Travel Tuesday Thursday - New York City, Part 2

/
Welcome back to New York! You can find the first part of my New York trip report here.

Day 3 of our New York City Adventure began all the way at the south end of Manhattan at the Statten Island Ferry.



I had read about the ferry--how it gives you a free (catch that? FREE!) 30 minute ride across the Hudson River to, where else?, Statten Island.



I think it's the best way to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty (for free) . . .



. . . and some pretty good views of the Manhattan skyline.



It was cold and windy that day, but the trip was fun.

After the ferry boat ride we walked down Broadway to Wall Street.



And on to Trinity Church, most famous (in our household anyway) for the part it played in the movie "National Treasure." We joked about asking if we could just take a quick peek inside their vault, but the guy at the door didn't look like he would think that was funny at all. Their noon service was just starting, and he asked us to take a seat. Or head over to the room to our right to have ashes put on our foreheads (it just happened to be Ash Wednesday when we were there). The girls' eyes got as big as saucers at the thought of that, so we turned around and headed out.

The glimpse we got of the church, though, was absolutely beautiful. Every afternoon at 2:00 p.m. they offer a free tour which would be very nice, I think. Next time.



Next time I also want to take time to stroll through the graveyard that surrounds Trinity Church. This marker dates back to 1750. Can you believe that?!



Standing in that neighborhood, you just can't help but think of what it looked like on September 11. All of that chaos. All of that ash. It must have been amazing to be there.

Speaking of September 11, our next stop was Ground Zero. There's not a lot to see there yet . . . a huge hole in the ground and the beginnings of a couple of buildings . . . but I thought it was really important for the girls to see the site.

Right across the street from Ground Zero is a fire station--the first to respond, I'm sure--and on the side of the station now is this copper frieze, depicting scenes from that terrible day.

"Dedicated to those who fell, and to those who carry on."





"May we never forget."

Indeed.

Next stop was Chinatown--the girls' request. We hopped in a cab and got dropped off near Canal Street, a paradise for purveyors of cheap, stolen, gaudy handbags. And t-shirts. And sunglasses. And magnets.

And whatever other I ♥ NY paraphernalia you'd want to buy.

It's insanity down there. And I think I may have been just a little insane to take three beautiful girls down Canal Street, but thank goodness we were safe.

These pigs, however, are another story. Somewhere in Chinatown some pork is being roasted . . . and boiled . . . and fried. I should know--we had some in our dim sum. For lunch.



Here's a crazy sight--this is a parking garage on a street in Soho. Apparently they move the cars around on a platform to get them in and out. I don't know about you, but I was mesmerized by this sight.



After lunch we spent several hours walking through SoHo and Greenwich Village, shopping some, gawking mostly. By the end of the afternoon our feet hurt and we were exhausted, so we ducked into a small French cafe in Greenwich Village to warm up. As we were walking out, one of the girls in our group recognized someone famous--an actor who had been on Gilmore Girls for a while and had a fairly big part in one of my personal favorites, "Sydney White." Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for him!), we decided against our better judgements to NOT run back inside the cafe and ask for his picture.

I totally would have done it. They held me back.

After a rest in our hotel, we ended our evening at a sushi place the girls found. They had to find it because I was going to have no part in tracking down sushi. True confessions time . . . I had never eaten sushi before. It scared me. I thought I wouldn't like it. But the girls all convinced me that I just had to try the right kinds of sushi.

And you know what? They were right! I ended up loving the sushi we had at The Loop restaurant. Because, as you can see: "It's Japanese!"



I realize this is getting kind of long and maybe kind of boring if you have no interest at all in New York City (but then, why are you still reading?), so I will end my report with Day 4. The day we were heading home anyway.



The girls had one thing at the top of their list of things to do in NYC and that was to visit the Today Show. Thankfully, not that many people want to stand outside for hours in the chilly, nearly-raining, March weather, so we had a front-row stand (not seat--we stood). We got to shake Al Roker's hand (he's a very nice, very funny man), wave at Matt Lauer (apparently Matt had better places to be than outside with us that morning), and meet Meredith Viera.



Can I just say that Meredith Viera was a completely pleasant surprise? She was so nice! We politely asked if she would take a picture with the girls and she politely said yes. And after the picture she turned to them, asked them where they were from (we told her they were all on Spring Break from Wheaton College), and she took about five minutes to talk to them about college, ask questions about what they were studying, and generally showed sincere interest in all of them.



I think that was one of the highlights of our trip.

In the end, I'd say the trip was a huge success. Every minute was so much fun, and I felt it was such a privilege to spend that much time with my daughter and her friends. I know I will never forget it. I hope they won't either.

Travel Tuesday - New York City

/
Hello, New York!



Did I tell you what I did last week? Where I went?



That's right! I was on the road again, this time to New York City with my daughter and two of her friends.

Doesn't everyone go to New York City for Spring Break?

We spent four days in the Big Apple, arriving on Monday around noon and leaving Thursday afternoon. Today I'll report on Days 1 and 2 and tomorrow I'll tell you about Days 3 and 4. Sound good? Good!

Like I said, we arrived on Monday around noon, headed straight to our hotel in Chelsea (Fairfield Inn by Marriott on 28th street--got it for $129/night on Travel Zoo. Pretty good, huh?), dropped off our bags, and immediately headed out. We were just a few blocks from Macys, so that was our first stop--for lunch. They had a great food court in the basement (Oh, sorry, in New York they call it the cellar) where we enjoyed our first meal.

Finally refreshed and fully fueled, we set out for Times Square. It was a beautiful day, as you can see.





After a quick stop at the Hershey Store for a few goodies to take home . . .
















. . . we hopped across the street to the M&Ms store.










I'm not a big M&Ms fan--they just aren't my favorite candy. But the colors sure are pretty!

Now this guy . . . he's another story.



Hey, Buddy! Watch your hands!! (And if you think I'm kidding, just ask the girls.)

Moving on . . .

Next stop, Rockefeller Plaza where we headed to the Top of the Rock because the day was so lovely and we knew there were views to be had up there.



We were right.

Have I mentioned that my daughter is a goofball?



She may be goofy, but the views sure weren't. Loved it up there!



We ended our first day (is it still really only Day 1?) at a place called Burger Joint.



This little dive is in the corner of a fancy hotel. You'd never know it was there, and you'd never know that the burgers in this little corner of the hotel have been named the best burgers in NYC. Truly! It has!



This place, in the Le Parker Meridian Hotel, is so cool that celebrities sign the walls (and other people do too). You just have to check it out. And it's not just about the atmosphere . . . the burgers really are good too!



After this long day full of sightseeing and walking miles and miles, we practically fell into bed and slept like babies.

DAY 2 - Uptown

We decided to split our time in the city between Uptown and Downtown. Today was Uptown, and where else does one start but The Plaza Hotel.





Isn't it lovely?

We found the cutest doorman EVER!



And Eloise. Kate's favorite!



Next stop, FAO Schwarz where you can find very nice doormen (smiles are free!) . . .



. . . or a Barbie foosball table (a mere $25,000).



After nearly an hour in FAO Schwarz, playing with everything!, we stopped briefly in Central Park.







