Gray Line CitySightseeing NY - Night Tour [NT/HL]

The tour starts at the Turia gardens, a beautifully landscaped park built on the dried-up river that used to wind its way through the city. Pedal past the main monuments of this sophisticated city, including its splendid and rather unique-looking cathedral, which while mainly Gothic with early Romanesque influences also has Renaissance, baroque and neo-classical features.  See the imposing Torres de Quart, the bustling Central Market and the buzzing Carme district, heading for Valencia’s newest landmark, the ultra-modern City of the Arts and Sciences. Then, if you wish, on the way back we'll stop at a local bar for a well-earned drink. ​

This is a wonderful alternative to an airboat ride … quiet, peaceful and surreal. Enjoy a leisurely paddle with a naturalist guide in a very unique part of the Everglades. Throughout the Mangrove forest are brackish "lakes" whose waters are a mix of "sweet" fresh water and salt water. They are nursery grounds for herons, egrets, stilts, ducks, wood storks, spoonbills, alligators, otters and a gamut of fishes. Interconnecting these lakes are narrow, flowing tidal creeks. The mangrove forest grows to the very edge and over the tops of these creeks forming a canopy or a tunnel. The dense canopy regulates moisture and humidity allowing orchids and bromeliads to thrive. The sunlight (or moonlight) shimmering through the canopy, the stillness of the forest vegetation and the sounds of the forest itself, make for a surreal experience in the tunnels. We use single and two person kayaks and you do not need previous kayaking experience.

What you can expect? Do it like “Zorbas the Greek” in the famous film and follow us to a memorable evening full of music and rhythm. Get in the mood and warm up your legs with a short walk through the scenic Areopagitou Street to finally end up to the beautiful theatre where your Greek folk dance class will take place. Our fun and professional dance teacher will take you in a journey to the culture and history behind the Greek folk dances, introducing you smoothly to the energy you need to feel in every step of each dance. Join the dancing circle and hold each other’s hands to follow the steps of the most popular Greek folk dances like “kalamatianos”, “syrtos” and –of course- the very famous “syrtaki”. Having worked your legs off, your dancing adventure will lead you to a traditional place where you will have fun the way Greeks do. With an amazing view of the illuminated Acropolis, you get the chance to experience an original Greek feast or “glendi” in Greek: delicious dinner, punchy wine, Greek music and great company of warmhearted locals will fill up your evening with lots of laughter and dance. Are you ready to have fun like the Greeks do?

Discover the city from a different view as you calmly cruise past Manhattan’s skyline leaving the hustle and bustle behind. See all of the sights down the West side of the island, around Battery Park and up the East side to the United Nations without ever leaving the comfort of your seat. A licensed New York City Tour Guide provides interesting facts about all the sights that make New York City so special. Sights:
Empire State Building
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Governors Island
Brooklyn Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
United Nations
New York Skyline
South Street Seaport
Ground Zero (World Trade Center site)
Hoboken Pier
Jacob K. Javis Center
Battery Park
Wall Street
Chrysler Building
 and more! ** Does NOT include Bus Tour**

A List Beneath the stars, high up in the hills of the Californian countryside you have been invited to the most exclusive party in town...  The party is filled with the most glamorous and gorgeous A-Listers all waiting to meet you. George Clooney has reserved a space for you on the sofa in the VIP area - sit down next to him and watch as the lights dim and create a romantic setting. Gaze at the stars with Leonardo Di Caprio by the open balcony. Elton John stands at a grand piano, waiting for you to join him to entertain your guests. Madame Tussauds San Francisco is inviting you to this ultimate star-studded party. Film Join the stars on set to recreate some of the most iconic scenes in film history. No homage to San Franciscan movie history would be complete without a scene from both Bullitt and Dirty Harry. Pose with Steve McQueen next to a replica of his green Mustang. Perhaps you feel more comfortable behind the camera? No problem! Steven Spielberg has reserved his Director’s Chair for you on the set of Jurrassic Park! You can also put your own martial arts skills to the test by taking on the kung fu master, Bruce Lee. History and Leaders As you enter the Leaders and History room witness the moment Johan Sutter first discovered gold, setting off a chain reaction that would see the beginning of the great Californian Gold Rush.  Visit Alcatraz prison cell and experience first-hand what it was like to be behind bars on ‘The Rock’, then plan an escape with your friends and hear the sirens go off. Meet Civil Rights campaigner Rosa Parks and join her on a bus ride which changed history! Stand proud with Martin Luther King as he delivers a speech and meet with the Dalai Lama; a man who not only won the Nobel Peace prize but who also influenced the peace loving hippies of 1960s California.  Continue on your epic journey of discovery with a trip to the White House to meet Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America, then finish you trip meeting a couple of the most famous entrepreneurs of the current generation. Spirit of San Francisco A street sign points you in the direction of Haight Asbury where you travel back in time to the era that shaped San Francisco’s liberal attitudes and gave birth to a generation of free thinking idealists and iconic musicians. After a very special welcome from Ed Lee, the Major or San Francisco, you will marvel at grafitti from a local artist as well as become a participant in Harvey Milk's triumphant campaign for equal rights.  As you follow the winding path of Lombard Street you end up outside the Sentinel Building home to Francis Ford Coppola’s movie production company. The man himself is waiting for you outside with his latest film script in hand; perhaps he has you in mind for the leading role!  A short distance away you can hear the faint sounds of music and smell burning campfires. As you investigate closer you step into a living breathing festival. Jimi Hendrix rocks out to Purple Haze on the main stage waiting for you to step in and jam with him. The dominant stance of the iconic Golden Gate bridge frames the middle of this area. As you step through the red arch you step further back in time, witnessing the bridge's construction, before picking up the hose and colour the Coit Tower in beautiful patterns. and many more!! 

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.