Fall Getaways

One of my favorite times to travel is during the fall. The weather is usually pretty good and the prices are even better. Sometimes it's great to travel to faraway lands and then other times it's fun to stay close to home. I recently returned from a Mother/Daughter getaway with my 11 year old daughter. The approximate travel time from our house to the hotel was no more than 10 minutes! We never left town but it felt like miles away. We stayed at the Camas Hotel (www.camashotel.com) which is located in historic Downtown Camas and is a very charming European style boutique hotel. It is a century old and has recently been renovated but still retains it character. The rooms were very nice and the bed was so comfortable, much better than any chain hotel bed I've ever slept in! A very good continental breakfast is also included in the price. The cost of a one night stay was so reasonable I had to look at the bill a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly.

Sydney and I enjoyed taking a long walk and looking at all the pretty fall colors. We then visited the library and after that we were starving so had dinner at a great Thai restaurant and ate till we dropped (well almost!) It was so nice to come back to our hotel and just hang out in our room before we drifted off to sleep. The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast and then checked out of our home away from home. We weren't quite ready to return to our own house so we went shopping!! When we were driving home Sydney told me that "This has been so much fun!"
The end to a perfect weekend.

Girlfriend Getaways

Just got back from a fantastic weekend getaway with my Delta Gamma Sorority sisters! This is our second annual getaway to Las Vegas. We live in different cities so this is the only time we get to see eachother all year. In fact we enjoyed it so much that we've decided to add one more night to our vacation next year! What I love about it is that we can all catch up on what we've been doing during the year and we also just laugh alot. My friends can be pretty darn funny!

One night we went to The Parasol Bar at the Wynn and we sat outside and got to enjoy their famous lightshow. There was a huge frog that was singing What a Wonderful Life while the lights were changing colors. It was kind of strange to see this giant mechanical frog belting out the tune but in Las Vegas I guess nothing is really too strange! We stayed at The Encore and the rooms were really nice with large bathrooms and separate sitting areas with couches. I brought my Flip camera along and captured some of our moments. My friend, I'll call her Shan, really enjoyed being the narrator. I guess none of us are very camera shy so that just makes it more fun! We crack ourselves up!

As a Mom I enjoy having a few days to myself and exerting my independence. I especially love coming home because everyone seems to have survived without me and they really missed me. In fact, my son even made his bed so I could see what a good job he did. When my daughter saw me she so eloquently exclaimed "you're FINALLY home!" Ahhh music to my ears. I think a little break every so often is a very good thing!

What We’ve Learned

Now that we are home we’ve had a little time to reflect on our trip and everything we saw along the way.

Here are some final observations that we have all made during our travels:

· We can get by with a lot less! The four of us shared very tight quarters for 2 weeks. Our Barcelona hotel room (including the bathroom) and our Disney Cruise stateroom were smaller than Sydney’s bedroom at home and yet we had everything we needed!

· When you have less to take care of you have more time for living.

· The toilet bowls have a lot less water than American toilets. Don’t know if this is a significant fact but we found it interesting.

· Limited living space means everything is smaller. Our apartment had a washer that was also a dryer. Idea sounds good but it was very small and took 3 hours to get clothes semi dry. Now I know why Europeans hang their laundry outside to dry. Most apartments probably don’t even have space for a washer/dryer.

· They make the most of their living space. Their tiny balconies serve as their garden.

· We never saw any school busses, which leads us to believe either kids take public transportation to school, walk, or parents take them. We read that in some schools there are busses but you do have to pay a fee for that service.

· School kids have awesome field trips! We saw them at most places such as the Cinque Terre, Monaco, and even in the airport on their way to some destination.

· Peanut butter is not available. Never saw it any grocery stores. They use Nutella like we would use peanut butter.

· There were no large supermarkets. The grocery stores were all small family owned businesses.

· The locals went out of their way to help us. Very friendly!

Barcelona (Post-Cruise)

We’re very happy we are staying our last two more nights in Barcelona! First reason is because we didn’t get to see everything when we were here before the cruise and the second reason is that the weather is beautiful! Clear blue skies! We are staying in an apartment, which is a great choice for families. Much more room than a hotel and you can do some of your own cooking so it saves money.

 

Today was  a very special day for Eric because he received his First Communion. I thought it would be a great experience (and good story) if he could receive his First Communion at Sagrada Familia, which is the most famous church in Spain! Okay I’ll admit that the whole service was in Spanish so he didn’t understand a word BUT he doesn’t exactly understand everything that’s going on at our church either! The service was in a special area of the cathedral with mosaic tiles on the floor and vivid murals on the walls. There were high domed ceilings along with stained glass windows that were at the very top of the church. This special area is called the Crypt because it is where Antoni Gaudi is buried and we could view his tombstone.

                          

The architect Antoni Gaudi started the plans for this church and it became his life’s work. He died in 1926 and the church is still not finished! The construction has lasted 100 years and it still has another 40 or 50 years until it is completed. It is the most Gaudy (play on words) church I’ve ever seen! There are steeples, sculptures, intricate religious scenes, etc. wherever you look and that’s just on the outside! Definitely sensory overload!

I think it is time for us to come home because the kids are now thinking about their house, friends and dog, Stella (I think I miss her the most!) We have an 18-hour journey ahead of us tomorrow so we’re hoping there are no additional delays. We were counting all the types of transportation we’ve been on during our journey and it was quite Impressive! We figured that we have been on 9 different modes of transportation throughout this trip: Plane, Taxi, Motor Coach, Shuttle, Cruise Ship, Tram, Funicular, Train, and Subway. Pretty amazing considering in America we are usually just in a car or (for the kids) a school bus!

Time to pack it up and head home!

Sea Day and Thoughts on Disney Cruise Line

This is our final Sea Day and a good opportunity to relax a little. We also have to pack up everything and have it outside our cabin door this evening. It’s important to remember not to pack everything up or else you could wake up in the morning and have no clothes to wear. Only your PJ’s!

This has been a very busy itinerary. We’ve visited 8 ports and 5 countries in 10 days! The kids are sad to leave the ship and the new friends they’ve made. Sydney is taking pictures and getting friends email addresses and Eric says one of his friends is from Greenland and the other from the U.K. He just doesn’t happen to remember their names!

This was our second cruise with Disney and they definitely know how to treat their guests! The crewmembers all greet you in the hallways and I have never heard anyone speaking disrespectfully to each other or to guests. They are focused on ensuring the passengers have a great time and all our needs are met. Disney Dining is unique in that there are 3 different restaurants that you dine at on a rotational basis. The same wait staff follows you which means that you have the same waiter throughout the entire cruise so he gets to know your likes and dislikes and can accommodate any food preferences or even cater to picky eaters! Here are a few thoughts on traveling with kids to Europe.

· If you’re taking a cruse make sure you get to your departure port at least a day or two early. That way you won’t have to worry about missing your cruise if your plane is delayed. It’s also good to try and work out some of your jet lag before your cruise starts. I also really wanted to see Barcelona.

· Allow extra time for everything. Kids don’t move at the same pace that grownups do and sometimes (as in Barcelona) they just want to chase the pigeons!

· Don’t be afraid to leave them on the ship when you go out to explore a port. The Disney counselors are the best I’ve seen. Kids wear a GPS tracking device so they can always be located. I told Sydney and Eric that we were all going to get off in most of the ports but if they wanted to stay behind in a few that was fine. If you force them to come to every museum and church you want to go into they’ll resent it and then no one is having fun!

· Before you leave make sure you buy some fun books or look up information on the Internet about your destination. It gets them interested in the history and they can start looking forward to their trip. We did a lot of research on Herculaneum so they were really looking forward to visiting it. In fact several people we talked to that had visited both Pompeii and Herculaneum said that Herculaneum is the better ruins yet most people have never heard of it!

We’re glad that we still have a couple more days in Barcelona, as there is still more of the city to explore. We’ll be staying in an apartment so it should be homier and a good transition before we head home. Sydney is already trying to finagle a few more days out of school; “I won’t be able to stay awake because of my jet lag so why can’t I just have the rest of the week off?” I explained that she’s going back on a Wednesday so only has half the week. Welcome back to reality!

