Red Light, Green Light

Most everyone knows about the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Holland.  And many tourists visit the area out of curiosity, because it is, in fact, an interesting spectacle.  Needless to say, you may want to avoid the district when in the city with children, so you’ll need to know where it is.  When you walk out of the front of the Amsterdam Centraal train station, it will be to your left, behind the St. Nicolaas Kerk (Church), all the way to the Nieuwmarkt.  You’ll know you’re there because the area is seedy and because, well, the red lights make it quite obvious you’re there.

None of these areas are dangerous during the day,
in fact, the area along the Singel Canal is lovely.

You might also want to know that there are actually three Red Light Districts in Amsterdam.  The other two are along the Singel Canal between Raadhuistraat and Centraal Station, and behind the Rijkmuseum in the de Pijp district.  We didn’t know about these other two areas when in Amsterdam last summer, and were taking a leisurely stroll beside the Singel Canal when my 11 year old son said with surprise, “Oh my gosh!  That poor lady should close her curtains!  Everyone can see her in her underwear!”  (We also passed by a hookah lounge later and my son exclaimed, "I want to eat at that restaurant!  You get to sit on big pillows on the floor!")

Smaller Red Light District behind
the Rijksmuseum.

The well-known Red Light
District shaded in red, and
along the Singel Canal
highlighted in pink.

Family Vacation

Good Deals on Travel Gear

I'm determined to write my Christmas cards today and stay off the computer.

So with the holidays approaching, I thought I might just make a quick shopping recommendation.  Check out these great deals on travel gear at Delicious Baby, a terrific travel blog ("Making Travel with Kids Fun")  that I follow.

Parlez-vous Anglais?

Paradors to Adore!

Last night I had to sit at Barnes & Noble for two hours to supervise my Girl Scout troop wrapping holiday gifts for donations.  It's a little fundraiser we do every year.  I admit, there are a lot worse places to have to sit around for two hours.  I just grabbed myself a pile of travel books on Spain and Portugal, sat in a warm corner with my reading glasses on, and the hours were gone before I knew it!

I gleaned lots of cool information about Spain.  Since I've only been to this colorful country once, my knowledge is somewhat bush-league on all things Iberian.  For example, I can't believe I didn't know about paradors!  Highly recommended as the best lodging bargains in Spain, these government-sponsored inns are usually in scenic, historic areas and the buildings themselves are often castles, fortresses, convents, manor houses, or palaces!  As a lover of novelty hotels and charming inns, I am thrilled with this discovery.  There are a total of 93 paradors in Spain.  The one pictured below is actually inside the Alhambra palace in Granada!  (It does happen to be the most expensive one, though.)

















I'm in love.  I want to go.  And - as if the beauty and reasonable prices were not enough - everything I read praised the parador restaurants and their gourmet food.  Each Spanish parador offers traditional local specialties and features regional wines.  Almost all of them serve a generous breakfast buffet (not, however, included in the overnight price.)

If you're into ecotourism, you can feel good knowing that the parador hotels were established by the Spanish government to use tourism to act as guardian of the national and cultural heritage of Spain and to assist regions with fewer resources.  Restoration projects are undertaken with a commitment to environmental protection.

I never even opened any of the books I gathered at Barnes & Noble about Portugal, but we've got several more gift-wrapping shifts to go before Christmas!

Family Vacation

Free 100,000 Airline Miles!

Big Breaking News!  Yesterday, the New York Times suggested that the British Airways Visa Signature Card sign-up bonus offer of 100,000 miles is “possibly the most lucrative credit card sign-up bonus ever and equivalent to two round-trip coach tickets from North America to London.”  Count me in!!  It’s funny, but I’ve been aware of this offer already for a few weeks now, since I’ve been investigating credit card free mileage programs.  But the offer keeps getting better and better and there’s really no reason not to apply now!

I used to love my Capital One® No Hassle Rewards Visa credit card.  When we got it in early 2001 (it was then called the Capital One® Visa MilesOne card), I thought, after much research, that it offered the best deal for acquiring airline miles.  There was no annual fee, the miles earned never expired, there was no limit to the number of miles you could earn, and there were no blackout dates or seat restrictions.  You earned one mile per net dollar purchase made on your credit card and their redemption schedule was comparable to other mileage programs.  You could fly on any major airline but you had to book through Capital One’s 24 Hr Travel center – not a problem, they were competent every time I called them.

