One of the things I enjoy on any trip is a visit to a local farmer's market. I love the community atmosphere and the opportunity to see and taste local produce and baked goods. The Santa Fe Farmer's Market is particularly lovely, with live music, lots of baked goods, and during our late summer visit, a huge variety of fresh apples.
One industrious family set up a shave ice stand that used fresh apple cider instead of artificially flavored syrup to flavor the ice. I don't know why it never occurred to me before that you could use juice instead of bright green corn syrup, but I was thrilled & so were the kids!
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Posted on January 22, 2009 |
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This is a guest post by Nancy Solomon of Ciao Bambino. Nancy lives just outside of Boston, and has generously shared her favorite things to do when she visits Boston with her kids.
Both fun and educational, Boston is a terrific family destination. The rich historical background provides excellent learning opportunities, while the multitude of museums and activities make it entertaining. Unlike larger cities, the relatively intimate size of Boston keeps the walking to minimum, making it easy on those little legs.
We love to explore and with four active kids, we venture into Boston all the time. You’ll find I’ve offered local perspective on top sites and activities—what’s missing are places to just hangout. My kids are still at the perpetual movement phase-—as long as everyone’s going forward, we’re all good. Hanging out...not so good-—at least in public.
Here is a list of the activities that our family has enjoyed over and over and that I wouldn’t miss while visiting Boston.
Boston Duck Tours (all ages):
Start here! Although there are many tours offered in Boston, the Ducks are the best. The guides on this tour make the city come to life. In general, I like starting a city visit with a tour to get your bearings and to see what piques your interest. Your kids will be involved from the beginning, quacking at people on the street (who quack back!) and playing captain of the boat while cruising on the Charles. *NOTE: The drawback of these tours is their popularity. You need to make reservations if you don’t want to wait for hours. Also, you can catch this at the Museum of Science or the Prudential Building).
Museum of Science & Charles Street:
From huge dinosaurs, an excellent children’s’ discovery center, a butterfly garden, iMax shows, an electricity exhibit, little monkeys, hatching chicken eggs, and much more–the Museum of science is a hit with children and adults alike. This is a large museum so I like to pick just a few exhibits to explore and then head out. You can review the MOS website for daily events. On weekends, they offer a terrific story hour with live animals. If you’d like to see an iMax show, you should pre-order tickets. As you finish up at the MOS, head east to Charles Street, which is loaded with great little shops and restaurants. Don’t miss The Red Wagon for clothes and toys (Baby-6) and Pixy Stix for clothes and trinkets for 7-12 girls. Both of these shops are fun (but pricey). There are quick, casual and delicious spots on Charles Street, our favorites include The King & I (Thai), Artu (Italian) and The Upper Crust (Pizza). For an interesting stop, you can check out the Liberty Hotel, which used to be a jail and still has some relics from it’s past life.
New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall & The North End (all ages): The aquarium is great and a pretty quick stop. The kids can position themselves right on the glass of the 200,000-gallon tank and get inches from sharks, turtles, eels and giant fish. Really, I go back to the aquarium as an excuse to eat in the North End or stroll through Faneuil Hall. As you exit the aquarium, be sure to stop by the pop-up water “Rings” fountain on the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. On a hot day, this conveniently located fountain is a great place to cool off. Faneuil Hall is a great spot to grab lunch and enjoy entertainers. Think upscale, delicious food court and great if your kids need space to walk around while you’re eating. If you’re up for a real Yankee experience you can try
Durgin Park where you get New England food, shared tables and brash waitresses. You are also within walking distance to the North End (don’t miss this ethnic Italian neighborhood.
Regina’s Pizza and
Mike’s Pastry shop are the best).
Cambridge:
If you are not in the mood for crowds and have a car, try an afternoon in Cambridge. We love the Harvard Museum of Natural History. There are stuffed real animals of every sort and amazing glass flowers. Then drive over to Barefoot Books. This is a magical place! They are a book publishing company dedicated to global stories and they sell amazing books…we have worn through many versions of their tales on CD. A few doors down is our favorite Korean restaurant called Seoul Food. It’s a hole-in-the-wall, but try the hot pots. We also love Stellabella Toys, and the S&S deli. For a decent meal with a large train and toy area you can go to Full Moon, but be prepared to wait- this is a hot spot for parents who want good food and wine without leaving their toddlers at home.
Sporting Events (ages 5+):
Boston debatably has some of the best sports teams, but certainly has some of the most intense fans. The Red Sox, the Patriots, the Bruins and the Celtics offer year-round sports entertainment. Look ahead for tickets and be prepared to shell out a pretty penny for good seats. Be forewarned–I’ve learned the hard way that the local sports fans can over indulge in both profanity and alcohol, at which point, they don’t necessarily care that there are kids near them.