Villefranche Sur Mer and Monaco

Villefranche is in the South of France and has a very small town feel to it. We decided to take the train into Monaco and spend part of the day. Later we would explore Villefranche. The Monaco train station won our vote for Overall Best Train Station. It was very clean and modern. After we got off the train we walked up to the palace and saw the changing of the guards. We strolled along the streets and into the Royal Gardens, which were in full bloom and had a spectacular view of the harbor and the yachts. Sydney and Eric each picked out their own yacht! We picnicked in this area and then the kids fed the overly large seagulls, which appear to have been living off people food.

I explained to Sydney who Grace Kelley was and how she became Princess Grace by marrying the Prince of Monaco. We visited the large cathedral in which the royalty is buried and saw Princess Grace's tombstone that had a lot of fresh flowers on it. 

Next stop was the Oceanographic Museum, which was founded by Prince Albert. It had one of the best aquariums we’ve ever seen! The kid’s favorite spot was the tank that had hundreds of little Nemo’s swimming around in it! Then it got a little weird in some of the other areas of the museum. Sydney said (and I agree) that the strangest display was a sheep that had been cut in half so you could see what it looked like inside. Not sure of the purpose of that one or how it relates to oceanography! The French are definitely a serious people and each room had an attendant who made sure no one sat next to exhibits or came too close to them. In fact there was a line that you must not cross and if you do they would tell you to back away. We even saw one family who was getting too close and the attendant blew his whistle at them! Pretty funny to observe!

Back in Villefranche we decided to do some exploring and came upon an underground street. Not sure the story on it but I seem to recall it was built so the residents would be protected during the war. I could have just made that up but there may be some truth to it! It goes for quite a ways and we determined that there are ghosts living there because as I was trying to take a photo there was a mysterious white line down the center of my viewfinder yet when I looked at the actual photo it was gone. There was another couple taking photos as well and this strange white line appeared on his viewfinder too!

It was a beautiful day and just perfect for walking around. We love being able to just hop on the train and go to some new destination. European trains are so efficient and are ridden by travelers, locals, and business people. It makes spontaneous travel super easy! We originally had not planned on going into Monaco but I’m glad we did, as it was definitely worthwhile and Sydney and Eric had a great time!

Cinque Terre

  We were really looking forward to visiting the Cinque Terre again! David and I came here on our honeymoon (almost 13 years ago) and were excited to see it again. Sydney joined David and I on our Cinque Terre excursion and Eric decided he wanted to stay in the kids club. Cinque Terre means “Five Towns” and they are all accessible via Train or you can walk between them. They are located on the Ligurian Sea in Northern Italy. The pastel colored houses are perched on the hillside. Once you start taking photos it hard to stop because everywhere you look there’s something incredible!

We caught the train to the first hill town (Riomaggiore) and when we stepped off the train we saw a huge mural that showed the workers as they were building the train tracks and tunnel. Most of the journey is through a tunnel in the rock that connects all 5 towns. Must have taken a long time to build. Before it was built the towns were isolated from each other and many residents never left their town. We walked up the hill of Riomaggiore and explored all the alleyways and found some stairs, which led us up to the top of the town with a panoramic view. There is only one main street with minimal cars. There was a green shuttle van that transported passengers to the top and bottom of the town. We nicknamed it “The Green Thing” because we kept having to get out of it’s way!

Every single town, no matter how small, has a church with incredible statues, artwork and pillars. This town was no exception. We stepped into a church that had arched ceilings, marble floors and appeared to also have ornate memorials and headstones perhaps for important deceased townspeople. They really make a big deal about their dead people!

Next we hopped on the train heading toward Vernazza, which is where we stayed on our previous visit. Vernazza is the only town with a natural harbor and is the most picturesque. It is no longer a hidden gem but has become very well known so can become overrun with tourists. We saw a lot of school children on field trips (what a great field trip!) We decided to eat lunch in Vernazza and we ended up at the same restaurant that we had eaten at many years ago. It was still delicious! We started chatting with the couple at the next table and found out that they were from Portland! Pretty funny!