We all agreed that next time we'd like to spend more time exploring Central Park.



But we had more shopping to do. Next stop . . . Tiffany!



We explored every floor of that place and found every sales person and elevator operator to be so NICE! Move over, Audrey Hepburn! We'll all happily have breakfast here.

While the girls shopped 5th Avenue, I ran over to Times Square to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show that night. We had decided to see Billy Elliot, and, thankfully, tickets were still available.

But prior to the show, we wanted to have dinner. Unfortunately, there were no reservations available, so we decided to just show up at a New York classic and see what happened.

This is Carmine's.



Where, despite not having reservations, we were able to eat this amazing meal.



Basically, we showed up early (around 4:40 p.m.) and asked if they might possibly have a table for four and unbelievably they did! The only "catch" was that the table was reserved at 6, so we kind of had to eat fast. No problem there. We were well treated and had a wonderful meal. All-in-all, a great experience at Carmine's.

Next stop, Billy Elliot. I'm not going to tell you about the show, other than to say that we all loved it and had a great time. After a quick dessert at Junior's, a diner near the theater, we fell into bed once again and slept like babies.



Tomorrow, Days 3 and 4--Downtown and a surprise!!!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Part 2

/


It was with deep sadness that we left our little B&B in Scotland and travelled across the Firth of Forth (don't you just love that? The Firth of Forth. Just slips over the tongue, doesn't it?) to catch a train to London.

But first, a trip to the loo in the train station where we encountered our first pay toilet, heretofore to be known as "the 30p pee."



You should have seen us scrambling for change.

Anyway, after a perfectly hellacious 5 hour train ride (now that's a post for another day) we arrived in London and made our way to our hotel in the Victoria neighborhood.

Now, Victoria is not a neighborhood I would normally stay in in London. I prefer Kensington with its gorgeous homes and quiet streets, but God really had other things in store last February when I put in my pie-in-the-sky Priceline bid and actually won it. In Victoria.

And you know what? God was right! For this trip, Victoria was exactly where we needed to be--just a couple of Tube stops from everything, close to restaurants, and just down the street from the theatre.

Here's a picture of our room, just in case you're into that sort of thing, which I'm not, but I'll post it for you curious ones.


If it seems like a large room to you, especially by London standards, it is. (And no, that's not a bottle of vodka sitting on the desk over there--it's water. Fancy water.) Enough about that--let's get to the good stuff.

Hampton Court. (One of King Henry VIII's palaces.)

I had not been here since college which was, well, a while ago, and I didn't remember much about the place except for the Great Hall. I'm so glad we spent part of a day here because the place is beautiful . . . and historic . . . and massive. And it has a hedge maze which we didn't get to see on this trip, but that's why there will always be a next time.








Oh, Henry!



The Victoria and Albert Museum. This is one of those places that I've always intended to visit, but for one reason or another it just didn't happen. But this time it did, and I am so glad. What a beautiful museum!

Even before we stepped inside the doors we got a sense of how important this place is. I mean, it didn't even fall down during the blitz! They kept the bomb marks on the outside of the building to prove it.



Famous sculptures everywhere. I know I've seen this one in a textbook somewhere, but even if I haven't I think he's awfully cute.



We mainly went to the V&A to see their wonderful collection of historic textiles, specifically historic samplers which my sister, Jenn, is really into. It's kind of her hobby.

You can go into this big room that looks like a library and pull out these frames that hold all sorts of old ("antique" just doesn't seem to begin to cover it. Is it an antique if it's over 600 years old?) fabric samples.



The biggest thrill, though, was finding the many cross-stitched samplers that they had because, like I said, my sisters' into that kind of thing. Here she is examining the work of some 7-year-old girl. Amateur.



And here's a close-up of another sampler that I thought was lovely. You can see by the advanced stitches here that this girl was probably something like nine when she stitched this one.



The biggest thrill for me that day was seeing the handwork of Mary Queen of Scots. This was exciting to me because last spring I read "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory which was about Mary Queen of Scots, and in the book it talks a lot about how she loved to stitch. And then I stumble upon some of her handiwork. Her actual fingers stitched these pieces!



. . . in the 1500s!!!



I don't know, something about history and historical fiction coming together in one place just made me have to sit down for a while and ponder.

And since this post is getting veeeeery long, I'm sure you'll need to sit and ponder a while, so I'm going to end our history lesson/travel post for today. Be sure to come back tomorrow, though, when I'll tell you about one of my very favorite days of our trip.

I can't wait!!


Shelly

Travel Tuesday - How I Spent My Summer Vacation

/


Some people like beaches.

Some people like historical tours.

Some people like cruises.

Some people like lake houses.

But my family? We like golf. Is that weird? (Wait. Don't answer that.)

Last week, my parents, my two sisters and their husbands, and B and I spent time in St. Andrews, Scotland at the British Open golf tournament, and did we ever have fun. Five years ago, four of us went, but this time all eight of us made the trip. Not all of us are golfers, and not all of us were interested in the Open, but we all spent some time enjoying the atmosphere and the tournament.

Here's B and our brother-in-law, Tom, pretending that they just played the famous 17th hole. Looks to me like they lost their ball in the rough.



And check out that bunker on 17! You could get lost down there. (That's my mom and dad--the benefactors of all this fun.)



Today I got an email from my college roommate who said, "I think that if I were vacationing in Scotland on my second day in the gallery I’d be thinking more about all the other stuff in Scotland that I’d like to see and was missing while I was watching golf."

Well, Jen, you'll be happy to know that we did NOT spend all of our time watching golf (the tournament itself was kind of a snoozer this year anyway because the guy who won, a South African, was the leader the entire time. It's not as much fun to watch when it's not even close and you pretty much know who's going to win going into the last day. Zzzzzzz.).

We did manage to spend one day in Edinburgh, a city that I love every time I've been there.

This is Edinburgh's famous castle.



And here's a beautiful view of Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh's famous peak in Holyrood Park.



After four days, we said goodbye to Scotland and headed for England, specifically to London, where many adventures were had by all. You'll have to come back tomorrow for the London portion of our trip because my old pal jet lag is kicking me in the gut and it's time for me to sleep.

Shelly

Travel Tuesday - The Top 5 Best Things About Getting Away for the Weekend

/
Shhhh. We snuck (is that a word?) away for the weekend. Nope, I didn't tell you I was leaving. I need to keep a few things a secret around here, don't I?

B and I had the good fortune to be invited to Park City, UT last weekend. We went with three couples from our small group (but we sure missed those who didn't come!). And no kids. Enough said.

The weekend is hard to put into words, so I'll just list the top 5 things about sneaking away to Park City for the weekend.

1. Skiing with my hubby. We have really only done that once before, and this time was so much fun. I especially enjoyed talking to him as we meandered down the hill (and believe me, meander is just about all I can do on those slopes). He encourages me to keep trying, even though I feel like I can't ski very well. I love that he does that.



2. Spending time with friends. We've been in a small group with these friends for over 15 years . . . some for over 20 years. We've watched each other's kids grow up, and we've been through a lot together in that time. It's always great to be together and to celebrate God's goodness to all of us.



