When we first visited the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris it felt like every storybook image of children in parks was brought into reality. That's certainly because so many of the park's features, like this carousel, have shown up in classic photos, storybooks and movies. As the children ride the carousel, they try to catch a brass ring. There's no prize, just the satisfaction of accompishment.
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Posted on September 18, 2008 |
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A regular reader wrote to me last week to ask:
Have you ventured to Asia? I've hit up some Asian sites but none have the
same quality of care put into presenting the information. I'm headed to
Hong Kong and would love to read if any of your readers have any
recommendations for things to do, eat, sleep there. I lived there a few
years ago before baby and so my perspective was just so different from
today. B will have turned a year old by the time we travel in November.
We haven't been to Asia since the kids were born, and I have never been to Hong Kong, so I don't have any first-hand advice to offer. I hope my readers will help with their advice. After some research, here are some of the things I would try if I were going to Hong Kong:
- The Ocean Park marine theme park seems like a sure hit with a one year old. In addition to aquariums, you'll find a Giant Panda exhibit. There are amusement park rides for older kids
- By one year old, D was wild about arial trams (both kids still are). Consider taking the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak (Hong Kong's highest hill). Once there, you'll have a view of the entire city, and this would be a lovely place to enjoy a picnic lunch or take put your baby in a stroller or sling and take one of the scenic walks. With any luck, B will drift off to sleep before you head back down.
- I love markets, so I wouldn't want to miss Kolwoon's open air markets. With the kids, I'd focus my time in the Flower, Bird and Fish markets
- And of course, I'd search out some great Dim Sum. I might also try the Yellow Door Kitchen. The restaurant is reputed to have some of the best food in the city, and it's casual enough to accommodate a child. At one year old, even if your baby isn't able to eat everything you eat, you can order steamed vegetables or simple noodle dishes while you feast on the "good stuff".
- You can also find a playground close to your hotel using this website or ask locals for their advice on the Hong Kong Baby and Parenting Community Website
- Finally, Hong Kong Disneyland seems a bit old for a one-year-old (unless you happen to be a Disney fan). I mention it because compared with other Disney theme parks, it is geared to very young kids and might be a good choice for older toddlers or preschoolers. Only one ride (space mountain) has a height restriction.
Readers, what suggestions and ideas do you have? Please tell us in comments!
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Posted on September 17, 2008 |
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It is funny that out of all the articles I have written in the past year, this one makes me the most uncomfortable. There is something very private about one's budget. Publishing my budget exposes the places where we were simply too lazy to be frugal, the places where we splurged (possibly with guilt) and the places where we were weren't as fancy as I'd like people to think we are. I think that is part of the reason it is so difficult to get a sense of how much it really costs to travel.
To add to that, I'm always cautious about giving the impression that the only way to enjoy traveling is to spend a lot of money. My husband and I have backpacked on as little as $40/day and had incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and we have sometimes splurged on private tours or other activities that were wildly expensive. We are lucky to be in a position to focus on getting the best value for our dollar, and the best possible experience instead of cutting costs at every corner, and I think that this budget reflects that. Still, I think each family tailors its own travel costs to reflect their interests, needs and priorities.
Some will think this budget is totally unattainable (and there are definitely places I would trim if we had a tighter budget) others will think we made too many compromises and might want more pampering on their own trips. I added some notes about why we made the budget decisions we did with each major expense. We often picnic or pick up food at a grocery store instead of eating in a restaurant, and I did not track those expenses since they were about the same as the cost of eating at home. Similarly, I carry water bottles with us so that we're not forced to spend time and money in an expensive cafe when we get thirsty.
Airfare: $859.50 total for 3 round-trip tickets from Seattle to Albuquerque
We booked our flight at a time of day when D would be likely to get a free seat. That worked on 3 out of 4 flights. She sat on my lap on the remaining flight. Since our dates were somewhat flexible, we used Farecast, Kayak and Orbitz to help us find the lowest prices. We also considered flying into Phoenix (which is cheaper) but realized that would mean cutting Taos out of our itinerary, which we weren't willing to do. We'll visit Arizona on a future trip.