We had a great time and Sydney enjoyed getting all the attention from her Mom and Dad. Great to have a girl with me so we could do some shopping! We each found unique rings to buy and I also bought two really vibrant oil paintings of the Cinque Terre. The Italian artist has a shop in Vernazza and we talked to his wife quite a bit. She is American and has lived in Vernazza for 10 years. She met her future husband when she was on vacation and then moved there. Wow that would be quite a lifestyle change!

In all this walking around I never mentioned the fact that it was raining. That’s because it didn’t tarnish our experience at all. In fact it kind of made it more fun! We were able to see most of Riomaggiore before it started raining hard. It was almost coming down sideways as we were waiting for our train. Then the lightning storm began. It was very dramatic to watch. We’d see the flash of lightning and then hear the loud boom! Sydney freaks out with lightning so I have a picture of her cowering behind a building.

In Vernazza we ducked into a Gelateria since it was beckoning us and just sat inside and watched the rain while enjoying our gelato. As we told Sydney, it’s all part of the adventure and makes for a good story. She kept telling us how much fun this was so this will be a very good memory for her.

Once we got back to the ship we picked up Eric in the Kids club and he had a great day too so everyone was happy! Next stop is Villefranche in the south of France!

Tunisia and Naples

Tunis, Tunisia (for some reason this did not originally post so I'm posting it now)

I can now mark off “See Live Camels” from my bucket list! Okay it’s not actually on my list but it was pretty unique to see 4 or 5 camels lined up outside our cruise ship and they were giving rides. Very tourist trap like but it was fun to watch! This port is the only one in which we arranged a shore excursion and I was curious to see what I thought of going on an organized tour since I’m a do it yourselfer. Tunis is on the northern tip of Africa and is 98% Muslim but is very liberal compared to most Muslim nations. We did see some women with the headgear on but there were probably more women that were not wearing it. The official languages are Arabic and French but English was also on most signs. This was the best port to enjoy a shore excursion because the merchants are known for being extremely aggressive and it was nice to be with others on our ship for this tour.

We enjoyed visiting Carthage which are ruins of Ancient Roman Baths (those Romans were everywhere!). We also visited Sidi Bou Said, a hillside community that reminds me of Greece. All the houses are whitewashed with ornate and colorful (usually blue) doors. The weather was beautiful and we had an outstanding view of the Mediterranean. Tunisia also has a lot of Olive Groves and produces Olive Oil, which is exported.

Considering that most Americans only speak English I am always amazed when I hear people from non-English speaking countries talking fluently in English. Most of them are able to speak several different languages. In Tunis children learn Arabic in school and then they introduce French to them. In 5^th grade they begin learning English.

We really enjoyed having explanations as to what we were looking at and our tour guide was very good. Hey, he even talked to Sydney and Eric so he’s A-Okay in my book! Glad I took a shore excursion because I’ve often wondered what they were all about. They’re all different but in this case we all agreed it was worth it. Sydney said that Tunis was her favorite place we’ve visited so far.

Naples

Naples surprised us! We had heard all the stories about how dangerous it was because of pickpockets and the Mafia. Therefore, we expected it to have an element of danger. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. When we departed the ship we needed to catch a bus to the train station and catch the train to Herculaneum, which was buried by the same eruption as Pompeii. We bought a combo bus/train pass and as we were waiting at the bus stop I asked a man, who was also waiting, if we were at the right place. Luckily he spoke some English and confirmed we were going the right direction. Once we got on the bus our tickets didn’t seem to work in the machine and 2 or 3 Italians tried to help us out. It never did work and apparently the bus driver didn’t care so it wasn’t a problem. Before we got off I asked the guy, who I originally talked to at our bus stop, which direction we needed to go to the train station and he said “I show you”. This nice stranger walked with us all the way to the station and down some stairs to the ticket window. He then asked the person (in Italian) at the ticket window if we had the right tickets for the train and she confirmed that we did. We thanked him and then he went on his way. His name was Giovanni (very Italian!) I kept waiting for someone to try and rip us off but it never happened. We found the people to be extremely warm, friendly and helpful!