Up until the summer of 2003, you could get a U.S. to Europe round-trip coach class ticket costing up to $1,000 with only 50,000 miles.  (Loved it!)  Then they upped it to 85,000 miles for the same thing.  (That’s a pretty big increase.)

Then came the big whammy.  Effective December, 2007, miles redemptions became based on ticket price, not destination.  This sucks.  Let me give you an example:  let’s say you wanted a $1,000 ticket to Europe.  Under the old guidelines that would have cost you 85,000 miles.  Under the new guidelines, the ticket dollar price x 100 is the number of miles required, so a $1,000 ticket will cost you 100,000 miles!

They tried to hype up the change, exclaiming:  “No more Saturday overnight stay required!” and “No need to book through Capital One® travel service anymore!”  Well, we didn’t buy it.  We knew it sucked.  

We decided to try an airline exclusive credit card and got the United Mileage Plus® Visa card.  The first year was no annual fee, and I think we got a decent number of bonus miles for signing on, so it was worth it for awhile.  But last summer we didn’t have the best experience on United Airlines, and decided to blow them off.  And now, just as I was narrowing down my choices for a new mileage card, this British Airways deal comes along!  Perfect!

I'm Sorry, But It's Too Funny Not To Share

I found this at http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/11/tsas-new-book-for-ki.html.

Hitchin' a Ride in Barcelona

Casa Milà, or La Pedrera, by Antoni Gaudí

Barcelona can be a fun destination for school-aged and older children, certainly if they’re old enough to appreciate art and design and Gaudí’s architecture, but also if they just like the beach or a somewhat lively bigger city.  With not as many tourists or as much chaos as Rome or Paris, Barcelona’s leafy boulevards and sandy beaches make it a pleasant family destination.

Barceloneta beach, one of Barcelona’s seven golden sand beaches, was listed as one of the “World’s Best Beaches” by Discovery Channel in 2005 and is over a half mile long.  In total, Barcelona has over 3 miles of Mediterranean coast to enjoy (preferably with a glass of sangria!)  The city also has 68 municipal parks.  Montjuïc is the largest park, located on Montjuïc mountain, and beautiful Labyrinth Park contains a very cool garden maze.  (Important tip:  the Labyrinth Park of Horta, or Parc del Laberint d’Horta, is not near the Horta metro station.  It’s off of Mundet metro station.)

Something very unique to do in Barcelona, which will probably thrill your kids (and you, unless you suffer from vertigo or acrophobia), is to ride the cable car from the harbor all the way to Montjuïc mountain.  Officially called the Transbordador Aeri del Port, it departs every 15 minutes and soars 23 stories over the city.  A one-way trip is 9 euros per person, a little pricey but definitely worth it for the thrill and the stunning aerial views of the city below.

If you still need a little excitement after that, there’s another ride awaiting you when you reach Montjuïc mountain.  Albeit much shorter and less white-knuckle, a four person car takes passengers up to the Montjuïc Castle, an 18th century fortress with fantastic views of the Mediterranean and a museum which houses the largest collection of Catalán art in Spain.  Museum is open 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Tuesdays through Saturdays) and 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.  Closed Mondays.  Admission is 8.50€.

Family Vacation

Reserved

When I traveled Europe as a young backpacker with a Eurail pass, I never made hotel reservations anywhere.  Why, the whole idea of backpacking is the freedom to come and go to any city, any time, on a whim.  Or to just sleep overnight on the train.  But as you’ve probably noticed since you had children, a lot of your old freedoms vanished with your new role as parent.  So to avoid dragging luggage AND sleeping children all over town to find a vacancy, and to avoid accepting, out of sheer desperation, one of those hotels that charge 25 centimes a minute in the coin-op meter shower for your family of five, make reservations from home before you go.  Even the most remote pensiones can now be found on the internet and scrutinized on Trip Advisor.  Virtually no private hotels, pensions, hostels, or Zimmer Frei ask for a deposit or advance payment, so there’s no fear of losing money upon cancellation.  Just be courteous enough to call or email and let them know if you’re not coming, since many times the loveliest of these places are family-run and they do arrange their schedules around your arrival.