Rental Car & Ground Transportation: $648 total
Round-trip car service to/from airport and our home: $100
Rental car: $479 for 8 days from Hertz
Gas: About $70
We could have cut the rental car cost considerably. I booked the car at the last minute (but did use an AAA member discount) and I have grown leery of rental car discounters lately. If we were on a tight budget, I would have tried using Priceline's bidding service and spent more time searching for coupons. We also took a free SUV upgrade which meant increased gas cost (but also a more comfortable ride).
We used a car service to/from the airport that provides car seats. If our budget had been tighter, we would have asked a friend to drive us. Parking off-lot at the airport would have been more than the car service.
Day One: Flying to Albuquerque: $168
Dinner: About $20 Airport Pizza & snacks from home
Hotel: Casa De Suenos: $148
We chose a family-run hotel at the edge of Old Town. A few nights in atmospheric adobe buildings were an important part of the trip for me, and in general I like to stay in locally run hotels when I can find something that accommodates kids. Still, since the sights in Albuquerque are spread out, it would have been just as convenient to stay at a cheaper and more modern airport hotel.
Day Two: Albuquerque: $276
Hotel: Casa De Suenos: $148
Breakfast: Included with room
Lunch: Monica's El Portal $38
Snack: Golden Crown Pandaria $12
Light Dinner: $14 shared takeaway from Sandiago's Mexican Grill @ the Sandia Peak Tram
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center $12
Explora: Free (reciprocal agreement with Seattle Science Center)
Rattlesnake Museum: $12
Sandia Peak Tram: $35
Parking: $5
We had such a big lunch & great snack that we weren't hungry for a full dinner. In general, lunch in a restaurant is cheaper than dinner, but also cuts into your sightseeing time.
If you have local museum or zoo memberships, bring your cards with you. Many major museums have reciprocal agreements.
Day Three: Drive to Santa Fe: $126
Hotel: Santa Fe Suites $82
Breakfast: Included with room
Lunch: Delicasa $25
Dinner: Whole Foods Market
Parking: $7
Petroglyph National Monument (parking) $2
El Rancho de las Golondrinas $10
Saint Francis Cathedral Basilica: Free
The hotel was a little bit out of town (about 10 minutes drive) and substantially cheaper than a room within walking distance of the plaza. While the room was bland and uninteresting, I appreciated the extra space and kitchen. What I didn't anticipate was how much time and money we would spend on parking. If I had it to do again, I would try harder to find something in town at a slightly higher rate (but not the $100-$200 extra that seemed to be the norm).
Day Four: Santa Fe: $246
Hotel: Santa Fe Suites $82
Breakfast: Included with room
Lunch: The Shed $57
Dinner: Bumble Bee's Baja Grill $45
Parking: $14
Georgia O'Keefe Museum: $16
Children's Museum: $32
Children's museums get expensive quickly because kids aren't free! We could have opted to visit on a Sunday (for dollar days) and some Children's Museums have a reciprocal agreement with our local museum (this one did not). If the weather had been cooler, we would have spent more time playing outside instead.
We spent a lot on food this day too, in part because I always want to taste as many items as I can.
Day Five: Santa Fe: $175
Hotel: Santa Fe Suites $82
Breakfast: Included with room
Snack: Farmer's Market $12
Lunch: Buffet at India Palace $27
Dinner: Whole Foods Market
Parking: $14
San Miguel Mission $2
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art: $6
Children's Museum: $32
Once again we had a simple dinner at Whole Foods. This is one of my favorite mealtime "tricks" because I can always find something the kids will eat, it's super fast, and I know it is healthy. I get to sample local produce, cheese and baked goods, so it's rewarding for me too. We could have saved more money by having our entire meal at the Farmer's market, but I was anxious to try the renowned Indian food at India Place.