The kids loved going on the train, which was mostly frequented by the locals. Once there we took a walk down thru the town until we reached the site. When we entered the ruins Sydney and Eric thought it was so cool to be able to look down on the ancient city and see where buildings were. There was a boat that was recently restored. Must have been trying to get away when the eruption occurred. It showed the charred remains of it and they even salvaged the oars and anchors. It’s about 2000 years old so amazing it could be restored and on display. We were able to walk among the houses that have been excavated. This had been a very wealthy town so the houses were huge with columns and frescos on the walls and ceilings. Most houses even had the original tile still on their floors. This was a great site to visit for many different reasons:

· It’s better preserved than Pompeii

· The site is not too large which makes it easy to explore with kids

· Not very touristy which makes it much more relaxing than Pompeii. No vendors were outside the entrance trying to sell us trinkets.

· No crowds

On our way back to the train station we saw a Museum that looked interesting. We didn’t really know what it was about and kind of had to convince the kids to go to it. Turns out it was a Virtual Museum about Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was very high tech and interactive. One room had a floor that just looked like gravel and pumice but when you walk on it the floor becomes the beautiful tile that was found in the houses. They also had holograms of the jewels that were found and there were even images on the walls of people walking. The kids had so much fun here it was hard to get them to leave. Sydney said it’s her favorite museum she’s ever been to! Some of the most interesting things you find when traveling are not necessarily listed in guidebooks.

After our big day out the kids decided that was enough for them and just wanted to hang out in their kids clubs. David and I decided to find a place to have dinner in Naples. You can’t go to Italy and not eat their food! In our quest for food we discovered that most restaurants do not open for dinner until at least 7:00pm. We found a place up an alleyway and it turned out to be a good choice. Very authentic and we were the only Americans!

We found a huge mall with high domed ceilings. The tile and details on the walls looked more like something you’d see in a church. Seems to be a tourist and local hangout. The mall leads into a mostly pedestrian street lined with shops and street vendors. Great area to walk around in and avoid some of the crazy traffic. The traffic is quite chaotic and lets just say that all the drivers in Naples would be given traffic tickets if they drove that way in the States. The Vespas (motor scooters) almost outnumber the cars. It was not uncommon to see 3 people on a Vespa. Lots of times you’d see one or two children on them. The little cars usually have many people in them as well. We saw one of those smart cars (tiny tiny) that are originally designed for 2 people. In this particular car there was 2 adults, a 3 year old and a child probably about 1, sitting on the dads lap as he was driving. I guess safety isn’t a concern.

Our overall impression of Naples was very good! This was probably our best day yet and we did not feel unsafe in any of the areas we visited. You still have to be aware of your surrounding though and probably not a good idea to be out late at night but other than that we thought it was a great destination!

Valletta, Malta

Pulling into port today was pretty amazing! It was like going back in time about 7000 years! In fact some of the buildings are thought to pre-date the Egyptian Pyramids.
We did a lot of walking in the city center which has it’s most historic sites. We visited St. John’s Co-Cathedral which has something extravagant to look at on the walls, ceilings, and floors! We loved looking at the buildings and I keep reminding the kids to look up because that’s where all the interesting stuff is on the buildings. Valletta’s Grand Harbor is a destination in itself. Lots of restaurants and I love all the painted doors. I could just take photos of doors!

We’re learning that the kids do best when we do short burst of sightseeing followed by time on the ship. The picture I’ve included indicates that they need a break from walking. After we all went into Valletta for awhile we came back and they played in the pool. They wanted to go back to their kids clubs so we let them do that and then David and I went back out and did some more exploring. When wandering down one of the side streets there was an entrance that just looked like a shop or perhaps an apartment building. We discovered that it was The Shipwreck of St. John’s Cathedral devoted to his memory and the shipwreck on Malta that occurred in 60 A.D. They do love St. John here! Anyway we walked into the little entrance and discovered a large cathedral within this building. There were impressive paintings on the walls and ceilings. There was also a crypt in the basement. Fun to find something that we didn’t expect!

Onboard The Disney Magic

The sun made an appearance on our cruise departure date. We had about half a day to explore more of Barcelona so we did quite a bit of walking around the old city and walked its narrow little alleyways. It’s a great walking city and very pedestrian friendly. Eric has a new favorite animal. It’s called a pigeon! They’re all over the place and he loves to run after them and tries to get them to land on his hand (got some video of that!) Another highlight for the kids (and Mommy) was visiting Barcelona’s Chocolate Museum. There were incredible sculptures made entirely out of chocolate!
Your ticket to enter the museum was a chocolate bar. Heaven!

