City Sightseeing Amsterdam + Body Worlds - The Happiness Project

Over 200 works by iconic Dutch artist M.C. Escher Most of his most iconic and recognizable masterpieces, including Hand with Reflecting Sphere, Relativity, Belvedere, Eye, Metamorphisis, Day and Night, and Waterfall. Scientific experiments, play areas, and educational resources will help visitors of allages to understand the impossible perspectives, disquieting images, and seemingly irreconcilable universes which Escher combined to create a unique artistic dimension. Among these special installations will be massive photo booths constructed to emulate Escher's hypnotic environments. Visitors will be able to photograph themselves "inside" the worlds of M.C. EScher. The "Relativity Room" turns normal size and scale on it's head. The "Infinity Room" shows visitors their reflection repeated, semingly into infinity.

The building that today houses the Museo Nacional del Prado was designed by architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785. It was constructed to house the Natural History Cabinet, by orders of King Charles III. However, the building's final purpose - as the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures - was the decision of the monarch's grandson, King Ferdinand VII, encouraged by his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza. The Museo Nacional del Prado, opened to the public for the first time in November 1819. The Museum's first catalogue, published in 1819, included 311 paintings, although at that time its collection comprised just over 1,510 pictures from the various Reales Sitios (Royal Residences). The exceptionally important royal collection, which represents the foundation of the Museum's collection as we know it today, started to increase significantly in the 16th century during the time of Charles V and continued to thrive under the succeeding Habsburg and Bourbon Monarchs. It is down to them than nowadays we can contemplate in the Museum as greatest masterpieces as The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, The Nobleman with his hand on his Chest by El Greco, Las Meninas by Velázquez and The Family of Carlos IV by Goya. The visit will take place in chronological order, starting with the exhibit hall where the masterpieces of J. Bosch (El Bosco) (1450-1516): The Table of the 7 Deadly Sins, The Hay Wain, The temptations of San Antonio, The Stone of Madness and The Garden of Delights, to continue with the rooms devoted to the Greco (1540-1614): The gentleman's hand on his chest, The Trinity, Christ embraced the cross and The Annunciation. Velázquez (1599-1660): The Worship, Drunkards, Equestrian Portraits, the Forge of Vulcan, The Christ, The spinners, Spears and Las Meninas, ending with Goya (1746-1828): The family of Carlos IV Pictures, The Shootings of May 2nd, Pestles and Black Paintings.

Information:     Important: Closing of the Queen's State Apartment for renovation works We strongly advise against high-heeled shoes (parquet flooring in the rooms and cobblestones in the courtyard) Strollers are not permitted inside the palace Access to the palace is challenging for those with reduced mobility  Photography without flash is permitted inside the palace Tuesday mornings are not recommended due to the high number of visitors  The skip-the-line access is subject to the Versailles Palace procedures: The Vigipirate plan, the security control or an unforeseen crowd can slow down the entrance  On-site visit duration: 2h Languages Available: English and Spanish : Every departure Italian : Wednesday and Sunday German: Tuesday, Friday French: Saturday Portuguese: Thursday Japanese : Tuesday 

Participants should plan on spending 1 to 1.5 hours at Dolphins Plus from arrival to departure. Participants must understand English or bring someone that can translate in order to take part in the swim program. Participants should be comfortable in water that is 12 - 15 feet deep. Swimmers must be at least 7 years old to participate. A participating parent or guardian, age 18 or older must accompany swimmers age 7 to 9 years. Swimmers age 10 to 17 must be accompanied at the facility by a participating or non- swimming parent/ guardian age 18 or older, but can enter the water independently. Pregnant women are unable to participate in our in-water encounters. If any members of your party have special needs please contact us before completing your booking  

Your Hot Air Balloon adventure begins when you meet your Pilot and Flight Crew. At the launch site, your flight crew will brief you on your upcoming balloon adventure. Then, you will watch with awe as your balloon takes shape before your eyes, ultimately standing more than 10 stories tall. Once fully inflated and ready for take off, you climb into the gondola and begin the adventure of a lifetime. During your flight you will get a spectacular bird's eye view of the gorgeous Red Rock Mountains and the famous Las Vegas Strip. You will drift silently over the Vegas Valley with 360 degree, unobstructed views of the world famous Las Vegas Strip, Red Rock Conservation Area and surrounding suburbs. After drifting serenely for approximately an hour you prepare for landing. Once on the ground, you will indulge in the oldest of ballooning traditions, a champagne toast, and revel in the peace, tranquility and beauty that you never before knew existed. For ballooning light winds are required, good visibility and no precipitation. You will fly at approximately 1000 feet. The flights are approximately one hour in length, however you are required you for up to 4 hours in total for the entire adventure. Since you will fly with the prevailing winds, the flight patterns and landing sites vary due to the changing wind directions. There is very little feeling of movement or sensation of height. Our Safety Pledge Your safety is our main concern, so we reserve the right to cancel a flight due to adverse weather conditions or safety reasons. All flights must adhere to all FAA safety standards for passenger-carrying commercial balloon operations. We don’t anticipate flight delays, however if the pilot requires more time to see how the weather is developing, it is possible that your flight might be put on hold. If that happens, you will be instructed to phone back at a later time that day for an update. *Please note all passengers must have a signed liability waiver in order to fly.  **Please also note that ballooning is extremely weather dependent.  We require less than 8 knots of wind, in addition to no impending storms.  Safety is our number one priority.  Vegas Balloon Rides reserves the right to cancel a flight due to weather conditions or other safety reasons that could affect the safety of the flight.   Passenger Limitations:  Passengers must be in good physical condition.  All passengers must be able to climb in and out of the basket, stand for the entire flight and walk out of a field if necessary.  We cannot fly any passenger who has had recent surgery, injuries, hip, back, or knee problems.  Health concerns, physical limitations, is/or may be pregnant or has severe auditory restrictions.  Please note:  Children must be a minimum of 10 years of age and accompanied by an adult. 