3. Enjoying the great outdoors. I thought a lot about this this weekend: I don't consider myself that much of a nature girl, but I really feel closest to God when I'm outside. And on the slopes I really felt close to God as I cried out to Him for help getting down the mountain.



4. Watching Olympic athletes train for competition. Oh. My. Word. We went to the Utah Olympic Park where we got to see actual Olympic aerial jumpers train for the actual Olympics which will actually be taking place in two weeks. It was amazing. That's pretty much all I can say about that. Amazing.



And I can't wait for the Olympics.


5. Coming home to an immaculately clean house and dinner on the table. What can I say? I've trained my children well. And I loved them even more when I saw what they could do this weekend.

All in all, it was great. And kind of like a fairy tale in many ways. I had to keep pinching myself to make sure it was real.

But it was indeed real. And now I'm back to reality. *sigh*


Shelly

Travel Tuesday - Acting Like a Tourist in Your Own Hometown

/
I feel like I know “my city” pretty well. I grew up in the Chicago area, lived within 60 miles of the city my entire life, and went to college in the suburbs, where I now live. I even spent two and a half years commuting to the city for grad school.

When B and I were in college, we spent many a Saturday evening in the city. We’d pack my car with friends and head downtown, park at Moody Bible Institute (what could be safer?), and basically just walk around with no particular destination. Poor college students that we were, we’d usually have about five bucks in our pockets. If we had a little more, we’d splurge on pizza, but if we were short on cash we’d head to a place on Rush Street called Bagel Nosh where we could get a “special” for 75 cents. The special Bagel Nosh was basically a bagel with butter and cinnamon sugar, but it tasted like the food of the gods to us.

Then we grew up, got married, had kids. Life got filled with kid activities and life-in-general. Nowadays we rarely go downtown, which is sad to me. I love the city so much.

A couple of weekends ago my sister came into town. Now, usually when she comes to visit (which isn’t that often . . . ahem) we do the usual Chicago thing—shopping.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to shop with my sister; we have a lot of fun together and we have similar tastes. And I can’t think of a better place to shop than Michigan Avenue—it’s probably one of the best shopping streets in the entire world.But the two days prior to our downtown day were pretty much spent shopping, so we decided to try something we hadn’t done before.

We decided to play tourist.

I’ve been a tourist in lots of cities around the world. I’ve taken bus trips and boat trips and walking tours and bike tours. And each one has been fun, memorable, and interesting.

I know, I know. Some people think taking touristy tours are the ultimate in cheesy. And they might be right. But I can’t think of a better way to cover a lot of ground and learn something along the way than to take a tour of some sort.

So my sister and I decided to take a tour. I had done a little research ahead of time, so I knew where to go, what time the tour would leave, and even which train to take. Believe me, it always pays to do your research.

That morning we threw on sweaters, jeans, and tennis shoes knowing that in doing so we would probably get laughed out of Nordstrom. That was O.K. We weren’t headed to Nordstrom this time.

On that particular Saturday, we were going to take a little ride.

But not on one of these.



Or on one of these.



Although those would have been fun too.

This time we were going to ride bikes. Our family had such a great time on our bike tour of Washington D.C. this summer that I thought it might be fun to do a similar thing right here in Chicago.



(Oh my goodness, look at those shoes! Could they be any more white?!)

The tour was amazing and so was our tour guide, Jarod. He won my heart from the moment we met when he told me he had just graduated from Loyola with a degree in English. My kind of guy.

Our tour was the Bike and Roll Neighborhoods Tour. We started out at the bike center in Millennium Park, right next to the beautiful Pritzker Pavillion.



Our first stop was Navy Pier. If you really want to feel like a tourist in Chicago, head straight to Navy Pier. Do not pass the Shedd Aquarium. Do not stop off at Wrigley Field. Just go straight to Navy Pier, the mecca of Chicago tourism. All we did there was pick up some more riders and then we were off.

Our tour rode straight up the beautiful lakefront, stopping for a second at North Avenue Beach for a photo op.



Then we headed inland through some neighborhoods—the Gold Coast where we saw an early Frank Lloyd Wright home.



Then through Old Town.



And into Lincoln Park, briefly stopping at the zoo, but not taking the time to walk around because it was getting much too cold.

After a couple of hours of riding, we headed back down the lakefront to Navy Pier and then to our original starting point at Millennium Park.

We really wanted to stop somewhere for dinner before we headed back to the suburbs, but did I mention that my sister and I were wearing tennis shoes? I mean, hello?! This is a sophisticated city and our bright, white shoes were really sticking out like sore thumbs.



Major fashion faux pas.

We ended up catching the next train home and eating out here where people don’t care quite as much about the color of your shoes. Still, we made sure we kept our feet hidden under the table.

I have issues, I know.

So, aside from the shoe thing, the day was great. I even learned a thing or two about the city I love so much. And even though it was cold and my poor southern sister was probably freezing her little patooty off, we had a lot of fun.

Next time you’re looking for something different to do when friends or family come to town, do a little research and act like a tourist in your own hometown.


Travel Tuesday - Washington DC, The Final Word

/
This is the last word on our trip to Washington this summer. If you want to read my previous posts, you can click here and here and here.

Day 3
Guess what. It was hot again. Really hot. Who ever thought going to Washington DC in August was a good idea?

Believe me, we figured out pretty quickly why Congress takes a recess in August. And it's not to give the tourists a break from all the long lines (although that was one of the side-benefits we liked). It's just too darn hot to be in that city in August! Nancy Pelosi's linen suits would get all wrinkled in that heat and humidity, and we can't have that now, can we?

Not to be deterred by the heat, we headed out early. We had scheduled an 11:30 Capitol tour, so we thought we'd check out the Library of Congress first. I remember visiting this building when I was in high school, but I had forgotten how spectacular it was.

Here's just one example of the beautiful mosaic work that surrounds most of the walls and ceiling:

"Shelley" . . . get it?!

As book lovers, we all fell in love with the Library of Congress--especially the special display of Thomas Jefferson's library. Talk about amazing! There we were with all of his books; I felt like we could almost touch history (but we didn't dare!). We didn't have time to take a tour, but we all agreed that next time we're in Washington that would be at the top of our list.

Know why we didn't have more time to spend at the Library of Congress? Because we had to zip across the street to the Capitol Building for our 11:30 tour.



I've already written a little bit about our Capitol tour here (go to the section labeled "Bad"). This was two hours of our lives that we'll never get back, and I'd really rather not rehash that experience, so I'll just leave it at that. Except to mention that once we finished with Tonythemonotonetourguide, we were starving, so we headed to the Capitol Building cafeteria where we spent $45 for a pretty mediocre lunch--B and I even shared a sandwich and we still almost had to leave our firstborn!

We all wished we had stayed back at the Library of Congress.

Anyway, fed and relatively happy, we headed down the street to the National Archives. I guess you could say we were taking the "National Treasure" tour that day since so many of the places we visited were in that movie. I wanted to see the Declaration of Independence because my family lore has it that one of the signers of the Declaration is my great-great-great-great-great (yes, five greats) grandfather--Charles Carroll of Carrollton, MD. Funny thing is, he's also highlighted in "National Treasure." (Of course, my husband would quibble with that family lore, but until it's proven otherwise, I'm sticking to my story.)