Little Man P

I realize this is a family-friendly website, but have you heard of Manneken-Pis?  Also known as le Petit Julien in this bilingual country, that’s the real name of a famous landmark and popular tourist attraction in Brussels, Belgium.  Manneken-Pis (translation:  little man pee) is a statue of a naked little boy going pee.  My brothers and I loved going to see it when we were kids.  As we all know, boys under the age of about 25 12 are obsessed with toilet humor and bodily functions.  The jokes and laughter coming from men little boys upon visiting this statue will lighten up every weary member of a traveling family.  

Knowing the legend of Manneken-Pis before you go makes it that much more amusing.  There are several tales about the origin of the statue, but the story I was brought up with is that the young son of a Belgian noble once went missing while with his family in Brussels.  The nobleman was devastated and the townspeople banded together to find the boy.  The Belgian noble promised that he would have a statue cast, as a gift to the city, of his son doing whatever he was doing when he was found.  The search party found the boy, in the woods without a stitch, relieving himself - and so the bronze was cast.  As children we giggled with beguilement and shared gasps at the misfortune that left this poor little boy immortalized in humiliation.

But why visit Brussels to see Manneken-Pis when there is naked statuary on every corner in Europe?  Because yes, there’s more.  Manneken-Pis has a wardrobe.  As far back as the 17th century (the fountain was designed and placed in the city in 1618), visiting dignitaries, tradesmen, and foreign militaries began bringing costumes from their native lands as sort of a hospitality gift when they paid official visits to Brussels.  Perhaps they’d bring a costume of their national dress, or a uniform of their armed forces, or of their favorite sport – all with a hole cut out in just the right place.  At the present time, Manneken-Pis’s wardrobe consists of more than 800 costumes, and the collection is available for viewing at the Museum of the City of Brussels, located in the King’s House on the Grand-Place, across from the Town

Scuba Manneken

Hall.  In addition to seeing the permanent costume exhibition, the museum admission fee of only 3€ includes an educational game for children (available in English) about the history of Brussels and comes in a 6-8 year old version and a 9-12 year old version.

Manneken-Pis is occasionally dressed in his costumes, always in an elaborate ceremony, often accompanied by brass band music.  Scheduled dates and times for this all-around family fun are published and posted on the railings around the fountain.

Finally, FYI, you will find little Manneken-Pis, a.k.a. le Petit Julien, at the intersection of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat, a short walk down the alley to the left of the Town Hall in Grand-Place.

Manneken Elvis

Family Vacation

Nutcrackers and Nativities

Two years ago, my daughter's best friend's mom (got that?) took her daughter to Germany during Thanksgiving break for a mother/daughter tour of the German Christmas markets.  What a terrific idea for you and your tween!  (Why didn't I think of that?)  The German Christmas markets are magical:  picture a charming little medieval village, with renaissance-style buildings, Romanesque towers and a gothic church in its historic town square, strung with colored Christmas lights and dusted with fresh snow.  Handmade holiday crafts like nutcrackers and nativities are for sale by the costumed townsfolk and a mug of Glühwein (hot mulled wine) warms your hands.  Sounds dreamy to me.  

Although Strasbourg, Copenhagen, Vienna, Prague and many other European cities have Christmas markets, they are prolific in Germany.  Larger cities like Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne have them and so do the small romantic villages like Dinkelsbühl and Bernkastel-Kues.  Dresden has the oldest Christmas market, dating back to 1434, and boasts the world's biggest nutcracker.

I have personal affection for a beautiful, very special Christmas market in Germany that's kind of off-the-radar of most internet sites.  It takes place in Sommerhausen, a picturesque wine village on the banks of the Main River, outside of Würzburg, with a rich artist's community.  The Sommerhausen Christmas market begins this weekend, on Saturday, November 27, and runs every weekend thereafter until December 19, 2010.  The cozy wine taverns and local winegrowers offer tastings of Sommerhausen's famous Franconian wine, and cafés invite visitors to sample various Bavarian dishes or international cooking.  Many of the town's private art galleries exhibit notable canvas, collage, glass and ceramic art.  But what makes Sommerhausen’s Christmas mart unique and personal, is that the residents set up boutiques in their courtyards, domed cellars, and even inside their homes.  Guests are invited to browse and purchase their fresh-baked Weihnachtsstollen, homemade wines and cellar-made schnapps, wood-carved toys and quality crafted gifts.  The village atmosphere is embracing and enchanting, and the Christmas experience is unforgettable.

