Jazz Ambassadors: Cold War Diplomacy

A former convent and theatre, the Liceu hasn't always resembled the opera house we see today. Its history is full of ups and downs and mysteries that make this cultural icon a key venue which we invite you to discover on a guided tour of the building. You'll walk through its most representative areas, starting with the historic lobby, in the eclectic Catalan Renaixement style. From there, you'll continue to the auditorium, an exact replica of the impressive horseshoe-shaped hall designed by the architect Miquel Garriga i Roca in 1847. You'll go up to the Hall of Mirrors, an imposing room with a ceiling decorated with allegorical paintings and texts referring to art and music. You'll discover the new foyer, the area where people used to relax during the interval and currently a multi-purpose room which hosts small-scale performances.

Your entire experience will be approximately 1 hour which includes check-in, safety briefing, and 15 – 17 minute helicopter flight. The customer experience center includes; a Chicago history exhibit, flight simulator, helipad viewing lounge, interactive games, and snacks & refreshments available for purchase.  Chicago Helicopter Experience operates a fleet of Airbus AStar helicopters. The aircraft accommodates up to 6 guests plus a pilot per flight and is climate controlled. You will enjoy unobstructed views of the sights with spacious seating and listen to the live tour narration through Bose noise cancelling headsets.  All tours depart and return to Chicago Helicopter Experience Downtown Heliport; 2420 South Halsted St. Free Parking on site. Roundtrip shuttle service is available from downtown hotels for an additional charge. Ticket Terms Maximum weight per passenger is 250 lbs (113kg) Children 3 years old and above Check-in time is 30 minutes prior to schedule tour departure time Passengers under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be permitted to fly – no refund will be given for the cancellation All flight times are approximate and are susceptible to current weather conditions. In the event your flight is cancelled due to inclement weather, your ticket can be rescheduled or refunded for the full amount

Aprenderá sobre la historia de Mont-Roig y le llevaremos a un establecimiento local. La ermita de “Mare de Déu de la Roca” está situada en una pequeña montaña muy erosionada situada atrás del pueblo de Mont-roig, con la capilla de San Ramón situada en lo alto de una cima formada por una roca de arenisca rojiza. La capilla de construyó en el 1.299 para albergar una estatua de madera de la Virgen María que se veneraba allí. Aun se pueden ver las ruinas del castillo, y las fechas de 1655 y 1785 están inscritas en la puerta de entrada, lo que demuestra que el sitio se amplió a medida que se hizo más popular como un lugar de peregrinación.

Click here for a complete list of current attractions included with the Hollywood Explorer Pass Frequently Asked Questions Is this just a discount card? Will I still need to buy tickets? No. Passes include admission to each attraction; no need to pay anything at the gate. Some attractions may offer upgrades or special exhibits for an additional fee. Do I need to choose my attractions in advance? Nope, choose as you go. The pass is good for any combination of the number of attractions you purchased. My child is under 3 years old. Can I get them a Hollywood Explorer Pass? Child Passes are recommended for children ages 3-12. Many attractions offer free admission for younger children. Please consult the attraction websites for more details. How will I get my pass? When your order is complete you will receive an email with printable and Smartphone version of your pass. There is nothing to Redeem, you can go right to first attraction you want to visit and start using your card immediately. How do I activate my pass? Easy: simply visit your first attraction! Is the pass valid all day? You bet! Feel free to visit the attractions any time of the day as long as they are open or operating. What is your refund policy? Our Risk Free Guarantee gives you one year from your purchase date to return any non-activated passes for a full refund. How much will I save? Compare the price of the pass to the gate prices of the attractions you want to visit to see how much you can save. Many customers save 43%.  We give you the flexibility to create your own itinerary and choose the attractions you want to visit depending on your interests. Can I visit an attraction more than once? No. Your pass includes only one visit per attraction. Can I purchase passes on the spur of the moment when I arrive in Hollywood? Of course! With instant digital delivery, you can purchase and access passes right on your mobile device. Or, visit one of our local purchase locations. Does a Hollywood Explorer Pass expire? Yes. You have one year from the date of purchase to begin using your pass. After one year, it will expire. Do I need to make reservations to visit the attractions? Attractions that require a reservation will display this symbol on the guidebook page.  Some attractions require a credit card to hold a reservation. In these cases, your credit card will not be charged unless you do not show up for your reservation. What’s the catch? There’s no catch. Hollywood Explorer Pass has a partnership with all of the participating attractions to make your visit to Hollywood as memorable as possible and to help you save time and money. Can I share my pass with a friend or sell it? No. The Hollywood Explorer Pass is non-transferrable and may not be re-sold. What happens if an attraction is closed or a tour is cancelled due to weather or other problem? While we do our best to ensure that all attractions are available, events happen that are out of our control. The great thing about a Hollywood Explorer Pass is that there are so many attractions to choose from. If an attraction is closed, or cannot be visited for some reason, we know you'll find a fun alternative in your guidebook!  