Because lines were short, we were able to zip in and out of the Archives pretty quickly. It's definitely worth it to take a look at the most famous documents in American history. Very cool (in more ways than one). And, once again, free. Plus, they have one of the best gift shops in DC.

After the Archives, we were at a bit of a loss as to what to do next, so we started walking toward the White House. But, have I mentioned it was hot? Just a few blocks down the street, we needed to get inside again, and since we were near the Old Post Office Pavilion, we ducked inside to get some relief from the heat.

In my research before the trip I had read that you could get a great view of Washington if you went to the top of the observation tower in the Old Post Office Pavilion. (And, yes, it's free!) So we braved the old, rickety elevator that wasn't air conditioned and made it to the top. Kind of a fun detour and definitely a great view. This picture was taken from up there--you can see the roofs of the Federal Triangle buildings in the foreground.


Our last stop for the day was the White House. We had seen the south side of the building on our bike tour, but I wanted the rest of the family to see the north side. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, everyone was SO hot and SO crabby, that they didn't exactly appreciate the view. Needless to say, the Christmas card picture didn't happen. 'Nuff said.

Day 4
On our last day in Washington DC, B looked at me and said, "I feel like how I felt on the last day at Disney World." That pretty much sums it up. Tired. Exhausted. Hot. And starting to get ready to go home.

But we had a plan and we were determined to execute the plan if it killed us. It very nearly did.

Before we left, we decided that each family member could choose one thing that they really wanted to see or do. Mine was the National Archives . . . and the bus tour . . . and the bike tour. It pays to be the trip planner.

Abby's choice was to see the American History Museum of the Smithsonian. Maggie wanted to see the International Spy Museum. So those were on our list for the last day.

The American History Museum is really fun. We found all of the wonderful treasures that we wanted to see like Dorothy's ruby red slippers from "The Wizzard of Oz," the original flag that "The Star Spangled Banner" was written about, and, best of all, Julia Child's kitchen. Abby was our tour guide that day, and I'd say we pretty much saw every square inch of that museum. Again, this was one of those days when August played to our advantage because the lines were minimal. I really wouldn't want to be there over Spring Break.

We started melting down on our way to the Spy Museum. Literally. Hunger and heat were taking their toll on us. I think we would have killed each other if we weren't actually in public. Thank goodness for the cafe where we got some lunch and a little respite from our day--it saved our lives.

Next, the International Spy Museum. We had heard about this from some friends who had been to Washington earlier in the summer, so Maggie decided this would be her pick. I had reserved tickets online before we left, but we showed up about an hour early. Thankfully, they let us in.

This is an interesting museum (and one of the very few places we actually had to pay for admission) based on the CIA and FBI and spying of all kinds. Kind of made me want to start a new career. Many of the displays are interactive--the kids seem to love it--but it's a little narrow in places, and crowded, so you can't get near all of the screens. Even so, it was fun. If there's a little James Bond in you, check out the Spy Museum--you'll enjoy it.

Believe me, after that busy, crazy, hot, go-go-go week we were ready to head home. After a fun night in Grove City, PA, visiting with some very dear college friends, we finally made it home. To our beloved doggie, our own comfy beds, and mountains of laundry.

Even though it was a great trip, I'm with Dorothy. . . . There's no place like home.

Travel Tuesday - Washington DC

/
I was reminded last week (thanks, Kira!) that I promised you a report on our Washington DC trip.

I was also reminded that I failed to deliver. Not that I was busy or anything last week with the P's in town and kids starting school.


So, in honor of Kira, whom I love and who will probably be taking DC by storm next year, here's a bit of a recap of our trip to the nation's capitol.

Day 1
We arrived in DC in the afternoon and even though we had sketchy at best excellent directions from good old Mapquest, we found ourselves veering off course which, of course, led to the following interaction.

Me: I think we were supposed to go the other way on that street back there.

B: Why didn't you tell me?

Me: Well, the roundabout was confusing.

B: Just tell me where to go now.

Me: Turn left. Like, now. HERE!!!

B: I'm in the right lane, Shelly! How can I turn left here?!?!

Me: O.K., don't yell at me. Turn left at the next street.

B: Which one? This one?! DO YOU WANT ME TO TURN LEFT NOW?

Me: TURN LEFT! NOW!!!!

B: You're going to get us all killed!

Me: Don't yell at me!

And on it went until we finally reached our hotel where we pulled up to the valet and tried to look like a family that had it all together. Even though not two minutes earlier we wanted to rip each other's heads off. Kids included.

We spent four nights at The Melrose which, to me, is in a perfect location. Very close to Georgetown. Just a few blocks from a Metro station. Within walking distance to the White House. And right around the corner from Trader Joe's (so I felt right at home). The hotel is a little older and in need of some updates, but for the special price we got ($89 a night--thank you, Travel Zoo), I was willing to put up with, well, a lot. Besides, I had called earlier and asked for a double room with a pull-out sofa and they graciously obliged. Our room was the size of a small apartment! We were most comfortable.

I had made reservations to do a biking tour on Monday night, and let me tell you, this tour was one of the highlights of our trip. If you're going to DC with your family, definitely do this. I found Bike the Sites on the internet before we left (just proving, once again, that doing your research ahead of time is priceless). Our tour was a three hour tour (NOT of the Gilligan variety!) of the monuments, covering about 4 miles total so the ride was easy for all of us. We started out at 7:00, so it wasn't dark yet, but by the time we were about halfway through it got dark. By the time we finished it was about 9:45 and completely dark. Kind of fun to be riding the streets of DC in the dark, I thought.




Anyway, this is THE BEST way to see all the monuments. I had no idea they were all so far away from each other--as we were riding we kept saying that there was no way we'd see everything if we had to walk it. Plus, it was FUN! Our tour guide, Emily, was as sweet as she could be and gave us lots of great information about each of the monuments we stopped to see. All in all we saw 8 monuments/memorials: the White House (I know, not really a monument, but we stopped there anyway), the Washington Monument, the WW II memorial, the Vietnam memorial, the Lincoln memorial, the Korean War memorial, the FDR memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson memorial.



A crazy-fun way to spend an evening!

Day 2
I only have one word for you: Grayline.

Or is it two words? Gray. Line.

Whatever.

Our second day got off to a slow and frustrating start because we wanted to do a double-decker bus tour, but when I asked the front desk people at our hotel if they could sell us tickets (I had bought them there a year earlier when I was there with my sister, so I thought this was a possibility), they said they weren't selling them anymore.

Then the strangest thing happened. The bellman, who had overheard our conversation, asked me if I needed bus tour tickets.

Him: Were you looking for bus tour tickets? I can help you with that.

Me: Really? The guys over there (pointing to the front desk only 10 feet away) said you didn't sell them anymore.

Him: I can sell them to you.

Me: (with a confused shrug of my shoulders) O.K.

Him: You pay me half now, in cash, and you pay the other half when you get on the bus.

Me: Hmmmm. O.K. (I'm so stupid, I know.)

So I buy five tickets and head to where he said was the bus stop. One hour and a little stressful family time later, we were all back in the hotel lobby.

