The Four Seasons Sydney! I could do the usual hotel review and tell you all about this luxurious 5 Star hotel in Sydney, but instead, I will tell you what I loved about it! (Check out the hotel facts at the Four Seasons, Hotel Facts). [Read more…] about What I Love about The Four Seasons Sydney
Check out my Tour of The Rocks in Sydney!
Australia has a fascinating history. Many of those who settled Australia were convicts, sentenced to be “transported” by England, did you know that? I wanted to learn more about this history so I took a tour with The Rocks Walking Tours, located on Harrington Street, in The Rocks. They were recommended to me by the concierge at the Four Seasons Sydney, and I was very happy with the tour! It was so fascinating! [Read more…] about Taking a Tour of The Rocks in Sydney
I left my heart in San Francisco long ago….it is one of my favorite cities on the planet. Nothing says San Francisco like the Golden Gate Bridge! So here are 14 Facts, Six Things to Do and 24 Ways to See It From Every Angle!
Fourteen Little-Known Facts:
A bridge across the Golden Gate Strait was first proposed in 1872 and championed by railroad mogul Charles Crocker but the idea didn’t catch on.
Chief engineer Joseph Strauss’ first design, in 1921, was rejected as too ugly.
The great California nature photographer Ansel Adams worried that building a bridge across the Golden Gate would ruin the beauty of the place. When Adams saw the finished Golden Gate Bridge, he changed his mind.
Eleven men died in accidents during construction, 10 of them on the same day. Another 19 workers caught by a safety net below the bridge were dubbed members of the “Halfway to Hell Club.”
The Navy suggested that the bridge be painted in black and yellow stripes. The Army Air Corps wanted candy cane red and white stripes. The signature International Orange hue was actually the color of the primer. Consulting architect Irving Morrow successfully lobbied for the bridge to be permanently painted International Orange.
According to urban legend, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously, end-to-end. Not so. The bridge is painted and touched up according to need.
Fifty thousand people walked across the new bridge on May 26, 1937. It was opened to motor vehicles the next day. On May 24, 1987, some 300,000 people squeezed onto the bridge for a 50th birthday party called Bridgewalk 87. The weight of bridge walkers that day caused the roadway to sag in the middle by 7 feet, but bridge engineers said the structure always remained safe.
The six-lane bridge is 1.7 miles long, linking San Francisco on the south with Marin County on the north.
Total cost of construction was $35 million.
The bridge weighs 887,700 tons, after shedding 12,300 tons when the roadway was replaced in the 1980s.
The two main suspension cables use a combined 80,000 miles of wire. Looped around the Earth’s equator in a single strand, it would circle the planet three times.
The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. It is now the ninth-longest.
By 2015, more than 2 billion motor vehicles had passed over the Golden Gate Bridge
Six Ways to Visit:
Visiting the Golden Gate Bridge is a great experience but needn’t end with the bridge itself. There’s a wide range of things to do within walking distance of the bridge.
Marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge Strauss Plaza
Approaching from San Francisco heading north, visitors come to the Golden Gate Bridge Strauss Plaza, a handsome gateway named for the bridge’s dynamic first chief engineer, Joseph Strauss. The plaza, opened in 2012 just southeast of the bridge toll stations, includes the Bridge Pavilion, the Round House Café and a small parking lot. Approaching from Marin County heading south, the parking lot is accessed from the bridge’s far-right lane via the Merchant Road exit.
Buy Gifts at The Bridge Pavilion
The Bridge Pavilion, a glassy modern building in signature International Orange, is the place to go for branded Golden Gate Bridge merchandise. This attractive visitors’ center highlights orientation and interpretive information about the bridge and its construction from 1933 to 1937 and offers views of the bridge and the Pacific Ocean.
Eat at the Round House Café
The neighboring Round House Café, a circular 1938 Art Deco building, was reopened in 2015 as a contemporary eatery. The café offers barista service behind large, view-friendly windows and a classic roadside menu of clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, apple pie, hot dogs and the motorist’s friend, hot coffee. All are sourced from Bay Area companies.
Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
The Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio, located inland and south of the bridge in a repurposed heritage building on the expansive, eye-pleasing former Army base offers an engaging variety of changing, interactive exhibits about the famed movie studio and its entrepreneurial founder, appealing to children and adults.
Wander Down to Crissy Field
Another lure is waterside Crissy Field, the Presidio’s transformed former airfield, located downhill and to the east of the bridge. It includes a popular and helpfully flat pathway. It winds past beaches and restored sand dunes studded with native plants all the way to Fort Point, which affords commanding views of the world-famous bridge from the water’s edge.
Look out at the Bridge from Battery Spencer and Vista Point
On the Marin side, aptly named Vista Point overlooks the bay, the bridge and the city skyline from just off the bridge’s east sidewalk. From the west, head up Cozelman Road to Battery Spencer, a reinforced concrete battery that was a part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.
Run along Baker Beach
Stretching a mile below the rugged cliffs on the Presidio’s western shoreline, Baker Beach’s spectacular outside-the-Gate views of the Bridge and the Marin Headlands are unsurpassed. The beach lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city. It is roughly a half mile long, beginning just south of Golden Gate Point (where the Golden Gate Bridge connects with the peninsula), extending southward toward the Seacliff peninsula.
See It From Every Angle:
Go Over the Bridge
The famed bridge gets 10 million visitors a year. Most drive across on U.S. Highway 101. A $7.25 toll for 2-axle vehicles is paid electronically at the San Francisco end. Limited paid parking is available in the compact lot southeast of the San Francisco toll plaza. In the northeast lot at Vista Point on the Marin County side, parking is free for up to four hours. (Both lots may be closed at major holidays.)
Bridge crossings can be made by tour bus, taxi, ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft and public transit. The hop-on/hop-off, open-top Big Bus includes a Sausalito and bridge tour with a Dynamite ticket. City Sightseeing San Francisco’s Sausalito Loop crosses the bridge in both directions. Gray Line’s Sausalito Loop includes a bridge crossing. Golden Gate Transit buses and San Francisco Muni buses stop at the San Francisco toll plaza, where visitors can get off to walk or cycle the bridge, toll-free.
Walkers and bicyclists share the east sidewalk overlooking San Francisco Bay and bicyclists also use the west sidewalk on the ocean side. San Francisco City Guides lead richly informative and free bridge walks. DYI walking and cycling give easy access to nearby scenic attractions like the California Coastal Trail in San Francisco and the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker in Marin County.
Leading bike rental companies, some of which organize bridge rides include: Blazing Saddles, Bay City Bikes, Bike and Roll San Francisco, Bike and View, Golden Gate Park – Bike & Skate , Park Wide Bike Rentals & Tours, Spinlister and Sports Basement – Gear, Apparel and Bike Rental. Some bicycle tours end in Sausalito and offer the option of returning to San Francisco by ferry.
Go Above the Bridge
Want to see the sights from on high? San Francisco Helicopters offers view-friendly flights above the bridge on their Vista Grande option.
Go Under the Bridge
Going under the bridge allows visitors to appreciate its immensity and brilliant architecture. Walkers can pause under the span at Fort Point. Blue & Gold Fleet’s San Francisco Cruise Adventure sails under the bridge from Fisherman’s Wharf, as does Red and White Fleet’s Bridge2Bridge Cruise. City Kayak has a Golden Gate Bridge Trip from Crissy Field for advanced sea kayakers. Hornblower Cruises & Events showcases stupendous views of the bridge. Adventure Cat takes swift sailing catamarans under the bridge and around the bay. Also check out the Events calendar on Tideline Water Taxi’s website for their Golden Gate Bridge Float Cruise which departs from Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon.
Over, under or across — no matter what the approach, the Golden Gate Bridge always enthralls.
The San Francisco Travel Association is the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco. For information on reservations, activities and more, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel, read the Visitors Planning Guide or call 415-391-2000. San Francisco Travel also operates Visitor Information Centers at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market Street at the corner of Powell and Market streets and on the lower level of Macy’s Union Square. For more information, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop flights to more than 40 international cities on 34 international carriers. The Bay Area’s largest airport connects non-stop with 77 cities in the U.S. on 13 domestic airlines. SFO offers free upgraded Wi-Fi with no advertising.