My daughter created this word-burning art piece
of Sommerhausen in the 7th grade.

                 Sommerhausen                   

Family Vacation

Happy Thanksgiving!

5 Places in Europe to Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving

Are you going to be overseas for Thanksgiving?  Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a traditional turkey feast with all the trimmings!  Here are five European cities serving up delicious Thanksgiving dinners this year:

•      Barcelona:  The American Society of Barcelona holds an annual Thanksgiving buffet dinner.  This year the buffet, which includes all the traditional dishes and then some, will be held at Hotel Arts Barcelona.

•      Brussels:  One of the American Club of Brussels’ most popular social events
every year is their Thanksgiving dinner, consisting of roast turkey, all the trimmings, and an assortment of real American pies.  This year it’s at the Sheraton Hotel, Brussels.

•      Berlin:  A Thanksgiving dinner buffet will be served at the Berlin Marriot and will feature live music.

•      London:  JW Steakhouse will be serving
up a festive Thanksgiving feast this year.  Other Thanksgiving dinners in the U.K.
can be found here.  St. Paul’s Cathedral in London also hosts an annual Thanksgiving Day service, attended by thousands of American residents and visitors.

•      Budapest:  The American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary offers a fully prepared holiday dinner that will be conveniently delivered to your doorsteps.  This turkey and goose delivery is available through December 31st.

Too Close for Comfort

I wasn’t the only passenger on the right side of the plane who got a little nervous when they looked out the window and saw this sight.  And our two planes kept getting closer, too.  Guess the pilots knew what they were doing (one likes to hope), but it sure rattled some nerves.

Got Ja Milk?

The four of us in our family are huge milk drinkers.  Voluminous.  The milkman delivers 5 ½ gallons to our doorstep every Tuesday, and sometimes I even have to run to the store for more on the weekend.  Our taste for milk is a little bit of a predicament when we’re in Europe, though it’s becoming less difficult than it used to be.

I remember years ago, milk was normally
sold in plastic bags in Europe.

When my brothers and I were in Europe as children with my parents, no one understood how we could drink a glass of milk.  “Milk is for cooking and baking!” exclaimed my aunts, or, “Milk is for babies!”  At restaurants the servers would gape, “What?  Milk to drink?” and then bring us a teacup of frothy warm milk.  (It’s kind of like the way it used to be in Europe with ice:  upon being served a glass of warm Coke in a café once we asked for some ice.  The waiter served us one small, melting cube of ice on a platter.)

Now it’s become a little bit more acceptable (for a child, at least) to order a glass of milk at a restaurant, what with the whole organic/natural food movement taking hold all over the Western world.  I even overheard my cousin in Germany scolding her young daughter for not drinking more milk “like her American cousins.”

We don't like
shelf milk like
parmalat.

The only problem that still remains is the taste and availability of the milk in much of Europe.  (I say much of Europe because I think the Belgians and Dutch, which we observed last summer, have it figured out now.)  Commonly available at grocery stores is what my husband and I call, “Shelf milk.”  Shelf milk is not refrigerated, ergo, it sits on the pantry shelf.  It usually comes in a little one liter box, or, when I was young, a one liter plastic bag.  Shelf milk does not need to be refrigerated because of an ultra high temperature pasteurization process, and this results in a distinctly different taste which we are not accustomed to.  My kids can’t stand it.  They call it “cheese milk” because of its somewhat bovine flavor. 

But like I said, the situation is slowly improving.  Last summer we actually found a selection of refrigerated grocery store milk in whole, low-fat, and non-fat varieties in several countries!  Some of the brands, however, still had residual cheesy flavor, but they were tolerable, at least, in a bowl of cereal.  After a lot of sampling, we were delighted to find ja! milk, available in some of the larger supermarkets, which tastes darned close to what we're used to.  It's progress!  Ja!!

ja! milk was definitely the best tasting we've found so far.