Him: What happened? Did you find the bus?

Me: I need my $64 back. The bus never came. Two Grayline busses came and picked people up, but your bus company never showed up.

Him: Really? (Looking all confused and nonchalant now.)

Me: Really. May I have my $64 back, please? We're going to do something else.

Him: Sure. O.K. (Opens his wallet and hands me back my money. Did you catch that? His wallet!)

I know, write "gullible" across my forehead.

Anyway, we decided that we'd take the Metro to Arlington National Cemetery and after we were finished there we'd try to find a Grayline bus.

Our plan worked. Arlington was great, but it was HOT that morning and our girls really weren't that interested in a bunch of gravesites. Not even if they held JFK himself.



It was just too hot to really appreciate Arlington the way we should have. Thankfully, we had the foresight to purchase Tourmobile tickets, so we rode most of the way around. That seems to be the way to do it.

After Arlington we did indeed find the Grayline bus just outside the gate. As we got on the bus, I handed my Visa card to the driver who said, "I just don't have time to do that right now. Go get a seat and pay on your way out."

Okie dokie.

We headed upstairs to get a seat in the sun because we just weren't hot enough after our morning at Arlington. But, actually, when the bus was moving it wasn't so bad--kind of like riding through a sauna at 30 miles per hour.

We rode about half of the route and decided to get off the bus at Union Station to have a little look around and to get cooled off in the air conditioned building. As we were leaving the bus, I handed my Visa card to the driver again to try to pay for our tickets. She then said, "You know, I can't do that right now. Why don't you just pay on the next bus? Consider this a free ride."

O.K. A free ride. Cool.

Union Station was cool--in many ways. The architecture was beautiful. The train station part was fun. But the McDonalds had sweet tea, and that was just about all I needed at that moment.

After a nice respite, it was time to continue on the bus tour, so we headed outside and got on the next Grayline bus. Once again, I handed my Visa card to the driver to buy our tickets. At least this time she told everyone else in my family to go get seats while she dealt with me.

I'll give her this: she tried. She really tried. But after about 5 minutes of her Visa machine not working she said to me, "We need to get going, so why don't you just go sit down? I'll get you later."

Alrighty then. I'll just go sit down now.

We finished most of the loop, but this time took considerably longer than the first half did because traffic in that city was, in a word, HORRENDOUS!!!! I nearly went batty sitting in that traffic on top of a bus in 100 degree weather. But still, it was a good way to get a feel for the city. I do love a double decker bus tour.

But here's the funny thing . . . nobody came to make us pay. I kept my Visa card handy, hoping that the assistant on the bus would figure us out and come get my payment, but nope. Nobody did. So we finished the tour and got off the bus near our hotel. It was a long, hot afternoon, but at least it was FREEEEEE!

Should I feel guilty?

O.K., this is getting long, so I'm going to call it a day. Next Tuesday you'll get the last two days of our trip, so come on back then.

Travel Tuesday - Late Edition

/
I know I promised you a Travel Tuesday post about our trip, and you’ll get it. In installments.

See, today was the first day of school and my little Maggie didn’t get her schedule because we were on vacation last week. Then yesterday, after I had been told that, “sure, she can come into the building on Monday. No problem!” she couldn’t get into the building. So this morning I had to put on my Mom hat and take her to school early, find the office where we could pick up her schedule, and help her maneuver a brand new building (for her) to find her classes.

Funny little side story here . . . So we’re in the 6th grade hallway fiddling with her locker before school. About 10 minutes before the bell was supposed to ring, kids start flooding down the hall. I observed to Maggie that they must have let the 6th graders in early so they could get to their lockers and find their first class. Isn’t that nice of them? Dear Maggie took a quick glance around to see what was happening, straightened up her shoulders, and gave me a big grin. Then, just as quickly, she said, “Bye, Mom!”

I obviously wasn’t needed there anymore.

Anyway, it’s kind of been one thing after another today, thus the late edition of Travel Tuesday. Next week I’ll get into more nitty gritty of our trip, but for today I want to leave you with a few pictures. (And only a couple because I haven't had time to go through them all yet.)




I also want to tell you that not every trip has to be an expensive one. I spend a bit of time doing research before each trip we take. I look around for deals, keeping my eye out on forum boards for people who have also found great deals and report on them. Our week in Williamsburg and Washington DC came about on the spur of the moment. We hadn’t planned on taking a summer vacation, but when Kate decided she wanted to go college hunting on the East coast and her parents both wanted to go with her, we decided to load up the truck, so to speak, and head out. Since we hadn’t budgeted for this trip, I knew we needed to do it as economically as possible.

Enter two of my new favorite travel websites: Priceline and Travel Zoo.

If, like us, you know you’re not going to be spending a ton of time in your room, and if you don’t care that much about amenities, then Priceline might be just the thing for you. I had used Priceline once or twice before and was really happy with the deals I got, so for the two nights we’d be spending in Williamsburg I figured it was worth a shot.

I’m here to tell you, it was definitely worth a shot. We got a room that would normally cost about $150 a night for $60 a night. Definitely worth a shot, since we saved over $180.
Then, when I was digging around on TripAdvisor one day, I read a note from someone who said that they saw a deal on Travel Zoo for $89 in Washington DC. So I headed over there and, sure enough, got the same deal. So, a room that would have cost us $900 for four nights in Washington cost us around $500. For those of your mathematically challenged, like me, that’s a savings of around $400.

Making it a grand total of $580 saved on hotel rooms alone. Can I get a woot woot?

And that’s before the Big Red Bus debacle which ended up costing us a total of . . . nothing. A savings of about $125.

Oh yes, I’m full of savings tips. But the Big Red Bus debacle wouldn’t be one of them. Because that’s another story for another day.


Travel Tuesday - Carmel, CA

/
Welcome back to Travel Tuesday! This is one of my favorite types of posts to write because I love to travel and have a lot to share in that area, but sometimes I just don't get to it.

I think I need to plan out this blog a little better.

But enough about my many blogging shortcomings . . .

I really am a lucky girl because I have been to lots of places in the world. Every place I have visited has been my favorite--I wonder what that says about me? Funny to me, though, that I can't remember what I ate for dinner last night, but I can remember so many details about the places I've seen.

I can certainly say without hesitation that I will remember Carmel for a long, long time.

I didn't know what to expect when I left--I haven't spent much time in California at all. I guess I expected palm trees and fruity drinks by the pool. And rich and famous people around every corner.

I got none of that, but what I did get from Carmel was a surprise. A very nice surprise.

First of all, the town is as quaint as any I've ever seen. In some ways it reminded me of Door County where B and I spent our honeymoon. Small, cozy cottages line the streets of Carmel, all the way to the gorgeous beach where, on our first evening there, we saw lots of people surfing. I had never really seen real surfers before, so I thought this was way cool.

Much of the architecture in Carmel is a combination of French and Mediterranean styles, but there are others thrown into the mix. Like this Snow White cottage we saw near the beach--some lucky person actually gets to live there!


And the shops in town were all in the same quaint, cozy style. This is a little candy shop in the middle of town.