Day Six: Drive to Taos: $296
Hotel: Monte Sagrado: $206
Breakfast: Included with room
Lunch: Street Food $24
Dinner: Orlando's $40
Parking $6
Palace of the Governors (Santa Fe) $16
Los Alamos National Labs - Bradbury Science Museum Free
Twirl $4 recommended donation
Several of the cheaper hotels in town did not accept children (or were not a good fit for children), and the Hotel Monte Sagrado seemed like such a beautiful hotel that I was willing to splurge a little and end the trip in luxury. I'm glad I did, $206 was a bargain price for this beautiful property.
Day 7: Taos Pueblo: $319
Hotel: Monte Sagrado: $206
Breakfast: Cereal and Milk
Lunch: Bent Street Deli $48
Snack: Hotel Monte Sagrado: $25
Dinner: Guadalajara Grill $40
Day 8: Return to Albuquerque: $240
Hotel: Hyatt Place $134
Breakfast: Room Service $20
Lunch Apple Tree: $54
Dinner: El Patio $28
Twirl $4 recommended donation
We usually don't order room service because it is so expensive, but this room had a lovely patio, and it was relaxing to sit outside and eat warm pancakes with D while E slept in.
Day 9: Fly home: $20
Breakfast: Included with Room
Starbucks in Phoenix $20
Summary
This 9-day vacation cost $3,373 including airfare, meals, ground transportation and lodging in 3* or above properties. That works out to about $94 per person / per day. We saved some money because D was young enough to be a lap infant, and both kids were young enough for free admission at most museums. We also could have cut expenses significantly by staying in less expensive hotels in Taos and Albuquerque, renting a cheaper car, and picnicking more.
What Do You Think
This is the first time I have shared my budget. Was the information helpful? Did you like the way I presented it, or would you have preferred a spreadsheet? Do you have lingering questions? Do you want to see more in the future? Let me know in comments.
Related Links
Saving Money on Your Vacation
Creating A Budget for a Family Vacation
Easy Ways to Track Travel Expenses and Stick To Your Vacation Budget
Albuquerque With Kids
Santa Fe With Kids
Taos With Kids
Photo Credit: Diannam
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Posted on September 16, 2008 |
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I am excited to publish this exclusive interview with Wendy Perrin, Conde Nast Traveler’s consumer news editor, a mother of two kids, and the author of one of my favorite travel blogs, The Perrin Post. In the print magazine, Wendy writes a practical
advice column called "The Wendy Perrin Report” as well as feature articles on travel industry trends, hotels, cruises, vacation bargains, adventure travel, and exotic destinations.
I have been reading Wendy's work for years, in fact the first article I remember making a strong impression on me was published way back in 2004, about the challenges of taking a toddler to a family-friendly resort in Mexico but I'm sure that I had read her work well before that time. What I've always loved about Wendy's writing is the way she blends solid practical advice with a great sense of humor and the occasional snarky comment.
How did you get your start as a Travel Writer?
I started working at Conde Nast Traveler magazine as an editorial assistant back in 1989. The first “travel writing” I did—if you can call it that--was when I became Ombudsman Editor in 1990 and started writing the Ombudsman column. That led me to writing investigative news articles, which led to features, then a book
Wendy Perrin's Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know
, then a column of practical travel advice (“The Perrin Report”). Currently I write features and my column, supervise several big annual packages with lists attached (e.g., “Wendy Perrin’s Ninth Annual 128 World's Top Travel Specialists” in CNT’s Aug issue every year; “Wendy Perrin’s Third Annual Worldwide Villa Rental Guide” in the June issue; the annual “Dream List” in the Dec issue; etc.), am heavily involved in other regular features (our series of “Iconic Itineraries,” our annual Cruise Guide, etc.), and blog in whatever few moments of spare time I can eke out -- which is why I’m usually blogging at home at 11 p.m. There’s NO time for it during the work day!
How did you start blogging?
The blog wasn’t my idea. I didn’t even know what a blog was. A little more than 2 years ago, Concierge.com, which has been the host of CNTraveler.com, suggested I start writing one.
Have you had mentors, and how did they help you?