We boarded the Disney Magic in the afternoon. It’s very efficient and there were no lines to wait in which made us happy. We were excited to see our stateroom because Disney upgraded us to a Deluxe Stateroom with a Verandah. We entered the room and noticed there was a gift bag on the bed. Since we’ve cruised with Disney before they gave us a bag with a bunch of goodies in it. We love our verandah and it’s bigger than I thought it would be. There’s room enough for 2 chairs and a table and all 4 of us can comfortably be out there. It will be fun to enjoy the view when the ship pulls into the various ports. I’ve included a picture of us at our table on Formal Night. When I told Eric he had to dress nice because it was Formal Night he said, “I hope we don’t have to do this Formal Night thing again!”

The first day we are at Sea so it’s very relaxing and both the kids were just chomping at the bit to go into the kid’s areas. Sydney is now in Ocean Quest, which is the Tween’s hang out areas. She is given more independence and loves her newfound freedom. We were trying to walk her up to the Sports court but she was gone like the wind as she just can’t get enough of hanging out with kids her age. She has already made a new friend named, none other than, Sydney. Well at least it’s easy to remember the name. Eric is also really enjoying the Oceaneer Lab although it’s harder to extract information from him so we’re not sure what he’s been doing in there.

We’re looking forward to beginning our port adventures!

Barcelona

We survived the 15 hours of plane travel and we are now in Barcelona. For all of us who travel in coach let me just say that sleep is highly unlikely. Hard to get comfortable in teeny tiny seats with no leg room. However, the flights went extremely smooth and we had no delays. When we went through customs in Barcelona Mr. Smiley didn’t ask us one question (not even sure if he really looked at us) but we did get stamps in our passports! For those considering making this journey with kids just keep in mind that it may be hard for them to go without sleep for this long and a melt down may be forthcoming. I’m not mentioning any names but Sydney and Eric know whom I’m talking about. Don’t plan anything on the day of arrival and let it just be a rest day.

As we were walking to our hotel I had to ask someone in one of the shops directions to our hotel. He said he would just show us so he walked out with us and pointed us in the right direction. As we were walking and talking I told him we were from the U.S. and he said we were very lucky as he sees us as having so much more opportunity. He said in Barcelona there is not much opportunity and he works very long hours (14 hour days) for very little pay. I told him he should come to America someday!

We’re staying at Hotel Jardi, which is a historic hotel on a picture perfect square. I especially like the fact it has an elevator (not all hotels do). So when it came time for us to carry our luggage to our room, which was on the 7th floor I said to David, “I sure am glad there’s an elevator here!” We had to stop dead in our tracks as we came around the corner and saw the repair crew fixing it so it was temporarily out of order. Stairs were steep and kids had a hard time carrying their luggage so there we were Eric and Sydney at the front bounding up the 7 flights unencumbered. After being awake for a full 24 hours David and I were carrying our backpacks along with the children’s suitcases up 7 flights of stairs. We’ve never felt so alive!

I know people will ask about our weather so here it is so far. I’ve realized something very important! The rain in Spain does NOT fall mainly on the plane. It falls, in buckets, all around Barcelona. Didn’t think it could rain this hard for 2 days straight but apparently it can! We're staying 2 days post cruise so hopefully we'll see some sun. We decided we really don't mind the rain and kind of makes it quiet and places are mostly filled with locals so we don't have to contend with the throngs of tourist that are here in the Summer months. It definitely is worth it to come in the Spring!

We went into El Corte Ingles, which is a huge department store. It even has a grocery store in the basement. Eric and David went off and Sydney and I did some looking around. We had lunch in a cafeteria-style restaurant on the top floor with and amazing view of the city! Funny moment occurred when we all had to make a restroom break before heading out. I had finished up and when I opened the door to leave I saw Eric standing alone in the hall waiting. There was a nice older man also waiting out there for his wife. He was trying to strike up a conversation with Eric and was asking him (in Spanish) if he was a Spanish boy but Eric only shook his head. I told him we are from the U.S. so he then spoke to us in English and kept patting Eric on the head. When we left he told us Eric was a very good boy and patted his head just one more time! Eric didn’t really seem to mind! Afterwards, we hopped on Bus Turistic and saw the highlights of the city, which had an audio guide explaining the sights along the way.

