I have gotten behind in my posts! In my last post I described our day in Boston before heading out to Cape Cod, and now I am finally adding the post about the Cape portion of our trip. We took a car from Boston and stayed in a hotel in Harwich, which is in the “elbow” of the Cape, looking out over Pleasant Bay.
It was fall, so not warm enough to go in the water, but still a pretty spot to be in.
Pleasant Bay
The sunsets at night were gorgeous.
One day we went on a dune tour out of Provincetown. The tours run from April to November and take you through a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore Park that is closed to the public. We rode through the dunes in Suburbans while our guide described the history of the area and pointed out the “dune shacks” where famous artists and writers have spent time.
(Anyone else getting the Pina Colada song in their head? “…in the dunes of the Cape, I’m the love that you’ve looked for, write to me and escape…” )
After driving through the dunes we rode along the beach and stopped for a glass of wine. We put our feet in the sand while seals swam by – we even saw a shark go past. I wasn’t quick enough to catch it on camera.
driving on the beach
We had dinner at the Captain Linnell House, which is a restored mansion that a ship captain built for his wife in 1840. It is a charming setting.
Captain Linnell House
Another day we went on a whale watching outing, again out of Provincetown. We thought it would be a nice afternoon out on the water even if we didn’t see many whales – but were blown away by the number of humpback whales we saw, and how close they were to the boat.
We have been on some whale watch trips in other parts of the country (Hawaii, Alaska) where you wait and wait for a whale to surface, and have to look quickly to spot them in the distance or you miss them. On this trip the whales floated along the surface of the water while feeding, and you got amazing views of their full length, even the baleen in their mouths. It was spectacular.
humpback whale feeding – you can see the baleen!
I know the comments by the people around us are a little distracting in this video, but I left them in so you could hear the sounds of the whales:
The return trip to harbor was pretty too.
Provincetown itself is fun to walk around. There are shops and restaurants all along Commercial Street which runs parallel to the harbor, with many good spots for a bite to eat or a drink overlooking the water.
Commercial Street in Provincetown
We learned two interesting things about Provincetown that we didn’t know before: (1) it is one of the most popular LGBT vacation spots in the country/world and (2) the pilgrims actually landed in Provincetown first and 5 weeks later decided to settle in Plymouth instead.
Provincetown Harbor and the Pilgrim MonumentProvincetown War Memorial with the Pilgrim Monument in the background
The Pilgrim Monument was built in the early 1900’s and commemorates the landing of the Mayflower in Provincetown. It was built to resemble a tower in Siena Italy, for no reason other than that the person who won the design contest liked that tower. We didn’t do it, but visitors can climb the 252 foot granite tower.
Scenery, seafood, wildlife, and history – we enjoyed all of this in Cape Cod.
I’m sorry Amsterdam – I had the completely wrong impression of you. I had heard about the Red Light District and drug cafés, and was expecting someplace seedy. I was surprised by what a charming, pretty, and clean city Amsterdam is.
The first thing we learned on the way from the airport to the hotel is that Amsterdam was built below sea level, and the iconic windmills that can been seen all around Holland were at one time used to drain water from the land. With modern technology, they are now mostly for decoration.
The second surprising thing to me was all the bikes. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than people (yes, seriously) and it is their primary mode of transportation. I saw women in heels, pregnant women, and people on their phones riding bikes, even couples holding hands while riding next to each other. You really have to pay attention when walking around because the bike lanes are connected to the sidewalks and you can easily get run over if you aren’t paying attention.
bike parking
I was in Amsterdam for a soccer program for my daughter, so our first night there we attended an Ajax match at Amsterdam ArenA. Amsterdam loves soccer and their team, and it was fun to be a part of that. We went back a couple of days later for a guided tour of the stadium (which you can book in advance), and got to go on the field, in the press room, and in the locker rooms. Soccer fans will enjoy this.
On days that my daughter was in soccer training I had free time to explore on my own and was able to visit some of Amsterdam’s wonderful museums.
The Rijksmuseum houses Dutch art arranged chronologically from 1700 to 2000, including paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Rembrandt’s Night Watch is the most famous work at the museum (and thus usually has a crowd of people around it). I bought my ticket online the night before so I was able to skip the ticket line when I got to the museum. You do not have to specify entrance time or date – the ticket is valid for 12 months from the purchase date. I was glad I arrived fairly early because by noon the museum was getting crowded.
