Futuroscope theme park visit

The theme park is the top attraction in the Poitou-Charentes (near Poitiers) and second in France

The attractions change over the years, so the visitor return rate is 70%

In 2012, Futuroscope celebrates 25 years and offers an outstanding program

We visited the Futuroscope  for the second time,  sharing that celebration the November 7 and 8, 2012

We stayed at the Inter Hôtel Resort Alteora located in the Futuroscope area

Futuroscope overview

Attractions map

A panoramic view from the Gyrotour 

which spirals to 150 ft

iMagic:  probably the best-of. It is a show of illusions of the greatest scenes of Las Vegas

Arthur and the Minimoys, the 4D adventure has won a number of awards 

Based on the film created by Luc Besson, you not only watch, you also feel the jolts and strong sensations 

The large, IMAX® 3D images projected against the giant dome screen plunge visitors into the deep sea

The Kinémax with IMAX® 3D images: Everest conquest 

Cosmic collisions: take a breathtaking journey through space and time to witness the massive cosmic crashes that shape the universe. Dome screen with comments from the actor Lorant Deutsch

and more than twenty others amazing attractions ....

Futuroscope Digital City

Time spending with the best video games

The Children’s World, a unique place where both young and old can play a range of amazing games in a vast, open-air world of games

Playing as the bumper cars, but on the water with a amazing vehicle called Velodos

And the famous racing car with the drivers "graines de pilote" as showed on the below video

Cruise on Dordogne River

On Wednesday July 18, 2012

The name Dordogne come from the Celtic words Du unna meaning fast water. During the Roman Empire, the river was known as the Duranius, and evolved during the Middle Ages to Duranna, Durunia, Durdunia, Dordoigne and finally Dordogne

The river, whose source is in the Auvergne at the Puy de Sancy (1 886m/6 186ft), crosses five departments (Puy de Dôme, Corrèze, Lot, Dordogne and Gironde) before joining the Garonne river to form the Gironde estuary

The cruise leaves from La Roque Gageac:  

welcome aboard the Gabarre!

The Gabarre in front of
the Castelnaud bridge

The gabarres were the traditional flat-bottomed boats used on the Dordogne River for transporting goods between the Massif Central and the city of Bergerac, Libourne and Bordeaux

La Roque Gageac

The magnificent fortified village of 
La Roque Gageac built right into the 
cliff face obtained the title of 
“the most beautiful village in France”

Remain of an old road dating from

 the Gallo-Romain period

The village Hall of La Roque Gageac

In January 1957 a huge rock fell from the cliff face destroying a dozen houses and killing three people 

The little tour goes past a succession of old fortified villages and castles

Paradise for canoeing kayaking

Château de Malartrie

located at the exit of the village of La Roque Gageac

Château de Castelnaud

could have built in the 12^th century is one of the most visited châteaux in France with his Middle Ages Warfare museum

West America Tour

A trip from May 24, 2012 to June 6, 2012

 traveling to California, Arizona, Utah, next to the

Colorado border and Arizona...

 ... stopping in Los Angeles CA(2 nights), Bulhead AZ (1night) , Flagstaff AZ (2 nights), Chinle AZ (1night), Kayenta AZ (2 nights), Moab UT (2 nights),  Bryce Canyon UT(2 nights), Las Vegas NV(2 nights), and return to LA CA (1night). 

A total of 4500 km driving on pleasant roads mostly classified “Scenic Ways” 





Tour operators describe West America as a fabulous place, one of the most beautiful parts of the United States.

I can confirm this statement and add that during that tour the fun never stopped everywhere we stayed or we visited

Our tour was focused on view of National or State Parks, cities and amusement places

Difficult to post on that Blog a selection of topics and photographs, among more than 500 pictures taken… 

The Los Angeles metropolitan area, which includes Los Angeles County, is the second largest in the U.S. This amazing city is most famous for Hollywood, Universal City, and Downtown. 

For many visitors, the "Los Angeles experience"
includes Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Pasadena  

Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., located northwest of Downtown

Hollywood Boulevard
"Walk of Fame"

 

Due to its fame it is the historical center of movie studios and stars

Historic Route 66

Immortalized in folklore, cinema and song, as the Bagdad Café, Route 66 remains the iconic symbol of the great American road trip. 

The best area for the bikers

Located on the edge of Arizona's Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park is the world's finest collection of fossilized wood  

 Huge pieces of 225 million year old trees 

 The heart of the Painted Desert of
northeast Arizona, a colorful badlands 

Grand Canyon National Park the world's most spectacular sightseeing

   

It is 277 miles (445 km) long, 16 miles (25km) wide and up to 1 mile (1,6km) deep canyon  

Standing on the rim of the Colorado River 

Canyon de Chelly National Monument offers the opportunity to learn about the Navajo Indians (Native American) who live and farm here today

A male hogan

The Navajos used to make their houses, called hogans, of wooden poles, tree bark and mud. The doorway of each hogan opened to the east so they could get the morning sun as well as good blessings

Inside the hogan

The spectacular vertical walls make access to the canyon bottom difficult, providing an ideal protection for the Native Americans who lived here 

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park  

For me the most beautiful and unusual scenery. Its Navajo name, Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii, means "Valley of the Rocks" 

John Ford Point

The desert landscape on the border of Arizona and Utah is a fantastic wonderland of color well-known for the many movies filmed in the area, like John Ford western with John Wayne as a star.

Access road without traffic. Amazing! 

Glen Canyon Dam

constructed between 1956 and 1963, was the last giant dam complex to be built in the United States. The dam was originally built for water storage and hydroelectricity. However Lake Powell's recreational popularity has created a significant tourism industry

 Bryce Canyon

is not actually a canyon but a high elevation (more than 2700m)... 

...sandstone ridge known as a photographer's dream

Canyonlands National Park

The mesa that is Dead Horse Point provides breathtaking views of the canyon country of southeastern Utah... 
The ending of the famous 1991 American road film "Thelma and Louise". They embrace, Louise steps on the accelerator, and they ride the car over the cliff to their deaths

In the country of the cowboys, 

horses’ rides are very common 

Arches National Park, Utah. 

The park offers some of the strangest erosional effects in canyon country

Delicate Arch, the world's most
spectacular arch in a spectacular setting 

Death Valley

offers some of the world strangest scenery as well as North America's lowest (Furnace Crick elevation 190 feet/60m above sea level) and hottest place with temperatures sometimes exceeding 120°F (49°C)

This vista can be seen at Dante's View

 

How this coyote can live here: more than 40°C, no food and no water founded? 

 Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and a major vacation, shopping, entertainment and gambling destination 

It, officially became a city in 1911 and the largest American city founded in the 20th century as The Entertainment Capital of the World

Las Vegas Strip and downtown

Road features some of the newer super megaresorts with world-wide themes

The Venetian with the Italian city of Venice and the famous Grand Canal where you may take gondola rides

                                                                  Paris Las Vegas with the 

                                                                       Eiffel Tower and 

                                                                    other Paris landmarks

The Mirage, may be 

the best with 

the Caesar's Palace

                                   
                                        and the Harrah’s where we stayed

Return from LA to Paris CDG lasted 11 hours 

 A long trip giving the opportunity to appreciate the comfort of the big new Airbus 380