The most important mentor of my career has been Tom Wallace, the former editor in chief of Conde Nast Traveler who is now editorial director of all the Conde Nast Publications (the most important job on the editorial side at Conde Nast). I started out as his asst 19 years ago, and he promoted me to the various positions I’ve held, including my current one, Consumer News Editor. The book I wrote, and the column I still write, were his ideas. You asked what I looked for in a mentor: I’m afraid I didn’t really go out seeking one—I just ended up with one. You asked how I made the mentoring relationship effective: I guess I simply did a good job with the assignments Tom gave me, which is why he kept giving me more and more.
As for the blog, there’s been no mentor or guidance at all. The closest I’ve come to somebody showing me the ropes is
Sheila Scarborough of Family Travel. I met her through her comments on my blog (she was actually one of the winners of the first “Where’s Wendy?” contest), we started emailing each other, she convinced me to attend a blog conference with her in April 2007 (SOBCon), and she’s repeatedly answered my dumb questions ever since. I have so many more dumb questions, though!
Is there one article or accomplishment you are most proud of?
I guess I should be most proud of my 2005 feature "The Fabulous Fifty”
because it was a finalist for a National Magazine Award
--which is the top honor in the magazine world. Honestly, though, one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of was managing to take my kids with me on a working trip to Italy back when they were only 3 and 1. I have exceptionally active boys, so it was no easy feat keeping them strapped into their plane seats, preventing them from destroying the ancient villa I rented near Siena, and keeping them from killing themselves in an unfamiliar setting filled with precarious stone steps, unfenced pools, open fireplaces, and other hazards. But once I’d gotten everybody back home safe and sound and produced a successful article
about renting a family-friendly villa, I had a whole new level of parenting self-confidence: I realized that if I could get my two toddlers across an ocean and through just about every hill town in Tuscany, I could take them pretty much anywhere, and I knew that as they grew older our trips would only get easier.
Why do you think there are so few women in visible positions in this industry?
From what I can tell there are a lot of female travel writers, bloggers, and editors. But I do agree that the most visible “travel experts” tend to be male. I’m talking about
Peter Greenberg,
Arthur Frommer,
Rick Steves,
Rudy Maxa,
Randy Petersen,
Joe Sharkey,
Joe Brancatelli,
Tom Parsons, and the like. Why? Perhaps it’s partly because to be a travel expert with that level of visibility, you need to travel for business a lot and be able to drop everything and go on TV or radio at a moment’s notice. It’s hard to do these things when you’re a mom with children at home.
Do you think that being one of the few prominent woman travel writers gives you a different perspective?
I don’t think I’m one of only a few prominent female travel writers. I think there are many -- from magazine feature writers to newspaper journalists to guidebook authors. Perhaps you’re asking how my perspective differs from the perspective of the male “travel experts” listed? When you’ve got kids, a lot of these experts’ advice doesn’t really apply to you. For instance, they’ll say that if you want to nab a vacation deal you’ve got to have flexible dates or go in shoulder season. Well, it’s hard to be flexible or go in shoulder season when you’ve got school schedules to contend with. Or they’ll tell you how to swing a free upgrade to business class. That’s fine if you’re a single traveler but not if you’ve got tots in tow. (And there’s no way I’m going to inflict my kids on the passengers in business class.) Being female has little influence on what I write about for Conde Nast Traveler, but being a mom with kids has influenced my blog a lot.
How did having kids change your career path? Were there things you gave up, or did you change your focus?
I used to do a ton of TV (Oprah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, et al.) and radio. Those were the first things I gave up when I had kids. No way was I able to drag myself into a TV studio at 6:00 a.m. when I’d just been up half the night with a baby. I had no clean, pressed, spit-up-free outfits to wear. I couldn’t even find my makeup. (I still can’t.) It’s as much as I can do just to get my articles written and edited, get home to my kids, and blog during those odd free moments now and then—usually at night after the kids have gone to sleep.
How do you balance the need to be on the road with the need to spend time with your family?