Rembrandt’s Night Watch
In addition to the paintings, I really liked some of the Golden Age artifacts in the museum, such as the 17th century doll houses. These houses were so elaborate they were just as expensive as a regular sized house.
All of the pieces in the house were built to scale using the same materials as the regular size item they were modeled after, and ordered from actual artisans.
Behind the Rijksmuseum you will find the famous I Amsterdam letters, a popular photo spot. So popular in fact that you can’t take a picture without a bunch of strangers in it.
Also in the Museumplein area is the Van Gogh Museum, which I really enjoyed. Again I bought my ticket online the day before so that I could avoid the line – which was long. For this museum you do need to choose a specific date and time, and you can enter up to 30 minutes after your reservation time. I bought the audio tour and was really glad I did. One of the things I really appreciated about this museum is that they have information from Van Gogh’s letters to his brother describing meaning and what he was trying to show in specific paintings. So often when I hear information at a museum about symbolism in a painting, I wonder how they could possibly know that hundreds of years after the artist’s death with no record of whether that is what they actually intended. He painted a dog in the scene to symbolize communism…Really?? Maybe the artist just liked dogs and wasn’t trying to make a political statement! Sorry, no photos are allowed in the Van Gogh Museum so I have none to share…
No photos were also allowed at the Anne Frank Museum. In this museum you walk through the actual rooms that Anne Frank’s family and four other Jews hid in for over 2 years during the Second World War. The rooms are empty now but there’s still an eeriness to the experience. Starting in spring 2016 admission up until 3:30pm every day is by online ticket only. After 3:30pm you can get in line to purchase a ticket at the museum, but the line can be really long (I read 2-3 hours long) – so it is definitely a good idea to buy tickets in advance. Tickets go on sale 2 months before. They also have an option to buy admission with a 30 minute introductory program, and that goes on sale 2 weeks in advance. This is the option we went with because admission-only tickets were already sold out when we looked. The introductory program was very good so in the end I was glad that we went with this option.
Amsterdam is a very walkable city. I loved all the canals and the historic canal houses.
The Museum Willet-Holthuysen lets you see the inside one of these historic homes and what it was like in the 19th century. The wealthy couple who lived in this mansion in the late 1800s left the home to the city of Amsterdam on the condition that it be turned into a museum named after them. The house, which is in the eastern canal ring, has much of its original furnishings and décor.
gentleman’s parlorFrench style garden at the back of the canal house
Taking a canal cruise is a great way to see the canal district. We opted for a 1 hour daytime cruise, but there are plenty of other options. As we went through the canals we listened to commentary about the different buildings and areas we were passing.
One afternoon we did Rick Steves’ self-guided City Walk which gives a nice overview of Amsterdam. It starts at Central Station, goes through Dam Square, the shopping street Kalverstraat, the Bloemenmarkt flower market, and ends in the Leidseplein, Amsterdam’s square with cafés and theaters. I had Rick Steves’ walking tour in my guidebook, or you can download the audio version here.
Royal Palace, New Church, and Dam Square
One of my favorite stops along the walk was the Begijnhof, a small hidden courtyard that I never would have known was there without the guidebook, which includes Amsterdam’s oldest house. The “Wooden House” was built in the 1400s, before wooden houses were replaced with brick due to fire danger.
the oldest house in Amsterdam
My daughter loved the shopping on Kalverstraat, but many of the stores are ones we have at home. (I think we counted FOUR H&Ms along the street.) I preferred the Nine Little Streets area for more unique shops. I also walked through the Albert Cuypmarkt street market. I wasn’t overly impressed with the wares available for sale but the food items looked delicious. I wished had gone through while I was hungry. The freshly made stroopwafels were very popular.
Albert Cuypmarkt
One afternoon we visited two towns in the charming countryside north of Amsterdam. First, we went to the picturesque fishing village Volendam. Sure it’s touristy, but we enjoyed checking out the shops and a nice lunch overlooking the water.
