Alessandra took her first private flight with her dad as the pilot! One of my husband’s hobbies is flying and he was excited to fly with our daughter as a passenger. Click link to watch the video, it was a fun & memorable experience! Thanks for watching! If you like this video, please Like it & Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive Continue reading
Do you ever take pictures on vacations and then don’t get around to printing the pictures…..or in my case posting them? That is what happened to me with two recent trips we took: Hawaii & Boston. I think I also missed posting the pictures from our visit to Nancy, in France. With digital cameras, I tend to take hundreds of pictures. As a result, it takes me quite a bit of time to look through the pictures and select which ones to share with you, and then actually do the posting. I did mean to write a blog post with the pictures, but then life got in the way 🙂 You know how that goes.
Recently, a friend asked me why I didn’t post the pictures from Hawaii. When I told her, she replied, “you should still post them now.” It is not like the island or beach have changed, ha! So true! The pictures are recent! So, I’ll post the pictures from our trip to Hawaii.
Before this trip, I had never been to Hawaii. When I was single, I’d travel often with friends. When we would plan a vacation and Hawaii would come up as one of the options, we would end up choosing other locations like Europe, Miami, Cabo, or Northern California. I am not a lay on the beach all day, for multiple days, type of a person. Also, for some reason, to me Hawaii seemed like a romantic destination, which it is, but it is also a wonderful destination for a family vacation, surfing trip, or get-away with friends! And, there is a lot to see, historic locations, gorgeous landscapes, cultural venues, tourist locations, excellent shopping and top cuisine restaurants! And, of course some of the most beautiful beaches in the world…with warm water. Would I go back? Most definitely yes!
We visited the island of Oahu. The weather was warm and humid, but bearable, it reminded me of Miami weather. The first day, we checked in, had dinner, and explored the area around the hotel. We were staying right in front of the beach, but also on one of the main streets, with lots of other hotels, shops, and restaurants, so there was a lot to see – and lots of people! It was fun to walk around and see the shops.
As a hobby, my hubby is a pilot. One of our favorite things to do when we visit new cities is make (take) an aerial flight. This was a unique flight because it was around the entire island and in about an hour we flew around Oahu. It was amazing! We saw the landscape, beaches, farms, many homes, Pearl Harbor, tourist destinations, and Disney’s Aulani. I work with the Disneyland Resort folks and interview them a couple times per year. When Aulani was about to open, I did an interview and when we went to Oahu, I was very curious to see and visit Aulani. My hubby has a friend who lives on the island and he joined us for the flight. Between him and the co-pilot, they gave us aerial tour of the island.
Here are the pics – an aerial perspective of Oahu. Hope you like them!
Have you been to Hawaii? Did you like it?
Hugs,
Paola
PS – Travel Diary: Hawaii Part 2; Travel Diary: Hawaii Part 3 (Ala Mona Center & Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort), and Visiting Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa.
A quick pic before the flight – next to the plane.
An interesting little fact about Oahu is that private flights also use the same landing strip as major airline flights (we flew out on a small, private plane, on the same landing strip we arrived to the island on – while on a commercial airline flight). Usually, in larger cities, private planes are kept at smaller airports and use those landing strips, not the same landing strips as major airlines. So, in Oahu, we had to wait in line to depart after a huge plane, it was interesting.
You don’t see this type of landing strip everyday, water on both ends (sorry for the dark spots, this is the best shot I could get, the plane’s wing is visible in the right corners of the pic).
So green & tropical!
These homes were nestled among the landscape.
Farms.
This is one of my favorite aerial shots: I like how it represents the three perspectives of ocean, land, and open space – plus the way the sun is beaming through the clouds, and the visible waves in the right side.
Sky, land, & sea.
Nature at its best! Took my breathe away!
I was able to zoom into a catamaran that was sailing in the ocean, look at the clear water!
The Disneyland Resort – Aulani! An aerial perspective. We visited it while we were there, I’ll post those pics in one of the next Parts of the Hawaii Travel Diary. It has the Disney magic, captured in a resort, on its own private beach!
Pearl Harbor.
We landed .