Children’s Museum (ages 1-10):
This recently renovated museum is a gift to Boston’s children. The hands-on exhibits, boat races, and climbing structure are always popular. Also, there is a baby play area for the little ones to safety crawl around out of the stroller.
If you are traveling with older kids, you may want to also take a look at the Tomb, Urban Adventure Bike Tours, Little Feet Freedom Trail Tour, Boston Children’s Theatre and Wheelock Family Theatre.
Nancy Solomon is an avid traveler and writer for Ciao Bambino. She lives outside Boston and has four children 9,8,5 and 1 with whom she enjoys sharing the world.
Related Links
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Ciao Bambino:
Museums and Kids- A great Combination
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Posted on January 22, 2009 |
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Pam Mandel of Nerds Eye View has organized a travel blogger's meetup on January 28th from 5pm to 8pm at C&P Coffee in West Seattle.
I'll be there, and I hope you will be too!
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Posted on January 21, 2009 |
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Here is a reader question from Tiffany, who asks:
I am traveling alone with my 27 month old from Hawaii to Barcelona in January to meet my husband. I am not planning to bring a carseat, do you know of a car service there for airport transports? After a couple of days in Barcelona we will be cruising on NCL to Rome, Athens, Turkey, Egypt and Malta. Can't wait, but I am VERY NERVOUS about the flights. One way, our flight is approximately 18 hours total in air. YIKES!!!! I have appreciated the tips on this site! Thank you!
Good luck on your trip to Barcelona! We had a wonderful time there with the kids last winter.
Costa Blanca Transfers is able to provide child safety seats to customers, but I have not tried this company myself.
Even when a car service does provide child seats, the language barriers and differences in car seat laws can sometimes make it difficult to get exactly the type of seat you need. Occasionally you will end up with a booster for an infant or an infant seat for an older child, which creates an awkward situation after a long flight.
In Barcelona it is fairly easy to take the metro into the city center from the airport (and that is what we did when we visited). Perhaps you could have your husband meet you at the metro station closest to your destination to carry the bags?
Another popular alternative is to travel with a Sit 'n' Stroll
stroller because it converts quickly between a carseat and a stroller. That makes it easy to travel around town, especially if you think you will be getting in and out of taxis frequently.
It is natural to focus on your worries about the flight (that's always the biggest cause of stress for me too) but try not to let it dominate your thoughts. That 18 hours represents just a small percentage of your overall trip... a trip which sounds sure to be wonderful.
If you have a question about traveling with kids, send me email at Debbie AT DeliciousBaby DOT com
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Posted on January 19, 2009 |
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I am excited to announce that I'll be teaching a class at the Rick Steves Travel Center in Edmonds, WA on Saturday January 24 from 12:00 to 1:30. The class is free, and you can register here
If you live in the Seattle area, I hope you'll join me. I plan to talk about everything from planning your trip to packing light and making travel days work.
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Posted on January 18, 2009 |
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There are some amazing deals on Vancouver hotels right now, so we are
likely to head north for a weekend getaway sometime in the next few weeks. I thought I'd share a picture from a recent trip to Vancouver's Granville Island. We love the farmer's market (complete with my favorite Bagels on the West Coast and a great donut shop), and the kids love the terrific water play area and this cute boat.
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Posted on January 16, 2009 |
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I'm so sorry for the delay. A personal matter came up last night that completely threw me off my game. Everything is fine now, and I will post Photo Friday later today.
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Posted on January 16, 2009 |
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2008 was an eventful year for me personally and for DeliciousBaby. Both kids were old enough to start really enjoying our trips (instead of just enjoying the uninterrupted time with mom & dad). Even with high airfares, a poor exchange rate, and the beginnings of an economic downturn, we managed to take some very rewarding trips. But of course, it's not hotels and plane flights that make for lasting travel memories, and I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite travel moments from 2008
Rediscovering San Francisco's Exploratorium (one of my own favorite childhood destinations) with my own kids.
Introducing the kids to
Mini-Golf in Phoenix (an experience that sucked the life out of me at the time, but make the kids so happy that I now remember it fondly)
E
discovering Georgia O'Keefe in Santa Fe
and then rediscovering
Georgia O'Keefe's Sky Above Clouds painting at the Chicago Art Institute and literally having to sit down to take it in.
Sitting with the kids by the river and devouring warm fry bread at
Taos Pueblo
Reporting on
unsafe car seats at Advantage Rental Car, and having my stories
show up on the news
Going to the BlogHer conference and meeting so many amazing
Women Travel Bloggers and other women bloggers. When I arrived, I didn't know a single person (but had a short list of people I knew I wanted to meet) it's amazing to think about how many more people I'll "know" this year.