Volendam
The second area we visited was Zaanse Schans, an open air museum with wooden houses and windmills from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can tour inside some of the windmills (for an additional fee) and visit the small shops and museums that demonstrate how different Dutch items were historically made (e.g. cheese, chocolate, clogs, etc.).
Zaanse Schans
There are many other towns close to Amsterdam that would be great to explore if you have the time (Haarlem, Delft, Edam, The Hague). People I met in Amsterdam raved about Haarlem, so that is on my list for next time.
I was surprised by how much I loved Amsterdam. Charming scenery, great museums, history, good food, and friendly people – what more can you ask for?
Florence is a charming city filled with art and history, and of course delicious food. While there are plenty of beautiful and interesting things to see in Florence, it also makes a great home base for visiting other parts of Tuscany.
After settling into our hotel, we visited the Accademia to see David. Even on a Sunday evening in March the line to enter the museum was long, so we were glad we had booked tickets in advance. Every time I see David I am in awe of the intricacy and detail of the carving on such a grand scale.
David
After wandering the historic streets of the city center, we capped off our first afternoon with a sunset drink at our hotel’s rooftop bar.
view across the Arno River
The next day was a Monday, the day of the week that the major museums in Florence are closed. So we took a Vespa wine tasting tour. Don’t worry, the wine tasting is done after you’re done riding the Vespa! This was probably my favorite day of the trip. We rode Vespas in the hills around the city, and finished with wine tasting at a 15th century villa. It wasn’t hard to learn to ride the Vespa and I felt like a local zipping along the roads (yes, with some cars honking and passing me). We enjoyed chatting with the other travelers in the group while tasting the house made wines after our ride.
The following day we hired a driver and took a day trip to Cinque Terre. On the way there, we made a stop at Pisa. Yes, we took the obligatory “holding up the tower” photo which I’m sparing you here. (But if you look closely you’ll see someone else doing it – the tower is surrounded by tourists in this pose.)
Pisa
After our brief stop in Pisa, we drove to the five coastal villages that make up the Cinque Terre. Being March, boat service between the villages was not running yet. So we drove through Riomaggiore, hiked from Manarola to Corniglia, drove to Vernazza (where we ate lunch), and then took the train to Monterosso. The villages were quiet because of the season, and we found each to be charming in their own way.
Vernazza
On the way back to Florence we stopped by Lucca, known for its intact Renaissance walls surrounding the city. We rented bikes and did a loop around the city on the wall. We didn’t spend a lot of time here, just a short visit on our way back to Florence.
Lucca
The next day we did another day trip, this time heading south to Siena. We started our tour of Siena with the stunning Duomo, a 13th century Gothic cathedral.
Duomo
We climbed the 400 steps to the top of the City Tower and were rewarded with magnificent views of the city. I would love to visit Siena in the summer when they host the famous horse race in the square.
View of Siena from the top of the tower
After a few hours wandering Siena, we drove to a small family winery in the Tuscan countryside for lunch. We had a delicious meal with some very good wines.
wine cellar tour
Our final stop for the day was San Gimignano, a town known for its medieval towers. Video gamers will know it as the setting for Assassins Creed. On a whim we checked out the Museum of Torture – very creepy and not for the faint of heart, but entertaining none the less. It was rainy and quiet while we were there. For the most part we just wandered the streets, stopping in to an occasional shop here and there.
San Gimignano
Florence is known for its steak. We were told by a local that a good bistecca alla florentina should be at least 3 fingers thick. The best we had was at Del Fagioli, a restaurant recommended by one of our day trip drivers. This was our favorite meal in Florence – a cozy neighborhood feel with excellent service and food. They bring out a huge plate of meat and have the diner choose their steak before it is cooked. (No, vegetarians would probably not enjoy this.)
Choose your steak
The last day of our trip we spent in Florence, exploring the city. We started with the Pitti Palace, which was a residence of the Medici family.
Pitti Palace Royal Apartments
It was a nice sunny day so we wandered around the Pitti Palace gardens after we were finished in the Palace museums.
view of the palace from the gardens behind
From there we walked across the Ponte Vecchio, but didn’t spend much time in the shops which we had been told are overpriced.