We found a great Tapas Bar called Taverna Irati. We stood at the bar and helped ourselves to whatever looked good. After you’ve finished they count the toothpicks on your plate and charge accordingly. Such a great idea! Don’t know why it hasn’t caught on in the U.S.

We’re looking forward to boarding the Disney Magic and seeing more of the Mediterranean!

Let's Go!

After many months of planning, our departure date is finally within reach. Like all families about to embark on a trip, each member has their own vision of what their ideal trip will be like. My husbands ideal trip: relax, see some incredible sites, enjoy the sunshine, and read a good text book (he doesn't read fiction).

My vision: Hopefully this is where all my research has paid off. I want to see as much as possible and since we have our own itinerary figured out we should be able to hit the ground running (okay maybe walking). So much to see and so little time! I know we'll probably have to forego a few sights if the kids are feeling overwhelmed and tired but I'm okay with that and hopefully we'll be able to return someday. I also plan on doing some relaxing onboard the Disney Magic and I'm looking forward to reading my fiction book.

Sydney's (Age 11) ideal vacation: It can be summed up in 3 words, "MAKE NEW FRIENDS." She can hardly wait to hang out in the ships kids club and meet some new friends. She's already told me she wants to be in the club during dinnertime because then she will get to eat with the other kids. "I think it will be fun to go out to dinner and talk with all my friends!" I am happy to report she has no confidence problem!

Eric's (Age 8) Vision: Staying in Barcelona and practicing his limited Spanish on the locals. He knows how to say El Gordo Gato (The fat cat) so we'll see how far that gets him! He's promised to try Tapas (similar to appetizers) and will try anything that looks like mini hotdogs.

As you can see, we each have our own ideas about this trip. Interesting to see how it lives up to our expectations.

As many people know I am the queen of light packing. We will be gone for a little over two weeks and our luggage consists of one carry on per person. The kids will also each have a backpack with things that will hopefully occupy them during our travels. I thought I had it all figured out when I was thinking about what each child would take in their suitcase. That is until Sydney told me the other morning that she had already done some packing and had put alot of items in her suitcase so I said "Let me see what you've packed." I figure that she is only a "light packer in training" so I must cut her some slack! Let's just say that I didn't think about the fact my 11 year old daughter might have ideas of her own and apparently there are some things that she "just can't live without!" However, I did have to stand my ground on a few items and when I was wrestling the extra large binoculars out of her hands that we "absolutely have to take," I knew I was doing the right thing!

Well all the planning is done and now it's time to fly!

The Best Laid Plans

I pride myself in being super organized when it comes to travel planning. I think of all the possibilities and even have back up plans. I mark everything off my checklist so I don’t forget anything. Swimsuits? Check. First aid kit? Check. Comfortable shoes? Check. Raging volcano in Iceland that has stranded thousands of travelers and created the worst air travel nightmare in Europe’s history? Well I guess I didn’t think of EVERYTHING that could go wrong! The good news is that we are flying into Spain, which seems to be the country least affected by this volcano. Let’s just hope it doesn’t do another major eruption or else I will have to personally have a little talk with it! This is a perfect example why it is so important to purchase travel insurance on your trip. When the unexpected happens it’s nice to know that you are protected. Some policies cover travel delay up to a certain amount that compensates for additional costs such as hotels. Some of the stranded travelers have been sleeping in the airport for 5 nights! If I had to sleep in an airport for 5 nights I think my usual pleasant demeanor would be a distant memory!

I was talking to Sydney the other day about this Volcano and since this is a pretty major natural disaster asked her if anyone was talking about it at her school. She looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, “Why would they? It doesn’t have anything to do with us and ya know, kids are just interested in themselves!” I guess I have my answer.

We are continuing to watch the situation and at this point it looks like we should have no problem getting to Barcelona. Hopefully the volcano, who’s name no one can pronounce, simmers down. I have my own name for it!

