Wow, was just surfing around and came across this spectacularly detailed Rick Steves list of links related to travel in Europe. I’m talking everything from how to stay in Italian convents to Baltics pocket guides.
I’ll be cruising and bookmarking off of this page for days….
We lived in Rhode Island for several years (my son was born there) so I was of course waxing nostalgic as I read this Guardian UK article on travel with kids to the coastlines of these two diverse New England states.
Rhode Island in particular has many charms, including Block Island as mentioned in the Guardian piece.
If you really want to get into it, check out my Lonely Planet Bluelist on “Little Rhody.”
Book early if you want to stay on Block Island this summer. If you want to see Newport, the accomodations in the downtown port area are pricey, but the town of Portsmouth just up the road has more budget-friendly options.
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa is recognized by children and parents everywhere, mostly because it’s pictured on almost every take-out pizza box in the world. If you’re looking for a good stop in Italy with your family, consider a visit to Pisa either on its own or as a side trip from Florence.
We flew Ryanair into Pisa (we were living in Europe at the time) and were pleased that the Galileo Galilei airport was not far away from city center, as Ryanair airports often are (for example, Frankfurt Hahn is hours away from Frankfurt, although they do run an efficient motorcoach link service.)
We stayed at the Hotel Royal Victoria. Our room was comfortable, breakfast was good and our view of the Arno River was lovely, but we did run into a mosquito problem overnight.
It was too hot to close the windows but there were no screens on them (pretty standard in Europe I’m afraid.) Being eaten alive made us a bit cranky.
The town itself was very walkable and full of lively students from the Università degli Studi di Pisa….somehow everything sounds more elegant in Italian, including plain old “University of Pisa.” The Leaning Tower is only one of many gorgeous, ornate buildings on the Campo dei Miracoli, a large grassy area that invites a picnic or even a quick Frisbee toss in front of history.
What’s funny is that once you finally get there, you inanely say what everyone else says; “Wow, it really DOES lean!”
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You can buy tickets online ahead of time, but children under 8 are not allowed into the Leaning Tower.
The streets around the Campo are full of overpriced restaurants and shops selling T-shirts and leaning towers in resin.
I must confess that my young son adores his Leaning Tower T-shirts with Pikachu and Snoopy on them, and I turned one of those resin towers into a nightlight.
It was too marvelously kitschy to pass up — Pokemon in Pisa!
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We took the train to Florence from Pisa, and despite its deserved reputation for tons of art & atmosphere per square mile (not always what kids are interested in seeing) we had a lovely time.
I’ve talked about the Hotel Casci in a previous post, and want to commend it to you again as a very family-friendly and well-located place to stay.
This UK mother’s assessment is quite accurate; how can you miss with kids when there’s pizza and ice cream/gelato everywhere? It’s so blessedly difficult to get bad food or a bad cup of coffee in Italy.
We did go to the Uffizi Gallery with our children, and it was a pretty successful visit.
Everyone OD’d on Madonnas and cherubs after awhile, but my son had a great time giggling at all of the nudes (hey, as a parent you take whatever art appreciation you can get.)
We climbed Giotto’s Tower near the Duomo and were rewarded with some expansive views, but mostly we enjoyed wandering the city’s piazzas, listening to the occasional street musician and enjoying the famous Tuscan sun.
Sorry that I don’t have more time today for a longer post (Pisa and Florence with kids is coming tomorrow, promise!) but here are two links from the “New York Times” Travel section (free registration required:)
Affordable Europe — tips and budget tricks for 16 European cities
and
A Family Vacation in London — squeeze a pence till it hollers
See you in Italy tomorrow….
Featured on Rolf Pott’s Vagablogging, the San Francisco Chronicle travel editor has a quick list of tips for travel.
I agree with the tip on eating street food; if you can stand right there and watch them make your yakitori or whatever (ensuring it’s cooked long enough) you’ll probably be OK. I must confess that I have a relatively cast-iron stomach, though. Reasonable precautions should suffice, but never travel without adult and children’s tummy meds, just in case.
It’s also true that the tip about getting up and out fairly early in the morning will get you nice, quiet streets and a sense of place. No early riser I, but when rousted out for quick morning jogs in San Francisco and Ireland, I was rewarded with barking seals at Pier 39 and mist curling around the ruined turret of an Irish castle (looked like a whiskey advertisement.)
So get outta bed, already!
Sorry to be a nag, but the word seems to be that people are booking early this year for summer 2006 vacations, so if you want to go to prime beach/lake spots or popular destinations, the time to get going is now.
This summer travel article from “Forbes” posted on MSNBC recommends various swank hotels (nope, I’ve never stayed in the Hotel de Crillon in Paris) so I’m less interested in the lodging options discussed than I am the general idea that this is not a good year to dawdle.
Even if they do say that summer gasoline may go to $4 a gallon.
Of course, if you’re shelling out $1250 a day at The Point, Lake Saranac, New York, as mentioned in the “Forbes” piece, you don’t give a rip about gas prices.
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Over on Austinist they’re amazed that folks have already snatched up the early bird tix for this music event, which is September 15-17 in Zilker Park.
Well, duh!
Get some (tickets) and take the (older) kids to hear wonderful music in the Live Music Capital.
Been wondering where Baldrick, Gwyllum, Thor and the other Tower of London ravens have got to?
Gadling got the answer; they’re indoors as a result of bird flu concerns.
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The history-stuffed village of Greenwich is an easy day or half-day trip from London, downstream on the River Thames.
Do some investigating at the tourist Web site and decide what you and your family would like to see, but also think about how you want to get there.
I recommend taking a boat on the Thames, leaving from one of the piers at the Tower of London, Chelsea, Westminster or Thames Barrier.
You can come back to central London on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR.)
Our family’s favorite Greenwich sights include the magnificently restored tea clipper Cutty Sark, launched in 1869 and now in drydock next to the Thames. Kids love climbing all over the historic vessel.
We also enjoyed seeing where East meets West at 0 degrees longitude, the imaginary line around the globe that cuts through the Greenwich Royal Observatory and is known as the Prime Meridian.
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Finally, pay a visit to the National Maritime Museum for all sorts of nautical exhibits befitting Britannia. Admission is free.
If you’d like some guidance, the always-reliable London Walks tours have the Historic Greenwich walk amongst their Tuesday offerings.
Update 11 October 2006: There’s a nice Greenwich overview article out on Frommer’s.
Update 24 August 2007: The ship suffered a horrific fire in May 2007, but crews are working frantically to restore it. The Visitor’s Center is open; click here for an update.
This just in from Gadling — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. will close for renovations starting in early September 2006, and won’t reopen for about two years.
A terrific choice for anyone but particularly for families, it houses Americana of every description, including the ruby slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” the original Star-Spangled Banner, Cesar Chavez’s union jacket, Richard Petty’s 200th victory car, gowns worn by First Ladies at inaugurations, early personal computers, a jar of leeches (in the Medical section,) a pencil drawing of “Steamboat Willie” (later Mickey Mouse)….just a wonderful collection.
There will probably be mini-exhibits around the Mall while restoration is ongoing, but it can’t match the bulging contents of the original Museum.
See it while it’s open if you can.