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Posted on January 13, 2009 |
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This is a guest post from Pamela Schutz, who very generously shares her story of traveling around South East Asia with her seven month old daughter Mika. She also shares a list of her favorite gear for backpacking with a baby.
“Miss Mika’s South East Asia Adventures” was what my husband Owen and I fondly labelled our four month backpacking jaunt with our then 7 ½ month old daughter Mika. In that short time we visited Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. You see the trip was really more about our daughter than us anyway...and as any new parent can surely attest, that’s just fine. It is a trip I will always feel as one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and one I soon hope to replicate with Mika and our 11 month old daughter, Tysier. Although, maybe somewhere else on the globe.
I learned a lot about myself and being a first time parent on this trip...sort of a crash course in parenting and in life I guess you could say. Everything from on the go diaper changes in filthy urine soaked toilets in Vietnam, to stinking hot strolls on white sandy beaches in Malaysia, with baby fastened securely to my chest. I would do either one again in a heartbeat.
One stop on the South East Asian tour that I will never forget was Chao Doc, a tiny town on the southern tip of Vietnam that we made on route to the island of Phuc Quoc for a little secluded R and R. We had been to Thailand and Cambodia by now and looked forward to some intentional sun and sand. It was here that I finally understood what it might feel like to be a celebrity. Here the locals rarely see tourists of the Caucasian variety, and even less likely to see one that is only 9 months old suspended in a front carrier. We were mobbed constantly and I found it difficult to walk even a few steps without being stopped by the locals for a curious peek or pinch of the baby. I quickly learned the Vietnamese term for “don’t touch’ as we navigated our way through outdoor markets replete with raw meat, flip flops and everything in between. It is custom here to find one’s luck in the pinching of fat, rosy baby cheeks, and Mika’s were no exception.
Of course no trip to South East Asia is complete without a nasty case of dysentery. Oh yes I had it...and for about 2 glorious months I was hard pressed to shake it. So with the breastfeeding, never ending diarrhoea and vomiting threatening every bite I ate, weight loss was certain...24 pounds to be exact. Don’t get me wrong, to be thin and deeply tanned upon our homecoming was superb, but the invariable trips to the washroom and extreme fatigue in 35 plus degree humidity with backpack and baby...not so much.
Aside from being treated as a “walking ATM”, there was never a feeling of ill will towards us or our child on this marvelous journey. The people we met were some of the finest, hardworking and happiest individuals I have ever met, folks who clearly valued children and family above all else. Quite a task given some of the modest living conditions, and 16 hour work days we witnessed them living. Sleeping in past 6 am meant one was to assume you are ill.
It is always interesting to me to describe these countries as “third world” and “undeveloped”. Sometimes I think North America could stand to be infused with a little bit of these “traits”, especially if it would lead to a deeper appreciation of all that we have grown accustomed to and sometimes taken for granted.
So yes, I would attempt this trip again and many others when and if the opportunity presents itself.
Luckily I have a quick “must have” list for travel with baby that I have at the ready and considered very useful at the time.
- Bungee Cord (or anything long and stretchy) that you can attach various toys to, then wrap around seat in front of you i.e. bus or plane. That way when baby is on your lap she has something to swat at and play with that doesn’t constantly fall to the floor. Just be sure to change up the toys so baby doesn’t get too bored with them.
-
Umbrella Stroller. Okay I know this one’s a “no-brainer”, but we started our trip without one and by the time we got to Singapore(about three months into the trip), I was drooling at them in the stores and made my husband buy me one. They double as a highchair, bed for naps and luggage carrier when you are holding baby in carrier. Lightweight enough to carry on your shoulder when not needed.
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Campers Utility Knife
. Not just a knife, but also has a spoon, fork and other useful contraptions that are interlocked together so you always have eating utensils when needed. We had our’s engraved with our daughter’s name, year and places we traveled. Nice little souvenir in the end.
-
Jolly Jumper. This was perfect for our daughter! She got tons of exercise when she was not yet walking or crawling, and it hooks up easily to any nearby tree on the beach or anywhere you can imagine that is stationary and strong. You can use the V-like “jaws” they come with or rig some strong, safe rope to wrap around. Just be prepared for some curious looks from locals who have never seen babies bouncing from trees.
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Baby Carrier. We got so much use out of ours. Our daughter loved it and was so comfortable. She loved that she could see everything that we did. A definite must have. Just make sure you have a really good one that you can wear all day long that is easy on your back and shoulders.
Pamela Shutz can be contacted at pamelashutz AT hotmail DOT com. Thanks so much for a great article Pamela!
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Posted on January 12, 2009 |
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