Shearwater is a classic Newport-style schooner yacht, only recently recognized as a national landmark in 2009.  The vessel was built by Rice Brother Corporation in East Boothbay, Maine, back in a time when yachting was a rare combination of elegance and adventure; Rice Bros. were well known for building luxury pleasure yachts and produced some 4,000 hulls over a period of 64 years. The keel was laid down on January 4, 1929 and a news clip from the Boothbay Register reflects alongside a photograph "Tyler Hodgon at the old Tide Mill is getting out timbers for the schooner to be built at Rice’s. Vessel to be built of native white oak." Traditionally built from hand-hewn native white oak, she was the last boat to be constructed at that yard - likely due to the ensuing Great Depression brought on by the Stock Market Crash that occurred later that autumn.  East Boothbay was a small coastal town with shipbuilding being its only industry. About 40 workmen were employed for the construction of SHEARWATER. Her designer Theodore Donald Wells was born in Hudson Falls, N Y on October 22, 1875. He was a naval architect and marine engineer, a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and also the Institute of Naval Architects London. His education included post-graduate work at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He began his career as a member of the firm Herreshoff and Wells, N. Y. City in 1902. Working with Herreshoff no doubt had an influence on his designs, which bear similarities to many of the famous Herreshoff designed yachts of that time. From 1903 to 1907 he worked for Wintringham and Wells and then began practicing his profession under his own name. Mr. Wells joined the Navy Department in March 1917 and became Superintending Constructor of the Baltimore District U. S. N. Notable yachts designed and constructed under his supervision are "Viking" a 272 foot steel motor yacht built for George F. Baker in 1929 by Newport News and "Karina" a three masted schooner built for Robert E. Tod in 1932 by Staten Island Shipbuilding. Mr. Tod was a well-known offshore yachtsman as was his former yacht ‘Thistle", which competed in the Emperors Cup ocean race. SHEARWATER was launched on May 4, 1929 and photographs in the Boothbay Register reflect her graceful and elegant lines. Her first Captain, Leon Esterbrook of Edgarton, MA, arrived to take charge of the fitting out. Her owner Charles E Dunlap was a member of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, NY and this became SHEARWATER’s first homeport after her completion in late September 1929. It was there in Oyster Bay that she first started to thrill those who sailed in luxury aboard her and those who were privileged to crew her on race day. Since her launching and documentation in Lloyd’s Register of American Yachts in 1929, she has had a colorful history and has been carefully maintained and restored to standards that few contemporary vessels are able to match and is truly a piece of American Maritime History. On November 7, 1942 SHEARWATER was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and became a member of The United States Coast Guard’s Coastal Picket Patrol during World War Two. She was painted gray and bore the numbers CG67004. Based at Little Creek, Virginia she patrolled the waters east of the Chesapeake Bay entrance and south towards Cape Hatteras. Her skipper during that period reflected on how they used their free time while out on submarine patrol to race against other yachts and in his own words "sailed in tandem with the schooner Lord Jim, racing in and out of port, up and down the east coast and winning." She was designed and built as a gaff rigged schooner but during this period was changed to a Marconi rig. She carries over 2,550 square feet while under full sail. A true veteran world cruiser, she first transited the Panama Canal in July 1946 and in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s completed a two and a half-year global circumnavigation. In December 1971 Mrs. John B. Thayer of Rosemont, wife of a former trustee and treasurer, donated SHEARWATER to the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Environmental Medicine. She was used by the university as a laboratory for research on physiological responses to the stresses of living and working underwater. Captained by James Shearson, she was fitted with compressors, generators, monitoring instruments and a small decompression chamber. She has participated in many Ancient Mariner and Classic yacht races in U S waters as well as racing in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand while on her circumnavigation in the early 1980’s. It is rumored she was once dismasted in the famous Newport to Bermuda race. She was last raced by the current owners in San Diego in May 1995 in the American Schooner Cup and finished second overall. She entered the yacht charter industry in 1966 whilst on the West Coast sailing to the Channel Islands and was again used to generate income to keep her shipshape while owned by the University of Pennsylvania. During the chartering industry’s infancy in the Caribbean, SHEARWATER was known as the " Queen of the Fleet". Today she continues this tradition offering the most unique sailing experience and has passed rigid Coast Guard inspections and can carry up to 49 passengers. We welcome you to join us for an excellent opportunity to experience the ambiance of a vintage sailing vessel while delighting in the splendors of The Manhattan sky-line, the Statue of Liberty or the beauty of the oceans beyond.