Paris journal in the Cloud

I am experimenting a little bit with the Journal feature available in the IOS version of iPhoto.

Too bad that this feature is not available in the Mac version of iPhoto or even in Aperture but I hope that Apple will soon add this feature to those Mac apps.

Here is the Paris Black and White Journal that I published a few minutes ago.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. 

The Paris Pass

Did I mention that Paris is the most visited city in the World and that you are going to spend forever in lines if you don't plan your trip carefully?

I bought the Paris Pass for us prior to our trip and it was great. We skipped lines at the Louvre, D'Orssay and Rodin Museums and that saved us precious vacation time.

The Paris' Metro

The best way to get everywhere in Paris is to take the Metro (Subway). I Guarantee that there's a Metro station a few meters away where you are staying and also a few meters away from your desired destination. If you own an iPhone you may want to buy the Guide Metro Paris app that is extremely easy to use. You just select your departing station and your destination station and the app will show you where you have to change stations, estimated travel time, etc. Very convenient.

 

Skipping lines in Paris

Paris is the most visited city in the World and there are very long lines at the main attractions and you may be in line forever before you are able to see what you really want to see. We booked a Skip the line Eiffell Tower tour with Fat Tire folks and it was a great investment. We probably had no more than 20 people in our group and did not spend any time in line at all. We took the elevator to the second level and our guide knew her way around and was extremely helpful. Totally recommend their services.

Tallinn - Estonia

We spent only one day visiting Tallinn (Estonia) but really enjoyed it.

Here are a couple of pictures I took over there:

Almost midnight in Paris

Did not see any old cars going by.

Dining table view yesterday

Paris

Paris is such a fantastic place.

Here are a few suggestions to help you enjoy your visit:

Tip #1:
The Metro will take you everywhere.
If you own an iPhone look for the free Metro app that will help you navigate the Metro network. Clean and safe.

Tip # 2:
Buy a Paris pass as that will give you priority access to tons of museums.

We skipped a huge line at the Louvre yesterday. The less time you spend in line the more time you will have to see other places you want to see.

Next trip

Getting ready for our next trip.

My wife does a good job packing everything and I only take care of packing the camera and other gadgets.

Can't wait to travel again.

San Francisco's Street car

I love the San Francisco Street cars.

They do a great job keeping a piece of history as part of the transit system over there.

Expedia and Mr Toad fiasco in San Francisco

We bought our San Francisco trip via Expedia.ca and we also bought a city tour and Alcatraz tickets as part of the package. We are three people and placed an order for three peole but Expedia's supplier only delivered two Alcatraz tickets instead of the needed three tickets and tried to convince me to take two tickets even though they could see that we were three people.

They old me that they would refund me the tickets but when I asked for a receipt all they did was to right on my voucher that I refused the two tickets that they had for me.

I then called Expedia and the agent whi answered my call was unable to contact the vendor and I had to let the vendor and expedia talk with each other on my cell.

I will not be able to go to Alcatraz as tickets are sold out and that's because Expedia.ca and Mr Toad failed to deliver what I paid for.

The Expedia call centre agent was useless.

Landing in San Francisco

This plane was landing beside us in San Francisco. Pretty cool to see but felt a little to close. Picture taken with my iPhone.

San Francisco

We got to San Francisco yesterday and the plan is to spend 5 days here but you can easily spend 5 years in San Francisco and don't experience everything that this city has to offer.

We took a ciry tour yesterday in one of those double deck buses and it was great to see the city highlights as that gave us some ideas about what to do next.

The tour guide recommended The Blue Mermaid as a great place for Clam Chowder and we were very pleased with the recommendation.

We are staying at the Fisherman's Wharf Holiday Inn and the hotel is clean, comfortable and just a couple of blocks away to some of the city best attractions.