Another surprise was the landscape. It's more rugged than I expected with rocky shorlines and weathered trees. Beautiful, but in a much-less-like-Hawaii kind of way and with a more earthy feel.

One of the things Mom really wanted to do was to eat lunch at Pebble Beach. This was the view we had from our table in the restaurant overlooking the 18th green. A truly amazing sight.


After lunch we took the famous 17-mile drive around the Monterey Penninsula. This drive really shows the rugged shoreline and the amazing effect of the harsh winds on the trees there. This is a famous tree called the Lone Cypress, which is 250 years old.


Another Carmel surprise was the people. Now, my mom is without a doubt the friendliest person I've ever met. She's one of those people who's never met a stranger, so it's kind of embarrassing handy to have her along because she talks to everyone. The funny thing about Carmel, though, is that most people we encountered were just like her! We had great conversations with shopkeepers, waiters and waitresses, and gallery owners. Everyone was more than willing to take time to share their expertise about the area, even their favorite restaurant recommendations.

Which brings me to my final surprise. There is so much good food in Carmel! We wanted to treat Mom to a special meal for her birthday, so we asked around and finally settled on this place: L'escargot.


Oh my! We were not disappointed. We enjoyed a wonderful, traditional French meal of goat cheese and carmelized onion tart, steak and pommes frites, salmon with tarragon sauce and saffron rice, and, of course, creme brulee. Yep, we pretty much waddled out of there, but not before taking this picture. See those smiling faces? Don't they all look content (and full)?


The sun was setting just as we were finishing dinner, so we took a quick drive to the beach to say good bye. Carmel is definitely a spot I won't soon forget.


Travel Tuesday - Buttercup Cake Shop

/
The day that Kate and I were to leave London was it. THE DAY. We had been looking forward to this day for our entire six-day stay in London.

We had walked past it . . . several times. We had waited. We had anticipated.

But the timing was never right.

Finally, we knew we had to do it. We were out of time.

And so, on that last day in London, just before checking out of our hotel, we stepped into the Buttercup Cake Shop. It was the shop of our dreams, literally, because we had been dreaming about it long before we left the States. We had found this shop online and, to our great delight, it was not far from our hotel--in the very neighborhood we were staying! What luck!

Isn't it just the cutest little shop you've ever seen?


We took a picture of the package because we just knew we'd never see anything that adorable back home.


After about 10 minutes time, all four of our cupcakes were gone. Devoured. But delighted over completely.


If you're ever in Kensington, you absolutely must stop by the Buttercup Cake Shop. You won't regret it.

They have a website, but I doubt they'd deliver to Chicago. Not that I've asked or anything.

And here's a fun travel story to go with our ultimate cupcake experience. The young man who waited on us in the shop had an American accent, so we asked him where he was from. He said Chicago--turns out he was a Northwestern student working in London on a six month student work visa.

So that was fun.

But sitting in the corner of the shop was a young couple who overheard our conversation--the only other people in the store. They started laughing when they heard that we were all from Chicago because they were from Chicago too! Oak Park, I think they said.

So for one small moment in one small cupcake shop in one small neighborhood of London, five people from Chicago came together.

It was surreal.

And sweet.

Travel Tuesday - Late Edition

/
Once again, Travel Tuesday comes in under the wire. I was going to talk about Covent Garden because one of my girls suggested it, but that'll have to wait.

Instead, I was dreaming, as usual, about travel. I was thinking about where on each of the continents, I'd like to visit at some point in my life.

So I thought I'd share that list with you.

NORTH AMERICA
There are still so many unexplored regions of North America that I'd like to see. I've never been to the Northwestern United States (too cloudy for my tastes). I've never been to much of Mexico (Tijuana and Nogales just didn't do much for me).

I think the place I'd most like to see in North America that I haven't already seen is Montreal. Known as the second largest French-speaking city outside of Paris, it just sounds romantic.

SOUTH AMERICA
I've been to Brazil, but didn't get to see much of the country, so I'd love to see more of the Brazilian countryside, especially the Amazon region. But I'd also like to venture to Argentina for the beef. Oh, and also for that wonderful little Malbec wine they make. (What can I say? I'm a foodie at heart.)

EUROPE
Oh my, there are too many wonderful places in Europe to even begin to choose. I would love to explore more of Switzerland (and besides, B owes me some fondue). I'd love to see Germany. And Prague. But if I had to narrow it down, I'd say two places in Europe I'd love to see are Provence and Tuscany. I think I could fall in love with both of those areas if given the chance.

AFRICA
Kenya, of course. I've been dreaming of going on Safari for as long as I can remember. For now, I'll just have to look at my friend's pictures--she got to go last summer.

ASIA
Now it's getting a little tougher because, honestly, I don't have a strong desire to go to Asia. I guess Japan would be where I'd head first.

AUSTRALIA
Another toughie for me. Australia seems hot, dry, and dusty. But I suppose if my arm is twisted I could manage to go there.

Now, I know that this is not technically on the Australian continent, and having done a little research I found that this place is actually a "continent" of its own. One place in the Australian region I'd like to go is New Zeland. It seems like such a lush, green, and beautiful country. The people seem warm and friendly. And we have friends who live there, so who knows? Maybe someday we'll get there.

ANTARCTICA
Since I have rather strong feelings about winter, all I can say about Antarctica is . . . no way, no how, not EVER.

So now I'd like to know . . . where would YOU like to go?

Travel Tuesday - Redeux

/
On Sunday night I received such a treat when Kate asked me if I'd watch "Notting Hill" with her.

She certainly didn't have to ask twice because "Notting Hill" is one of my all-time favorite movies.

(Eventually Abby joined us. And then B. But not poor Maggie who, even though she was in bed, felt VERY left out--she's nowhere near ready for "Notting Hill.")

Anyway, as I was watching the movie, it occurred to me that I needed to resurrect Travel Tuesday. The scenery reminded me of one of my favorite places--London--and more specifically Portobello Road Market which takes place every Saturday in Notting Hill.

I first visited Portobello Road when I was a college student, and I remember being energized by the environment there. Crowded. Bustling. Loud. Haggling. It was one of those electric environments that you just never forget.

And so, when I took Kate to London last spring, I knew I wanted her to experience that environment too. Besides, I wondered if it had changed much in the 20+ years since I'd been there.

It hadn't. It was still so much fun. Even walking to the market was a thrill as block after block more and more people joined us until, by the time we reached the first market stalls, everyone was pretty much walking shoulder to shoulder. There was no way a car was going to get through the streets on that day.

Let me tell you, Portobello Road on a Saturday morning is something worth seeing--and there is anything and everything you'd ever want to see there.

Need a violin? Take your pick!


Hungry? Have some paella! Isn't it beautiful?


Need some entertainment along the way? These guys were GREAT!


But the thrill of my morning that Saturday was finding this:

It's The Travel Bookshop of "Notting Hill" fame. (In case you haven't seen the movie, one of the main characters runs a travel book shop where they only sell travel books.)

Kate and I took a couple of minutes to walk through this maze of a book shop. It's crowded with books and filled with tourists, but it stays true to its roots--the store still sells nothing but travel books. Oh, O.K., we also saw some maps, but still, those are travel-related, right?