Family Vacation

Accessible Italy

As my children got older I liked to ask them what they wanted to see in Europe.  At age 10 my daughter exclaimed, “Paris!  Italy!”  The usual crowd pleasers.  Paris wasn’t on the agenda for that summer, but Austria was, so could I somehow work Italy in?  It’s relatively close to Austria.  But there was that niggling feeling of discomfort with Italy.  (See previous post.)  Maybe if we stuck to Northern Italy, I thought, like Venice.  Yes, Venice!  Kids love Venice, it’s like a big Disneyland!

Venice was the right choice for my 11 and 8 year olds to see Italy.  It’s a very curious concept for kids that there are no cars and no streets in Venice.  Engage your youngsters in some interesting conversation before you go by telling them that Venetian children have to take a boat to school!  A fantastic book called The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke is also a great introduction to Venice for boys and girls.  It’s a thrilling mystery about two orphan brothers who run away to Venice and survive on the streets with other young transients.  The movie is also available on DVD and most of the scenes are shot in Venice.  After watching this film your kids will recognize the Rialto Bridge as soon as they see it!

To my surprise, the Venice Marco Polo Airport, built in 2002, is modern, convenient, and efficient.  Not at all chaotic or loud as one might expect where Italians convene in large numbers, the terminals are clean and spacious.  ATVO and  ACTV shuttle buses to the Venice-Santa Lucia train station on the western end of the Grand Canal are easy to locate and board.  Once you’re standing on the steps of the train station, overlooking the romantic, shimmering Canal, all your cares will slip away like the quiet gondolas gliding through it over centuries gone by.

That is until you realize you have to find your way to your hotel through all those alleyways, over all those pedestrian bridges, and up and down their narrow steps, with your luggage and your kids.  Panic!  Although I would recommend walking most everywhere you want to go in Venice, it’s a good idea to dish out some bucks for public transportation upon your first arrival with your luggage, and perhaps upon departure as well.  Public transportation is readily available on the waterbuses, called vaporetti, or the traghetto ferries.  The water taxis are limousines and will cost you as much as one (be sure to negotiate the fare before you board the boat, since the water taxis don’t have meters), and gondolas are, of course, a tourist attraction, not a form of public transportation.

When, and if, you find your hotel, take some time to orient yourself.  Collect some city maps from the lobby (or bring them from home if you’re staying in an apartment) and let your kids study them.  Show them how the Grand Canal curves through the city center like a snake and play search-and-seek to locate the only four bridges that cross it.  Ask the lobby receptionist where the nearest gelato shop is (the BEST gelato, however, is definitely Gelateria Nico at Dorsoduro 922).  And when you’re ready to venture out, don’t take the GPS with you - getting lost in Venice is half the fun!  (If your husband is like mine, it’ll take some pleading and prying to get that thing out of his hands.)

Since we were jetlagged on our first day in Venice, we took it easy by walking to Piazza San Marco and leisurely feeding the pigeons.  Big tip here:  bring some popcorn or old crackers from home or you’ll have to buy the overpriced pigeon food the vendors sell there.  Take a look inside St. Mark’s Basilica (if the line is too long, check to see if the left side door is open – another big tip today!) and walk up to the top for a fabulous view.  (Entry to the basilica is free, small fee to walk up to the top.)

Pensione Accademia Villa Maravege

Our hotel in Venice was sensational.  We parted with our custom of using budget accommodations and stayed at Pensione Accademia Villa Maravege.  We really splurged and got the junior suite, which ranges from 200€ to 325€, depending on the season, but we were extremely thrilled with our stay, the grounds, and the service there.  Our room was the perfect location for children – on the ground floor facing a courtyard that led out to one of the very few private gardens in Venice.

After four days in magnificent Venice, we made a quick escape from Italy on a train to Austria.  In only a few short hours you can be in the beautiful mountain and lakes region of Carinthia, Austria, in the eastern Alps.  A few hours more and you’re in the historical cities of Innsbruck or Salzburg.  A Venice/Austria itinerary is easy to plan, and one that is enchanting and enjoyable for kids of all ages.

Family Vacation