The Cat's Out of the Bag

We finally told the kids we'll be taking them on our biggest family adventure yet! When I told them we were going to have a family meeting Sydney's first response was "Oh great! Well I'm not coming! Just pretend I'm not part of the family!" I told her to remind me of that AFTER our meeting. When we were finally all together I had each of them choose something from the bag I was holding which included items about our trip (books, maps etc). They were a bit baffled as they were pulling each item out. I didn't leave them in suspense for too long and told them we're going to the Mediterranean and staying 4 nights in Barcelona (2 nts pre-cruise and 2 nts post-cruise) and taking a 10 night Disney Cruise. They were excited beyond words! I thought they would be most excited about the cruise but they were actually very curious about Barcelona and what we would get to see there.


I can already tell there will be some laughable moments with the kids since sometimes what they mean and what comes out of their mouth are two different things. We were talking with them about visiting Herculaneum, a sister city to Pompeii, which was buried under the same eruption but is believed to be better preserved than Pompeii. The kids are very interested about this and looking forward to visiting it. Suddenly Eric asked, "So then we'll get to see alot of ass?" We all stared at him for a minute before we realized he was talking about ash. Cracked us up!


Also getting them prepared to try different types of food. Sydney will be okay with that but Eric is picky picky picky! Might be a bit of a challenge so I have already started giving him my try new foods lecture. I explained if we are in a restaurant or market and you see something you don't like it is considered very rude to say "Ew yuck!". I thought he understood until he informed me that we should probably just bring our own food! I said no.


I gave them both travel journals to write in and they love them! They immediately went to work customizing them. These journals have questions in them to give them ideas what to write about and has an area for trip planning, packing list, destinations etc. It'll be a great keepsake! Every night they want to have a little "study time" learning about where we're going.


We will be taking them out of school for 2 weeks so not sure what their teachers will think of that but I figure this is a huge learning experience. History is alot more interesting when you can actually see it for yourself!

Family Travel Ideas for 2010

Where is your next family vacation? Do you prefer a tropical setting or perhaps a big city destination is more your style. How about a theme park? The choices are endless and the benefits of traveling together are priceless. When traveling with young children and teenagers it is important to choose a vacation that provides activities for all age groups. Once you decide where to go then it’s time to check pricing, compare hotels, and buy that plane ticket!
Disney is synonymous with Family Travel. Here are a few hot Disney deals being offered. At Disneyland you will get 5 hotel nights for the price of 3 when you purchase a 3 night resort hotel package including Park Hopper passes. If your family wants to try out a Disney Cruise then now is the perfect time! Children sail FREE (when sailing with 2 full fare guests in the same stateroom) on most 3 and 4 night Bahamian cruises. Many families combine the best of both worlds and book Disney’s Land and Sea package.
Are you planning a family reunion? Cruising has become a popular choice for large family gatherings. With so many activities to choose from there seems to be something to suit everyone’s taste. Royal Caribbean just introduced their newest cruise ship called Oasis of the Seas. It has 18 decks and can accommodate almost 6300 passengers! It has an open-air park with trees and hanging gardens, a boardwalk-style area with a merry-go-round, a pool that changes into a stage for high-diving shows and a theater that has booked the Broadway musical "Hairspray."
I hope I’ve given you a few ideas as you start planning for your next family vacation. A Travel Consultant will take care of the details for you and will track all payments, make sure everyone in your travel party has the correct documentation and answer any and all questions you may have relating to your trip. Enjoy the journey and leave the planning to me!

Think Disney in the Springtime

Mediterranean cruises starting from $999* per person based on double occupancy for 10 or 11 night Mediterranean sailings on April 24 and May 5, 2010. Come explore favorite ports in Europe and venture to incredible places. Combine this with the outstanding personal service, enchanting experiences and unmatched entertainment that is distinctive to Disney Cruise Line®.

* Some restrictions apply

Purchase a 3-night, 5-day Disneyland Resort vacation package and get two more hotel nights FREE*. This package includes a 5-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper souvenir ticket, allowing your family to enjoy favorite attractions at both Theme Parks.
Must be booked by April 1, 2010 and travel must be completed by May 4, 2010.