When I travel to report a story, I now do it with Type A efficiency and zero downtime. Instead of going someplace for 10 days and getting 1 story out of it, I’ll go for 5 days and get 3 stories out of it. You’ll never find me lounging on a beach or hitting a hotel’s spa or enjoying the sunset view with a glass of wine or any of the other things that “travel writers” supposedly do. The kind of traveling I do for work is not fun. It’s grueling.
What is your favorite travel memory with your kids?
Good question. It would have to be when they were 3 and 4, we were driving through Jamaica, and we decided to stop at a school, just to see if we could meet some other kids and see a slice of their lives. The students could not have been friendlier or more welcoming. They grabbed my kids by the hand, immediately started playing with them, introduced us to their teachers, and gave us a tour of the entire school. There’s a great photo of Charlie with some of the students here.
And there’s more on our school visit here.
What do you hope that your children learn from their travel experiences?
I think travel is a vital element of a child’s education. My hope is that they learn what they have in common with kids all around the world, no matter how different those kids’ lives are from theirs. I hope they learn that the world does not revolve around the U.S. and that there are different and better ways of doing many things than how we do them here. I hope they develop the smarts and self-confidence that come with successfully managing whatever life may throw at you when you’re on the road in another country. Most of all, I hope they grow up to be true citizens of the world.
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Posted on September 15, 2008 |
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Ever wonder what it would be like for an adult to
completely immerse himself in the Disney Experience for five days (and at five different theme parks)? Seth Stevenson writes about Disney's influence on young children and the utopian world view the parks present. The author hints a little at why it is important for families to think beyond just Disney when they plan vacations.
He points out that the cultural themes at Disney, while positive, have little relationship to reality. I also think that some of the real benefits to travel come from seeing first hand that things are done differently in different places, and learning to adapt. There's little opportunity to do that in a resort. I know my kids will love Disneyland when we decide they will last long enough to justify the entrance fees, but I will always think it is important to continue exploring the real world with them too.
Speaking of why it's important to help kids explore the real world, TravelSavvyMom has a great article about why we travel with kids. I couldn't agree more with the author's viewpoint, and I wish I'd written this myself! Like everything on TravelSavvyMom, the article is insightful and fun to read, so take a moment to click over.
LunchInaBox has some great tips about using bento boxes when you travel. I do a scaled down version of this myself by bringing along one or two divided Lock & Lock Containers. They work great for crackers and for taking leftovers from a restaurant to snack on later, and when they are sealed, they're totally spill-proof.
There is a great article in the NY Times this week about how families with an Autistic Child make travel work. The article includes interviews and advice from parents of autistic children. If this is an issue that impacts you, please also check out our other links for Traveling With An Autistic Child
The poisonous substance, melamine, was found in Chinese baby formula this week. The formula wasn't exported, but this is a good reminder to bring your on formula if you are bottle feeding in a developing country.
Check out these creative Ideas for giving allowances on vacation from the readers of Budget Travel
There were two articles from SoulTravelers3 this week that really resonated with me. In Pint Sized Pilgrim's Joy in Learning the family shares how they helped their young daughter get the most out of a visit to Santiago de Compostela. As my kids get older, it's important for me to start helping them learn more about the places we visit too, so this was welcome and timely advice.
In the second article, How to Eat Healthy and Cheap While Traveling In Europe there are some great tips for cooking healthy, simple meals on the road. As my kids get older (and as I exit the sleep-deprived haze that was the first 20 months of D's life) I have started to get more concerned about how I feed my family both at home & when we are traveling. I try to cook real meals most days, but too often I fall back on pre-packaged foods that don't allow me much control over how much sugar and salt (not to mention fresh fruit and veges) my kids are getting. On top of that, I LOVE food, and I want my kids to develop a taste for food made out of... food... instead of processed food mixed with chemicals. If you share my concern (and my desire to find solutions that work with a busy life), you may enjoy this article.
Fall Deals
I wrote recently about how fall is one of the best times to score deals on popular family travel destinations. The travel industry is in a lull this year, so things are cheaper than usual... check out some of these deals:
Book a world class hotel room for 19.28/night
Unusually Low Prices at Caribbean Resorts
JetBlue Ebay Auctions
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Posted on September 14, 2008 |
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By the time we were in Rome with E, he was mostly eating table food, but I bought the occasional jar of baby food to feed him when we were on-the-go. I always enjoyed looking at the different choices on available to Italian babies, of course Prosciutto would be among a baby's first foods!