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I cannot believe I have never been to Hawaii, but when I go, I plan to go with Outrigger. Outrigger Resorts is synonymous with warm hospitality in iconic beachfront destinations, where local culture meets world class hospitality – like Waikiki Beach on the island of Oahu where there are only seven true beachfront properties and two of those resorts proudly fly the Outrigger Resorts banner. The Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort and the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort offer guests the perfect beachfront setting and heartfelt hospitality in The Outrigger Way, with each providing a multitude of opportunities for guests to immerse themselves in the local culture, offering a compelling guest experience and distinctive sense of place.
VOYAGER 47
Outrigger Resorts has opened its first branded Voyager 47 Club Lounge in Hawaii. Located at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, the Voyager 47 Club Lounge is available exclusively to guests staying in the resort’s Voyager 47 Club suites or Voyager 47 Club oceanfront rooms. The premier club lounge is located on the 3rd level of the resort’s Diamond Head building with both indoor and outdoor seating available and an expansive deck that overlooks Waikiki Beach with spectacular views of the blue Pacific, iconic Diamond Head and colorful Hawaiian sunsets in the evening. Premium refreshments and elevated amenities are available that allow guests to discover specially curated localized experiences. Club level guests are invited to start their day with a “Sunrise Invitation for Exploration,” a locally inspired tasting menu, including premium Kona coffee, as they review expert advice for their day’s travels. Before leaving the lounge, guests can take a local snack to-go.
The “Signature Sunset Celebration” is an early evening reception that welcomes guests back to the resort for a night of rejuvenation and relaxation. Guests can enjoy light snacks, cocktails, and a specialty draft bar by Kona Brewing Company that features seasonal brews, other spirits by local distillers and mixology specialties created for Voyager 47. In addition to the Voyager 47 Club Lounge at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, current lounges at the Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort in Thailand and Outrigger Guam Resort will soon be rebranded, with more premier club lounges to come at other Outrigger Resorts properties.
OUTRIGGER RESORTS JOINS GLOBAL HOTEL ALLIANCE
Outrigger Resorts has joined Global Hotel Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands with 33 brands and more than 500 hotels spread across 76 countries in its portfolio.The integration of Outrigger Resorts into GHA will be completed by early fall, at which time DISCOVERY members will be recognized and rewarded across the Outrigger Resorts portfolio of premiere beachfront properties located in some of the world’s most iconic beachfront locations, including Hawaii, Guam, Fiji, Thailand, Mauritius and the Maldives.
OZONE – OUTRIGGER RESORTS’ GLOBAL CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
OZONE, which stands for Outrigger’s ZONE, is the hospitality company’s global conservation initiative centered on preserving coral reefs around the world and specifically waters fronting its nine premier beachfront resorts. Outrigger works with like-minded partners on OZONE to protect and preserve coral reef systems by promoting conservation initiatives and public education. Outrigger’s OZONE partners include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (U.S.), Polynesian Voyaging Society (Hawaii), Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (Hawaii), Waikiki Aquarium (Hawaii), Underwater World (Guam), Mamanuca Environment Society (Fiji), Reef Conservation Mauritius, Best Dives Maldives and The Phuket Marine Conservation Biological Center (Thailand), including the Waikiki Aquarium and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
OZONE ECO ADVENTURE PACKAGE
Outrigger Resorts has introduced an exclusive OZONE Eco Adventure Package at its two Waikiki beachfront properties in Hawaii – Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort and Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, to encourage guests to get into the water and experience the wonder and beauty of the Pacific Ocean. The OZONE Eco Adventure Package features a buy one get one free Snorkel Eco-Adventure Sail Tour, two admission tickets to the Waikiki Aquarium and an in-room welcome gift that includes reef-friendly sunscreen, swim goggles to provide swimmers a clear underwater view, a dive mesh bag to help with collecting plastics and other manmade materials found in the ocean or on the beach and a 2017 OZONE Ocean Life calendar. Pricing for the OZONE Eco-Adventure Package starts from $239 USD per room, per night (taxes and fees not included). Reservations can be made online at outrigger.com/ozone, by phone at 1-800-688-7444 or by contacting your preferred travel professional.