Ponte Vecchio – crowded and touristy even in winter
My husband really wanted to visit the Galileo Science Museum, something we hadn’t made it to in the past. This was really interesting, with scientific tools and contraptions from 1000 to 1900 AD, like clocks, telescopes, maps, and scientific experiments. The most memorable item for me was Galileo’s middle finger, supposedly giving a message to people who don’t appreciate science.
Galileo’s middle finger
Next we visited the Duomo, Florence’s cathedral. The cathedral’s dome was the first Renaissance dome and others were later modeled after it. Inside the cathedral, the dome is ornately painted.
Duomo exteriorinside the dome of the cathedral
The bronze doors of the Baptistery, just across from the Duomo, are an iconic Florence sight. Michelangelo said they were fit to be the gates of paradise.
Baptistery doors
Satisfied with our sightseeing for the day we spent the rest of our last afternoon in Florence wandering, shopping for leather goods, and of course stopping for gelato.
We really enjoyed our visit to Florence, both the time we spent in the city and our day trips in surrounding Tuscany. It’s not a surprise the Florence is often voted traveler’s favorite city in Europe.
We were fortunate enough to get to spend a few days in Paris in March, this time without kids (see earlier post for trip with kids last summer). I love going back to a city for the second (or more) time; you have a feel for the city and have hit the must-see but often touristy sights, and feel more free to explore whatever sounds fun. (I know some people do that their first time to a city, but that’s not me…)
It was cold but we still had some beautiful sunny days.
My first outing was a pastry making class at L’Atelier Des Sens. It was a hands-on class and we made four different pastries. We sampled our creations and then got to take a box with us when we left. They were delicious! Who knows, maybe some day I will attempt to make them again at home.
We spent the afternoon in Montmartre, a neighborhood overlooking the city. We took the funicular up the hill to the Sacré Couer and wandered through the church. There are great views of Paris from in front of the church (even better from the dome, but we did not make the climb).
Sacre Couer
We stopped in the famous (but yes, touristy) Place du Tertre, the square where artists set up for the day and sell their work. While our friends bought some overpriced caricatures, we picked up some small sketches of Paris scenes.
Place du Tertre
Our final stop in Montmartre was the Clos Montmartre, a small vineyard tucked among the streets of Montmartre, which is the oldest working vineyard in Paris. They produce a small amount of wine per year, most of which is auctioned to support local charities. The vineyard is open to the public during their fall harvest festival and also by group tour arranged through the Montmartre tourist office. Our guide shared the history of the winery with us, and then we got to taste a recent vintage.
Clos Montmartre vineyard
The next day we took a guided tour of the Palais Garnier. Wandering through this opulent opera house you could imagine high society strutting their stuff here 100 years ago. Phantom of the Opera was set there, and we saw Box #5 which was his box in the story.
the Grand Staircase
Next we headed over to Le Marais, first for a leisurely lunch before visiting the Picasso Museum. After Picasso’s death in 1973, many of his works went to the French state, which formed a museum with the collection. The museum is housed in a 17th century hotel which has been beautifully renovated. While we were there the main exhibit focused on Picasso’s sculptures (not as many paintings).
The following day started with a visit to the Musée des Arts décoratifs in a wing of the Louvre to see the special Barbie exhibit which is running from March 10 to September 18, 2016. This was so fun! To see how Barbie evolved over the years and how that reflected changes in society was interesting. There were outfits that various fashion designers (DVF, Burberry, Karl Lagerfeld, etc.) have made for Barbie, a display of Barbie’s family members (who knew Barbie had a brother named Scott??), and a wall of accessories sorted by color. If you ever loved Barbie you will love this exhibit.
Fashion designs
Wall of accessories
Barbie foosball?! I want!
Next up was a visit to the Catacombs, a place we missed on our last trip to Paris because the line was 3 hours long. This time we bought tickets in advance and bypassed the line, which was still at least an hour even on a winter day. The Catacombs are an underground burial site for over 6 million Parisians whose remains were moved there in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s when cemeteries ran out of space.
You can wander through the underground tunnels and into the galleries that house walls of stacked bones and skulls. It is chilly down there and there’s no bathroom, so be prepared.
No wine, burgers, or touching the skeletons. Got it.
I have no idea what the lower sign means. You are walking over bodies? Beware of bowling balls?