So, if you're heading to London, definitely take a Saturday morning to visit Portobello Road and visit The Travel Bookshop. But if you're not going to get to London any time soon, why not watch "Notting Hill" and get your fill of some really great London scenery.

Lessons I Learned in Park City

/
I have to take a break from our great London/Paris adventure this week to tell you about my weekend in Park City, UT. Well, actually, I can’t tell you much, due to the pact that my friends and I made that we wouldn’t share the details unless, of course, I wanted to go to an early grave or face sudden and sure disfigurement.

But I did learn a few things which I will share.

1. Olympic ski jumpers – you know the ones that start up really high and then stretch out like they’re taking a nap in the air? – start learning their sport at age five. I ask you, what mother in her right mind lets her five-year-old start jumping off mountains? I wouldn’t even let my kids jump off the couch because the one time I did that, Maggie ended up in the hospital on Christmas Eve. Goodness!

2. If you put grilled chicken on a focaccia bun, along with some arugula and blue cheese and then grill it in a Panini press, you will have an object of my undying love. I ate this for lunch on Friday and craved it for the rest of the weekend. Windy Ridge Bakery—don’t miss it if you’re ever in Park City.

3. Those carved bears that you see everywhere that are so-cute-you-just-can’t-even-pass-one-up? . . . Each has its own personality. I think these bears pick their owner, kind of like the magic wands in the Harry Potter books. Just remember, if you have a really big house, you need a really big bear to make a statement.

4. There’s a Mexican restaurant which shall remain nameless (mainly because I don’t remember the name of it) that has a bathroom you should never, ever enter. Ever. Just trust me on this one.

5. Hanging out with skinny women all weekend doesn’t do much for one’s self-esteem. I think I need some serious therapy after this weekend. ‘Nuff said.

There was one more lesson that I learned this weekend, and I think it was worth the price of the entire trip for me. I learned that I’ve done my job.

I’ll explain.

When my first daughter was born, I sat holding her just minutes after her birth, and the strangest thought occurred to me. I told B, “From here on out, my job is to teach her to not need me.”

I know, you’re probably thinking I’m nuts. Here I’ve just given birth and the natural thing to do would be to hold your child close and never let her go. And it wasn’t like I didn’t love my daughter immediately. I did. For sure.

But I had this incredible, overwhelming sense that in order for her to be a happy, healthy grown-up person, I would have to teach her to be independent of me.

And so I’ve spent the past 17 years teaching her—and my other two daughters—to do as much as they can for themselves. They start with making their beds, progress to making their own lunches, and move on to doing some of their own laundry. With a whole lot of other responsibilities thrown in for good measure.

None of this is because I want to pass off my duties to them, like I’m lazy or something, but because I want them to be confident young women who can do things for themselves.

Enough of the parenting philosophy for today. Let’s get to the point.

So this weekend when I was away, I called home a few times. I mean, my friends were calling home, getting calls from home, and texting home all weekend. I thought I should probably join in the fun. So I called home a couple of times to see what was going on.

Not much, apparently. No crises. No food issues. No traumas. Nothing.

On Saturday night, B had to leave the girls at home to go to a work event in the city, so I thought I’d just call and check up on the girls to see how they were getting along. Here’s how the conversation went:

“Hi Kate, it’s Mom.”

“Oh, hi Mom! How are you?”

“I’m fine. I just wanted to check up on you guys to see how you’re doing.”

“We’re fine. Abby’s practicing her violin, Maggie’s upstairs, and I’m watching T.V. We had pizza for dinner. We’re really fine.”

“Oh . . . well . . . that’s good. Sounds like everything’s under control.”

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

“O.K. then. If you don’t need anything . . .”

“Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“You really miss us, don’t you? You don’t have to miss us, Mom. We’re fine. Just have a good time.”

And then we hung up. A quick, two-minute phone call. I just sat there, thinking, and suddenly I realized that they really don’t need me much. I’ve done my job.

I just sat there, in the display window of the Ann Taylor outlet store, and very nearly cried as this realization hit me. The thing that I’ve wanted for my girls is coming true—they don’t need me. They can stay home alone for a while, make their own dinner, find things to do, and even have fun . . . all without me.

Well, I may be doing my job, but I hope I’ll never be finished. I hope with all my heart that even when they are grown, and even if they move far away, that they will still need me. For something.

Even if it’s just to make that phone call that says, “I miss you.”

Travel Tuesday - Wednesday edition

/
The great thing about being your own blog’s boss is that you can post whenever you feel like posting. Or whenever you have time. Yesterday got away from me (most days do—I never seem to accomplish as much as I want to accomplish in any given day), so you get Travel Tuesday on Wednesday.

Oh well. Nobody’s paying me to stay on a deadline here.

Two weeks ago I ended my TT post by saying that pretty much the best parenting decision B and I ever made was to let me take each girl to England by myself when they turn 16. I still hold to that. Great decision for me. Not-so-great for B.

What can I say? The man is a sacrificial giver.

Anyway, the first great mother/daughter bonding trip took place last spring when Kate, our oldest, turned 16. We had planned for months and months beforehand, checking flights, looking for hotel deals, and trying to decide what we wanted to see and do in each city.

Kate, being the ever-sly-and-creative daughter suggested that while we were over there we might as well see Paris too. I heartily agreed, having never been to Paris myself, so that somehow got incorporated into our plan.

A word on planning . . . Make sure you check the school calendar before you book your tickets, especially if you’re planning your trip during Spring Break, because you might end up taking the week BEFORE Spring Break instead of the week OF Spring Break. But who would be that careless, really?

Ahem.

As I was saying, we planned for months for the great event. We knew where we would be staying and what we would be doing pretty much every day of our eleven day journey. We left some flexibility in each day that would allow us some time to stroll through the streets of London or take in a sidewalk café in Paris. It was going to be perfect.

But there’s just one thing you can’t plan for when you take a trip, any trip.

The weather.

Did I mention that we traveled in March? What was I thinking? Well, I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking that their weather isn’t as harsh as our weather and that the daffodils would already be in bloom (they were) and that it would be actual springtime in London (it wasn't). And I imagine that sometimes it actually is beautiful in London in March.

Just not March of 2008.

I kept a journal throughout our trip. Here are a few snippets:

Friday (arrival day) . . . “The day was sunny and COLD (they must have had a wind chill—it was terribly windy and just plain freezing!)”

Saturday . . . “The weather was absolutely awful and we needed to go inside somewhere.”

Sunday (Easter in London!) . . . “Now, getting to church was not that easy. We took the bus, which was fine, but the weather was SO terrible that the few blocks’ walk to the church was a real challenge. By the time we got to the church we were freezing (this will be a theme of our time in London) and sat with our coats on the entire time.”

You get the picture.

By Monday we had been so cold and wet for three days that we thought we’d never be warm again. And that day turned out to be the worst. We got up early to head to the TKTS Booth in Leicester Square in order to get theatre tickets for that evening. While we were waiting, the rain turned to sleet and took a new direction—sideways! Thankfully we did get some tickets to a show, but we had to cancel our plans to see the Changing of the Guard.

No worries. Knowing we’d need to be inside for a while that day, we decided to head over to Westminster Abbey. I guess everyone else had the same idea because when we got there the line was long. VERY long.