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.

Trip style: Walking tour, neighbourhood tour Language Tour: English Full Itinerary Strap on your walking shoes for what’s sure to be the most epic tour of Detroit’s historic Corktown this side of Michigan Avenue. We’ll start on a block that has been key to Corktown’s revival, where BBQ, burgers, coffee, and craft cocktails beckon crowds of hungry and thirsty Detroiters. From here, you’ll take in the contrasting views of Detroit’s highs and lows. We’ll walk toward the massive Michigan Central Railroad Station, left for ruin and a symbol of the decline of Detroit. We’ll get a good look at this hulking structure, which has been ranked as one of the “must-see” abandoned buildings in the world. To contrast that, we’ll continue our Detroit walking tour past the charming, colourful Victorian houses of residential Corktown. This is Detroit’s oldest neighbourhood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Your guide will point out some local faves, like a charming Irish tavern, an indie record store, a great deli, and a popular new brewpub. We’ll also hear about the new microbrewery, start-up hub, and technology center that are helping to define Corktown as the neighbourhood to know. Along the way, your local guide will point out an early 19th-century church that’s one of oldest churches in Detroit. Hopefully by this point you’ve worked up an appetite for a visit to the new Detroit Institute of Bagels — yes, it’s as official as it sounds and for you bagel snobs out there (we see you, New York), they take traditional bagel-making seriously. Start your seventh-inning stretch as we return to Michigan Avenue for a mile-long stroll past The Greening of Detroit office (and learn a little about their tree-planting and beautification efforts), and to Ernie Harwell Park, the gone-but-not-forgotten former home of the Detroit Tigers. This was the home field for baseball greats like Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, and Al Kaline, and is where Nelson Mandela spoke shortly after his release from prison in South Africa. We’ll be sure to stop by Detroit Athletic Co. that started as a humble peanut stand and has grown to provide the best selection of sports swag. Along our Corktown tour, you’ll hear about the local funky spot for live music and art shows, and a favourite shop where you can get a “Coney dog” without having to go to Coney Island. Your local guide will also point out where to get some crazy-good shawarma sandwiches that Detroiters absolutely love, as well as epic burgers, wine, and charcuterie. Our colourful Detroit tour ends at a pot of gold in the Gaelic League Irish-American Club of Detroit. You may be a wee bit thirsty by the time we arrive, so we’ve got you covered with a complimentary half-pint. After the tour has officially ended, you’re free to stay at the Gaelic League for more beer or some Irish whiskey, or maybe you’ll want to visit the tasting room at Two James Distillery, or visit Batch Brewing Co., Brew Detroit, or one of the other great bars in Corktown. If all those foodie spots we passed have your stomach rumbling, your guide can point the way. Just ask them for a recap of the local lunch-and-a-pint haunts that make Corktown pop!