After that macabre experience we headed back into the daylight and headed to the Salon de Chocolat of Un Dimanche à Paris for some delicious hot chocolate and souvenirs for our family at home. This shop/restaurant is in the St. Germain des Pres neighborhood – we had been there on our prior trip and had to go back. I could happily sip that hot chocolate daily.
Our final night in Paris we visited the Eiffel Tower at sunset. We bought tickets in advance, and went up before it was dark and watched the sunset from the top while sipping a glass of champagne (which they sell from a counter on the top floor). This is a great time to visit because you get to see the expansive views in the light and lit up in the dark, as well as the sunset in between.
sunset from the top of the Eiffel Tower
After descending we enjoyed the tower from the ground, a golden glow in the night sky.
Once again the City of Light charmed us and we look forward to visiting her again.
Whistler is a great destination with something to appeal to everyone – both skiers and non-skiers alike. There are great restaurants and shopping, and a wide range of outdoor activities. We’ve visited with and without kids, in the winter and also in the summer, with friends and on our own. We have always enjoyed it.
Our most recent trip was in February with the kids. Our family skis and/or snowboards, and Whistler Blackcomb has miles of runs for all ability levels with beautiful views across the valley. The Peak 2 Peak gondola makes it very easy to move back and forth between Whistler and Blackcomb.
View from Blackcomb
There are several on-mountain dining options, with large lodges but also some small alpine huts with tasty choices. Our favorite is the Crystal Hut on Blackcomb that serves delicious Belgian waffles. Yum!
Crystal Hut waffle – berries on one side, chocolate on the other
This trip we had a whole week at Whistler so wanted to try some new activities on the days we weren’t skiing. The first one we chose was zip-lining. We did the Eagle Tour with ZipTrek Eco Tours. Heights make me nervous but I still had a lot of fun. The guides were great and made us feel very safe. It was definitely a thrill!
Hanging upside down is not required 🙂
The thrill-seekers in my family wanted another adventure, so two of us (NOT me) decided to do the Whistler Bungee. You jump 160 feet over the Cheakamus River. There is no minimum age (although you need parental permission under 19) so our 12 year-old decided to take the plunge. She’s already talking about going back and doing it again (with a back-flip next time).
Whistler hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics which brought some fun additions to the area, including the Olympic Rings (nice photo op), the Sliding Centre (where you can try the luge, bobsleigh, or skeleton), and Inukshuk statues on both mountains.
Inukshuk on Blackcomb
The current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar means U.S. residents can find some good deals on shopping right now. We found the best deals (when considering the conversion) were at Canadian brands (like Lululemon). It’s also nice to save on dining and lift tickets.
If you are a resident of Canada, Washington, or Oregon state, Whistler offers the EDGE Card which gives discounts on lift tickets, dining, and some activities and stores . Beyond being a money saver it’s also very convenient because you don’t have to wait in line to buy lift tickets, your card will automatically be charged when you get on the lift. The EDGE Card can also be linked to your credit card for retail purchases so that you can use it for on-mountain purchases and don’t have to bring your wallet on the slopes.
Whether you’re taking part in the on-mountain activities or sticking to the village, everyone will find something to enjoy in Whistler.
We visited Paris in July and I couldn’t believe how long the lines were at the popular attractions, sometimes over 3 hours long. Fortunately there are ways to avoid many of the lines. Spend your spare time sipping a beverage in a sidewalk café or sampling macarons instead.
[Note: In addition to the suggestions I list below, you can book guided 3rd party “skip the line” tours to all of these sites – but it will be significantly more expensive. This may be worth it in some instances. You will find many options on Viator and TripAdvisor. We went this route for the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and were very happy with our experiences. See my previous post for more information.]
Paris Museum Pass
The Paris Museum Pass is good at over 50 museums and monuments, including the Louvre, Musée D’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, Versailles (main palace only included), and Napoleon’s Tomb. The pass allows you to skip the ticket purchase line at most of the included attractions (e.g. not at Notre Dame).
The pass is available for 2, 4, or 6 consecutive days, which starts on the first day you use it. I found it to be economical even if you were not going to any of the attractions some of the days of your visit.
Some sites will have a security line that you will still have to wait in (e.g. Versailles).