We were desperate, so we decided to wait, figuring that once we got inside we would just hang out there for a while and try to get warm.

We didn’t count on the Germans.

While we were standing there, patiently waiting behind a very nice family from Spain, I noticed a group of three people who were speaking German to one another. At first they were several places behind us in line. And then just a couple of places in line behind us.

Next thing I knew, they were right behind me, trying to scoot past me.

Now, my children will tell you, when justice is on the line, you don’t want to mess with their mom. And cutting in line when I am FREEZING, with the sleet and snow flying into my EARS, just will not be tolerated.

So I inched to the right to block their path.

They inched closer.

I inched a little more to the right.

They inched closer. We could have been sharing an umbrella by now.

It got to be funny, me not looking at them; them not looking at me. But we both knew the game was on.

Kate got uncomfortable--poor teenage daughter of a determined mom. She told me to just give it up and let them go past. But no, I would not.

By the time we got to the huge double doors of Westminster Abbey, we were in all-out line-jumping war. Elbows were thrown out a bit, shoulders nudged. I was not to be deterred.

And who do you think won that war?

We all did. The line-jumping war just made our 45 minute wait that much more interesting, and it made the time go faster. By the time we got to those doors, I didn’t care that they got to go in first. I was finally in a warm, dry place and that was my goal.

And Westminster Abbey wasn’t bad either.




Travel Tuesday - A Travel Tips Carnival!

/
I was going to begin posting about my trip with Kate to London and Paris, but that will have to wait one more week since Antique Mommy is hosting a blog carnival which, interestingly, she’s calling Travel Tips Tuesday. And this is one carnival that a trip-lover like me could not pass up.

So, where do I begin? Well, that’s my tip.

When beginning to plan a trip, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. There are several great websites that will give you all sorts of insider information for planning your trip. And insider information makes all the difference between having a good trip and having a GREAT trip.

Some of my favorite trip-planning websites are TripAdvisor, Frommers, Fodors, and Rick Steves. Spend some time on these websites, learning some background about the place you’ll be going, and, especially, taking advantage of their forums.

I’d say that out of those, Tripadvisor is my absolute favorite. I have spent many happy hours on their forum boards, gleaning lots of insider information from people who really know "what’s what" about your travel destination. People are usually more than happy to answer your questions about your destination, as long as you’ve done a little homework first and you try to refrain from asking the most obvious of questions.

For instance, this summer, when I was planning a trip for 16 people to Switzerland and was the go-to gal in charge of the whole thing, I spent lots of time on Tripadvisor. It was there that I learned how to navigate the Swiss Rail system which can be veeeerry confusing. I even learned about getting group rates for train travel and saved our group a LOT of money. I also found out that in Interlaken you can watch paragliders come in for a landing in the park in the middle of town—lots of fun on a sunny afternoon.



But I didn’t just stop with Tripadvisor. I moved on to Rick Steves, even buying his book, because he provides some pretty interesting walking tours that you can do on your own—best part is . . . they’re free! We would not have known how to find Lindenhof Park, the beautiful park in the middle of Zurich that is so stereotypically European that old men even play chess with huge chess pieces there.



Nor would we have found the ruins of Roman baths down along a small alleyway in the center of Zurich without Rick’s help.



Travel website forums come in really handy when you’re deciding on a hotel. Say you’ve done some research and you’ve found three hotels you’re interested in. They are all in the same location, they all cost about the same, and they are all similar in terms of their amenities. How do you know which hotel to choose? Travel websites like TripAdvisor, allow members to post reviews and photos of these hotels, and, believe me, these reviews have helped me out more than once.

Last spring I was trying to decide which hotel in Paris to choose, and, thanks to the good information I got from these reviews, I ended up in a beautiful small hotel in a quiet neighborhood that was just right for my daughter and me. I also learned that this hotel would be about a fifteen minute walk from the Eiffel Tower and that there weren’t a lot of restaurants on the street where we’d be staying. By reading forums and hotel reviews before I left home, I wasn’t surprised by any of this when I got there.

So before you pack your bags, do your homework. Your trip will go from good to GREAT!

Travel Tuesday - How It All Began

/
I think it was somewhere in Scotland.

B and I had been driving throughout England and Scotland in 2005 with my sister and brother-in-law, each couple celebrating our 20th wedding anniversaries. B and I had been to England together, once before, pre-kids, and we were reminiscing about that wonderful trip.

Backpacks. Youth Hostels. Trains. No money.

In 1991 we spent two glorious weeks traveling around England and Scotland and did the entire trip, airfare included, for $2,500.

My, how the times had changed. We packed rolling suitcases this time, stayed in the nicest accommodations we could afford (even in a castle for two nights!), drove an SUV that was outfitted with a GPS system (thank God for that traveling mercy!), and spent just a little more than $2,500.

So there we were, enthralled once again with the place that had captured my heart in 1984, when, as a college student I had the life-changing opportunity to kick around the country and study for a summer. I learned that summer what “old” really is as I toured 900 year old castle ruins, and I realized for the first time how big this world is. I also learned that Laura Ashley dresses could be bought for a lot less in England, and oh, how I loved Laura Ashley in the ‘80s!

So we were driving along, B and I, thinking about how travel changes us—had indeed changed us—and how we would love for our girls to see this big, beautiful world too and be changed.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring the girls here?” one of us dreamed.

“Oh yeah, broaden their horizons, it would,” dreamed the other.

The idea simmered throughout the trip until eventually was born what I consider one of our very best parenting ideas EVER. We decided that when each of our girls turned 16, I would take them on a mom/daughter trip. You know, to bond like we’ve never bonded before.

This past spring Kate and I “bonded” over tea and scones, fish and chips, and croissants and jam. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Next week: Mom/daughter trip realized. Part ?? because I’m not sure how many blog entries it’s going to take!


Travel Tuesday - Inaugural Edition

/
Travel is, some would say, a passion for me.

And I know where it came from. When I was very young, my grandfather retired and from that point on, he and my grandmother traveled the world. They were gone--a lot--and when they weren't on a trip, they were planning the next one. I remember asking them, as soon as they got back from somewhere exotic, where they were going next. Grandpa always had an answer.

So I credit my wanderlust to Earl, and in his honor I want to inaugurate Travel Tuesday. On Tuesday I'll tell of a travel-related adventure I've had, or one that someone I know has had. Maybe it will ignite some wanderlust in you, too.

Today, since I forgot to do it when I got home, I'm going to post some pictures from our trip to Aspen. I had heard about Aspen in the fall, people would "oooh" and "ahhhh" when we told them we were going, but I had no idea how vibrant those Aspen trees could get! In fact, as we were flying into Aspen, coming over the mountains covered with an almost neon yellow, I said to my husband, "Hey, look at those fields of daffodils!" Boy, I hope nobody on the plane was listening.

Of course, I don't have pictures of those vibrant Aspen trees because on the one hike we took that was the MOST beautiful, I forgot to bring the camera. Will I never learn?

These are the hills of Snowmass, taken from the top of Aspen Mountain.


No thanks. I'll choose life.







Take note of that elevation. Amazing!