HAWAIIAN VOW RENEWALS
Lovebirds traveling to Waikiki can renew their vows in a unique Hawaiian ceremony, with the rising sun, the ocean and the beach as witnesses, during a beachfront vow renewal ceremony available exclusively to guests of the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort and Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort. The unique cultural ceremony opens with a traditional Hawaiian chant to cleanse the past, present and future so that love may reign. Couples then exchange vows in the Hawaiian language and a gentle sprinkling of seawater preserves their love everlasting. Sealed with a kiss, the ceremony concludes with a performance of the beautiful Hawaiian Wedding Song, accompanied by a hula. A commemorative certificate is presented to each couple as a memento of the special memory. Couples can sign up to participate at their respective hotel’s concierge or front desk by 3 p.m. on the day prior to the ceremony or they can contact the hotel prior to arrival to get their names onto the list. Space is limited so early registration is recommended.
BE PART OF OUTRIGGER’S SOCIAL OHANA
Join Outrigger’s social network to Find Out. Find Outrigger!
Twitter: @OutriggerResort
Instagram: @OutriggerResorts
Facebook: facebook.com/OutriggerResorts.
Buccano’s at Night is a restaurant in Cozumel that is open only Friday and Saturday evenings. Believe me, one looks forward to the weekend in Cozumel!
A beach club by day, Buccano turns into a fine dining experience on Fridays and Saturdays. The Caribbean Sea laps quietly at the shore while torches and glittery lights give it atmosphere. Foodies, the food is absolutely out of this world! I recently went to Cozumel for 2 weeks, and I ate at Buccanos twice. Here’s why:
I have written about Buccanos at Night prior to this post, but the location and food are so fabulous that I just had to show it to you again!
As a frequent traveler I always have problems deciding on which shoes to take. Shoes are bulky and heavy, and it is so frustrating trying to fit them all in. Those days are over for me, as I have discovered the solution: Onesole!
Dominique McClain Barteet, RPh. invented Onesole shoes when she bought three of the same shoes in different colors. Onesole–Quick Change Artist is her brainchild, and I only wish she had discovered it sooner! I wanted to try some for myself while traveling, and Onesole was kind enough to allow me to review them. They are fabulous!
The way it works is this: buy one or two soles, and as many tops as you want! I chose black, seastars, glitter, and leather strappies. Four looks and only one sole. As you can see above, they are packaged perfectly for traveling. I wore my seastar tops on the plane and tucked the other three tops in my luggage. Easy!
Dominique has been on Shark Tank with her Onesoles, and the product is sold in over 80 countries and features over 3000 different tops and over 20 sole bases! The online store is www.onesolestore.com. Your choices are amazing! And one of the very best reasons to buy Onesoles? They are made in the good old USA, and we all know how rare that is these days!
And here is the funny thing: my cousin met me in Cozumel for a week of diving, and I excitedly showed her my new shoes. She showed me her shoes…they were Onesole! We both wore our Onesole shoes all over Cozumel! She said she’d had them for several months and whenever she travels, they go with her! Great minds think alike.
Whether you are a traveler or not, you really do want to try these shoes! They are incredibly versatile. The soles are so comfy, and conform to your feet as you wear them. In 3 weeks I will be off on a month long journey, from chilly Sydney, Australia (it is winter there) to Nusa Penida and Seminyak, Bali, to Komodo, to Cairns, Australia and the Great Barrier Reef! You will see photos of my shoes all along the way! I’m serious, so FOLLOW ME on Twitter (@TravelwithTam), Instagram (@TravelswithTam) and Facebook (Travels with Tam). And don’t forget to FOLLOW @Onesoleshoes on Twitter, @Onesoleshoes on Instagram, and Onesole Quick Change Artist on Facebook!
