Liberty Helicopters - Big Apple

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.

The Paris Museum Pass will allow you free entry, without queuing and as many times as you like, to more than 60 museums (permanent collections) and monuments in Paris and the surrounding region. HIGHLIGHTS Visit Paris monuments and museums as much as you like Gain free entry Avoid queues and cash desk Avalailable in Paris and surrounding   You will be given a flyer gathering all you need to know about the featured museums and monuments The Paris Museum Pass includes entrance tickets in about 50 monuments and museums, among the followings :  In Paris: Orsay Museum / Notre Dame de Paris Towers / Conciergerie / Arc of Triumph / Panthéon / Quai Branly Museum / Rodin Museum / Pompidou center ... Paris surroundings: Vincennes Castle / Chantilly Castle / Saint Denis Cathedral / Rambouillet Castle / Versailles Palace and Trianons / Fontainebleau Castle   Included : 2 days pass available for 2 consecutive days from the first use   Information : Exchange your printed voucher at PARISCityVISION and get the pass, 2 rue des Pyramides 75001 Paris Metro : Pyramides, Palais Royal, Tuileries   Why not combine your visit to Paris with a nice Lunch or Dinner in Paris, check our selection Eat in Paris !   Entry to museums is free for children under 18 - You will not require to purchase a ticket.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The newly renovated Orlando Odditorium showcases hundreds of unbelievable exhibits including dozens of amazing new exhibits including: - An actual human shrunken head - A Peel Trident car (the smallest production car in the world) - A portrait of singer Beyonce made entirely from candy - A “Wall-E” robot replica made from car parts - A 25-foot high mural of Jimi Hendrix made from more than 8,500 playing cards - A very rare fossil of a T-Rex foot and lower leg - Multiple miniatures that visitors can view through a magnifying glass - A stuffed Alligator Gar that measures more than 8 feet long - A balloon-powered chair that flew over the Rocky Mountains - A dog sculpture made entirely of clothes pins - New optical illusions, word puzzles and brain teasers - Several new wax figures that visitors can take photos with - A new shooting gallery for visitors to take aim and fire at different odd targets​ Wonderworks Orlando: Wonderworks features over 100 interactive exhibits for visitors of all ages to experience. Some of the exhibits include the death defying bed-of-nails, wonder coasters, a bubble lab, and indoor glow-in-the-dark ropes course, astronaut training gyros and more! WonderWorks Orlando began as a Top Secret research laboratory on a remote island in the Bermuda Triangle. As legend has it, the world’s greatest scientists – led by Professor Wonder – were given the task of creating a man-made tornado and harnessing the POWER of it. During this experiment, something went awry and the power of the tornado was unleashed throughout the laboratory. This created a swirling vortex that was strong enough to rip the laboratory from its foundation. It was carried thousands of miles away and landed upside-down on the top of a brick warehouse in Orlando, Florida. Remarkably, all of the experiments remained intact and functional. When you enter the building, everything will be upside-down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Step inside the inversion tunnel and be turned right side up to begin your journey. Once you are properly aligned for your adventure, family fun awaits with more than 100 hands on exhibits.

FUN AND EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES TO DISCOVER FRENCH WINE The French Wine Experience was created by people who think wine culture needs to be fun and relaxed. They transformed an 18th century Royal wine cellar into a maze of rooms that will surprise, enchant and stimulate you. The French Wine Experience is truly unique and possibly a little crazy. NEW IN PARIS – 1 mn walk from the Louvre Museum DISCOVER EVERYTHING ABOUT FRENCH WINE  SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE IN AN HISTORICAL VENUE  GUIDED VISIT including GAMES, QUIZZES, VIDEOS etc... FRENCH WINE TASTING WITH A SOMMELIER at the end of the visit TERROIRS ROOM The idea here is to start at the beginning. Visitors will discover the most sought after slices of earth in all of France, and learn how this soil nourishes the vine, which in turn, gives the grapes their unique taste... This room is about discovering the very genesis of wine, where the grape-grower works the soil and the vine in effort to produce magnificent grapes. AROMAS ROOM Wine is a sensory adventure and here, they would like to propose that you stimulate a sense often overlooked: the sense of smell. Take the wood cork and bring it to your nose. The game begins: can you name the aromas in each cork? Do you have the stuto be a great taster? Do you enjoy discovering the great families of wine aromas (fruity, mineral, empyreumatic...) as well as identifying the classic defects in wine ?? Off to the corks ! THE LABORATORY In this new, majestic room, the adventure continues and this time, it is taste we are going to stimulate. Can you name the primary types of taste (salty, sweet, bitter, acidic... and also umami) ? In order to progress in wine, take the opportunity to taste the solutions marked withterms such as 'woody', 'round' or 'fresh'. SOUNDS OF WINE Sounds in the world of wine The pop of a cork as the bottle opens, the cling of glasses being toasted, the soft murmur of Champagne bubbles...Can you recognize the different elements in the soundtrack of this room? The sounds of wine invite us to learn about different types of bottles and corks.  LABELS ROOM This magnificent room is dedicated to sight. Sight is the  initial contact with a wine: the color of a wine itself colors a new story for us each time. But it's also the label, sometimes legendary, sometimes complicated, and sometimes amusing. Learn here how to better interpret wine labels! CHEERS! Well, that's it! Your five senses have been stimulated - who knew learning could be so fun! You are now ready for the grand finale: the tasting! Our jolly and joyful sommelier is at your service not only to serve you, but also to answer any questions! While tasting, continue to learn and to have fun and above all, do not forget to take a detour into the  photobooth inside the big barrel... 

Must be booked 24 hours in advance. For ages 12 and up. Maximum 4 people per party. As a keeper for a day you will help with everything from preparing diets, feeding our animals, as well as training and enrichment with our exotic animals. If you were ever interested in a career working with animals this is your chance to experience it!

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