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Posted on September 12, 2008 |
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Pickles to Pittsburg, the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs takes place almost
entirely in a dream sequence. Kate, a young girl, falls asleep looking at a postcard
her Grandpa has sent from his vacation. She dreams about her own
adventure, piloting a plane to Chewandswallow, a town where giant
food falls from the sky. The written imagry is vivid, while using
words simple enough for a preschooler, with descriptions like:
Surrounded by milky blue skies and with Henry as my co-pilot, we
carefully steer our plane through large puffs of mist. Soon we find
ourselves soaring over an island, a very lumpy island. From the air it
looks like a gigantic feast. Immense Vegetables, salads, and desserts
lie beneath us. The mountains look like huge loaves of bread.
but the illustrations are what really draw in my kids. The incredibly
detailed drawings portray an imaginary world where orange juice rains
down from the sky and is collected in containers for shipping, and
where falling ice cream melts into a lake of milk. We
notice something new almost every time we read Pickles to Pittsburg,
and the kids sometimes laugh out loud at the pictures.
What really makes me love this book though is the sense of adventure,
and the idea that when you travel something new and amazing might be
around any corner.
note: it isn't necessary to read "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" before enjoying this book
Related Links
Amazon:
Pickles to Pittsburg, by by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett
Amazon:
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
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Posted on September 9, 2008 |
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BlogCoach, a blog about how to build your own blog is critquing DeliciousBaby today. If you have ideas about how I could improve this site (or what I should never change), please give me your feedback here.
If ever thought about building your own blog, or if you getting started with a blog, take a moment to check out BlogCoach's advice and forums for getting started or growing your blog. I have really enjoyed and learned from Angie's back to basic's viewpoint and staightforward advice.
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Posted on September 6, 2008 |
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When we were in Paris, we
visited the Louvre Museum over several days time, mostly with E asleep in his stroller. That seemed like the perfect way to take it all in, and didn't leave us struggling with how to entertain a 6 month old in a huge museum without many exits.
One challenge was that the old building seemed filled with staircases, sometimes it was difficult to decide whether to carry the stroller up to steps, or to use the small handicapped elevators that had been used to make the building accessible. If you are headed to Europe with a baby, this is one reason to bring a sling or a lightweight stroller!
Incidentally, one of the best things about having a small baby with you when you visit Paris is being escorted to the front of virtually any line, including the ones at the Louvre and Orsay
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Posted on September 5, 2008 |
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It's no secret that airline food isn't particularly kid friendly, and lately most flights don't include any food at all, leaving parents to bring along their own snacks and meals for their hungry kids. Recently The Perrin Post asked parents for their favorite travel snacks and there were some great ideas, but of course I'd love to hear what you think.
There is an art-form to packing snacks to bring along on an plane ride. They need need to last un-refrigerated for hours, cannot contain liquid, and preferably they take no space at all, are filling, and not sugar laden. If you care about being considerate to fellow passengers, your carry-on meal
shouldn't include peanuts or be too smelly either. And now the EPA says it is unsafe to add hot or cold airplane drinking water to a snack like oatmeal or ramen noodles.
That's a tall order for any parent, especially when you are packing up to leave town, or returning from a long vacation.
"Biggie" over at Packs a bento, which looks wonderful, but I've only managed to do it myself a handful of times. Instead, I have a short list of items I usually grab as we head out the door:
- Freeze dried fruit (Trader Joes sells mangos, rambutan, and strawberries, Gerber makes dried apples, bananas and corn)
- Puffed wheat
- Baby Gouda cheese
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- One restaurant in SEA-TAC's food court sells strips of roasted chicken, and I always pick up a bag for D (she loves it)
I'm willing to bet that my readers have some more creative ideas... What are your favorite Airplane Snacks?
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Posted on September 2, 2008 |
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