Month: December 2007

Categories
Uncategorized

Things to do, places to go 12.6.2007

Welcome to our Thursday rundown of what’s going on around the world. 

Many or even most of these events may not be located in your hometown, but I still think it’s fun to see what’s hopping on the planet, and if you notice something that sounds like fun for your family, you can make plans for next year.

Coming up this weekend/soon:

  • One of a Kind craft/art show and sale, Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, Dec 6-9.
  • The First Friday art gallery stroll (plus street musicians) in Old City Philadelphia PA is going to be particularly festive this time of year. 5-9 pm Dec 7th.
  • Feel festive at the Wassail Weekend in picturesque Woodstock VT Dec 7-9.
  • The elephant’s story is set to music: London’s Babar Family Concert Dec 8th.
  • Dance to the music at southeast Asia’s largest dance music festival, the ZoukOut Dance Festival on Sentosa Island in Singapore Dec 8th. 
  • Enjoy a Christmas market, Italian style at The Christmas Country market in medieval Sant’Agata Feltria Dec 8th.
  • My own hometown of Austin TX offers the Trail of Lights in downtown’s Zilker Park; a mile-long lighted wonderland from 9-23 December.
  • It’s the off-season, so grab major savings this time of year in thrifty New England at the Freeport, ME outlet mall stores, then investigate some local vodka makers.  There are winter packages in Newport, RI as well that would work for teens (hat tip to Smarter Travel.)

Coming up later this month or in early 2008:

  • San Francisco Bay Area women who blog, don’t miss the BlogHer Very Merry Holiday Meetup next Thursday, December 13th at Cafe Royale in San Francisco, 5:30-8:00 pm.  It’s free but you do need to RSVP.
  • The spectacular Winterfest Boat Parade (with lighted boats sailing the Intracoastal Waterway) is held in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Dec 15th.
  • The three-day Trongsa festival of mask dances is held in Bhutan December 18-20, 2007.
  • Celebrate Twelfth Night on London’s Bankside near the restored Globe Theater, music, theater and merriment on January 6th 2008.
  • The Holiday Train Show in the New York Botanical Gardens ends January 13, 2008. From the Web site, “model trains and trolleys zip along over bridges and on winding tracks past scaled replicas of New York landmarks….favorites are the Empire State Building, Little Red Lighthouse, Brooklyn Bridge, and the borough’s own Yankee Stadium.”
  • The World Buskers Festival (ten days of dynamic street performances) is held in Christchurch, New Zealand January 17-27 2008.
Categories
Blog

Breaking news: Travel Rants (hearts) Family Travel

What a nice early Christmas present….

Darren Cronian at the well-known, UK-based Travel Rants blog has kindly mentioned Family Travel as one of his “favourite travel blogs 2007.”  I’m the runner-up behind Lonely Planet’s blog for providing best travel inspiration….pretty good company, I’d say.  Cruise over to Travel Rants and check it out.

Thanks Darren! 

(I wrote a guest post for Darren awhile back if you’re interested  —  Off the beaten path in the U.S.)

While we’re at it, I also have a guest post up this week at one of the blogs that is most responsible for getting me off to a strong start in blogging:  Successful Blog, written by Chicago community genius Liz Strauss.  My post talks about steps to take when you’re ready to move to the next level as a freelancer, in any field.

 

Categories
Blog Photos

Photo of the week: Chile Pepper Christmas

                 Chile pepper decorations at the Sichler farm stand, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Scarborough photo)

This is a colorful group of chile pepper decorations for fall and the holiday season, sold at the Sichler Farms produce stand in Albuquerque, New Mexico (820 San Mateo NE, 2 blocks south of Lomas. (505) 255-3338.

The produce stand is open daily August through October, and when I visited this past October, they were roasting chiles in big tumbling barrel roasters in the parking lot, and it smelled divine. 

It’s a typical fall scent in this part of New Mexico; grab some freshly-roasted peppers if you’re ever in town during the season. 

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Albuquerque, New Mexico, chile peppers

Categories
Europe USA

‘Tis the season for Christmas markets

Christmas market ornament hut display (courtesy weisserstier at flickr CC)I can’t think of a more sure-fire holiday winner with kids than Christmas markets. They’re a seasonal mainstay in Europe, and now we’re starting to see more of the tradition here in the U.S.

A Christmas market (or christkindlmarkt or weihnachtfest) is normally held outdoors at night, and includes little open huts selling toys, ornaments and gifts, seasonal food and drinks and entertainment like musicians or dancers.

There have been some great links posted lately on the Christmas market topic, so I thought I’d give you a chunk of them that focus on Europe first (so you can, you know, plan to be in Europe next Christmas, maybe?!) and then a few North American options.

I found that many US markets were already held in late November, so next year I’ll have to post this earlier!

** The UK’s Times Online: 20 best Christmas markets — obviously a ton of them in Germany, where the tradition started, but also some intriguing ones in Bruges, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Vienna. The paper also had a separate article on the market in Strasbourg, France.

** Our own BootsnAll lists five of Europe’s cosiest Christmas markets — Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, Tallinn and Rome.

Christmas market Cologne, Germany (courtesy Soundmonster at flickr CC)

** About.com has a guide to Christmas markets in Italy, the best Christmas markets in Scandinavia and an A-Z guide to German Christmas markets.

** Here’s something unusual that I highlighted over at the Perceptive Travel blog: Christmas in a cave: Valkenburg, the Netherlands.

** Travel Intelligence: Europe’s Top 10 Christmas Markets, including one of my favorite cities in Germany, Köln/Cologne.

** From the UK’s Telegraph: Germany’s Christmas toy towns.

Fortunately, those who live in North America can experience a bit of the Christmas market magic:

** Christkindlmarket Chicago IL

** Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem PA

** Denver CO Christkindl Market

** Christkindl Market Kitchener, Ontario

So, dig out the family coats, gloves and hats, and set out to enjoy the holiday season while knocking out some of your gift list, too!

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Christmas markets, christkindlmarkt

Categories
Blog

Travel and family blogtipping 12.1.2007

Tip your blogs, not your cows (courtesy Easton Ellsworth)It’s the first of the month and time to join the honored Business Blogwire custom of Blogtipping three blogs that I enjoy and think you might want to know about:

  1. BootsnAll Logues. OK, shameless plug here, because over the next few months the Family Travel blog is going to be transformed into one of these specialized BootsnAll “logues” (short for “travelogue” and yes, I think the term is a little clunky, too.) Despite my editorial grumbling, I know you’ll enjoy the many localized topic areas on the Logues, including Bali, Paris, South Africa, Hawaii, Eco Travel, Adventure Travel and even one for soccer/”real” football, the Offside.
  2. Fly Away Cafe. I’m a big fan of do-it-all Mary Jo Manzanares, who is a writer, editor, speaking coach, lawyer AND a flight attendant. Her Fly Away Cafe blog covers her flight attendant life, and she just started a handy series called “Back to Basics” that can help new and less-experienced flyers in the confusing post-9/11 world. (If you live in or near the Seattle, WA area, also check out her Seattle Traveler blog.)
  3. Globespotters. You can’t get much better; local information written by the International Herald Tribune reporters who live in Rome, Berlin, my favorite city of Hong Kong, Istanbul, London and a few others. There are all sorts of little insights that you won’t get unless you really spend time pounding the pavement for months/years, so it’s great to find experienced writers who live in some of the most dynamic cities in the world.

Thanks for the opportunity to recognize some great blogs out there!

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogtipping