorated for the winter holidays.

I had an ID tag on my favorite water bottle so that it would be returned to me if I lost it.
 And mid afternoon...a warm cookie and milk.
Then off to dinner and a show.