I want to get more creative with the Outfit of the Day pictures, so my hubby suggested we take pictures at the hangar. Here’s “Part One” of this Outfit of the Day photo session. I titled it “Flight” because this is really the type of outfit I wear for flights….and why we decided to take the pictures at the hangar. I usually add a cardigan sweater and jacket/coat, depending on the destination, and a pashmina that doubles as a scarf. I wear these heals for flights because they are comfortable for long wear – even to walk long distances and I can wear them out to dinner during our trip. I always take carry-on luggage, even for long trips, and travel experts say to wear the shoes that are bulkiest for the flight (if they are comfortable), in order to save space in your carry-on bag. I also take either sandals (flip-flops) or ballerina flats and take them in my purse. This way, if it is a long flight and my feet get swollen I can simply change into flats when we arrive. I try to be super practical when I pack for trips in order to only take a carry-on bag. I had a bag lost during a flight years ago and every since decided to only use a carry-on bag, even for over seas trips. Trust me, it is doable!
I’ll post the second and third parts of the photo shoot later this week. Hope you like this “Flight” photo shoot! One of my hubby’s hobbies years ago was photography, so he knows how to take pictures and direct a photo shoot. It was nice to work with him on this shoot! What do you think? Do you like this “more creative” photo shoot?
Hugs,
Paola
Español: Quiero ser mas creativa con las fotos de Atuendo del Dia, así que mi marido sugirió que fuéramos al hangar a tomar fotos. Aquí esta Parte 1 de 3 de esta sesión fotográfica. La titule “Vuelo” porque este es el estilo de atuendo que utilizo cuando viajo…y porque tomamos las fotos en el hangar. Por lo regular me pongo un suéter ligero y chamarra o saco dependiendo del destino, y una pashmina que tambien utilizo como bufanda. Estos tacones verdaderamente los utilizo para viajar ya que son cómodos, aun si tengo que caminar largas distancias. Por lo regular también llevo unas sandalias o zapatos de piso estilo balerina en mi bolsa, particularmente en viajes largos, por si necesito cambiarme de zapatos si se me hinchan los pies. Siempre utilizo una maleta chica, del tamaño que puedes subir al vuelo, aun para viajes largos. Los expertos de viaje sugieren que te pongas los zapatos mas bultosos para el vuelo, así no ocupan tanto lugar en la maleta. Y, estos tacones los utilizo para salir a cenar durante nuestro viaje. Trato de ser super practica cuando empaco mi maleta para viajes para poder llevar una maleta chica. Hace varios anos durante un vuelo la aerolínea perdió mi maleta y desde entonces solo uso maletas que puedo subir al avión conmigo, hasta para viajes a otros continentes. Créanme, si es posible!
Durante la semana pondre las partes dos y tres de esta sesión fotográfica. Ojalá les gusten las fotos de la sesión “Vuelo“! Uno de los pasatiempos (hobby) de mi marido hace anos era la fotografía, así que sabe como tomar buenas fotos y dirigir una sesión fotográfica. Me encanto trabajar con el en esta sesión fotográfica! Que te parece? Te gusta esta sesión fotográfica “mas creativa”?
Un abrazo,
Paola
I have been wearing black skinny jeans quite a bit lately, they are easy to mix and match, plus comfortable. The green top is a recent purchase from Banana Republic, it fits me a bit loose around the waist and doesn’t look very flattering from a peripheral, but hakuna matata, it is comfortable and I like the color. This top is good for warm weather because it is light and sleeveless, and I can easily add a cardigan or light jacket.
Ultimamente, he estado usando pantalones pegados negros seguido, son comodos y faciles de combinar. La blusa verde la compre recientemente en Banana Republic, me queda un poco suelta en la cintura y no favorece tanto de perfil, pero hakuna matata, esta comoda y me gusta el color. Esta blusa es practica para uso en clima calido ya que esta ligera y sin mangas, y facilmente me puedo poner un sueter o chamara ligera.
Top/Blusa: Banana Republic: Pants/Pantalones: Forever 21; Shoes/Zapatos: Coach; Belt/Cinto: Ann Taylor; Purse/Bolsa: Louise Vuitton; Necklaces/Collares: Tiffany & Co. and Ann Taylor; Bracelets/Pulseras: Coach and Tiffany & Co.; Earrings/Aretes: Tiffany & Co.; Sunglasses/Lentes de Sol: Prada