You can buy the pass online and have it mailed to you, or at the airport, or various locations around Paris. You can also buy the pass at any of the included attractions, even if you do not plan to use it at that time. For example, we bought ours at one of the smaller museums that was close to our hotel to avoid a line at one of the more popular locations, and didn’t activate the pass until a couple days later. We just walked in, bought the pass, and left.
Many museums and monuments are free for visitors under 18, so we did not buy the pass for our children. Some locations will require you to stop and pick up a free ticket for your child – the only place we had to do that was the Musée de L’Armée.
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is one of the attractions that can have a line hours long, especially in the summer months. There are a few different ways to skip it:
Buy your ticket online. You have to be quick if you’re planning to go during busy travel times. Tickets go on sale at 8:30am Paris time, approximately 90 days in advance. You will need to be online immediately when they’re released in order to get them.
Climb the stairs. You can climb the 700 steps to the second floor. It’s less expensive and a much shorter line.
Book a behind the scenes tour for an additional approximately 18€ per person. This tour takes you to the bunker and engine room. It ends on the 2nd floor, so if you want to go to the summit you would need to buy a ticket from the 2nd floor ticket counter at the end of the tour.
view from the Eiffel Tower at sunset
Versailles
We arrived at Versailles before they opened and there were hundreds of people already in line and the courtyard quickly filled with people. See this page for the busiest times to visit.
lines forming before the palace opened
Avoid Tuesdays (when the Louvre is closed) and weekends if you can, those are the busiest days.
Buy your tickets in advance online or get the Paris Museum Pass (described above). You still have to wait in the security line but can skip the ticket buying line.
Versailles recommends the following route on busy days:
The interior of the Palace: at 9am
Gardens and park: 10am to noon
Trianon palaces and Marie-Antoinette’s hamlet: noon to 4:30pm
Book a guided tour for 7€ per person. This allows you to go in a separate entrance with no line. We took the tour of the Private Apartments of the Kings and it was excellent. The palace was so crowded and it was really nice to see some other rooms with a small group of people and a guide. You can then visit the main palace rooms on your own after the tour, without waiting in line. The tour went on sale 3 months in advance at 9:30am.
The Louvre
The Louvre is closed Tuesday. The museum gets very busy, and you’ll often fight the crowds getting in but also while touring the museum.
Avoid Mondays (when Versailles is closed). The museum is free the first Sunday of the month from October to March, so will be crowded then.
The museum is open late Wednesdays and Fridays and is often less crowded at that time.
Buy your tickets in advance online or get the Paris Museum Pass (described above).
The pyramid entrance line is usually the longest. Try one of the other entrances instead (e.g. from the mall underneath).
the mob in front of the Mona Lisa
The Catacombes
While not as popular as the above attractions, I had to list the Catacombes because it is the one place that we tried to see and didn’t because the line was 3 hours long. There’s not much I will stand and wait 3 hours for. I am determined to go there on our next visit but to plan ahead this time!
Their website recommends visiting on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after 3 pm to avoid too long of a wait.
Buy your tickets online. They can be purchased 6 months in advance. Note that you must get the audioguide when you buy your ticket online, and there is also a 10€ per ticket reservation fee.
Paris is a beautiful city with much to offer for all ages. We visited Paris last summer as a family, with our kids aged 12 and 15. The kids loved seeing in person places they had heard of and seen pictures of – and of course loved the pastries and chocolate.
I was shocked by how long the lines were (sometimes 2-3 hours long), and was very thankful that I had made some plans in advance that allowed us to avoid many of them. Keep your eye out for a follow up blog post where I will give specific suggestions on skipping the lines in Paris.
One general tip – it is a good idea for everyone in your family (children too) to know that it is polite to say “bonjour” when you enter a restaurant, store, or café (you will typically be greeted this way as well). My husband almost didn’t get his ice cream because he forgot to say “bonjour” first! For example, in the U.S. we might say “Mint chip please” but in Paris you should say “Bonjour. Mint chip please”.
ITINERARY:
Day 1:
We arrived in Paris during a heat wave (“la canicule”). It was uncomfortably hot (100 degrees and humid); most of the cafés were not air-conditioned and even the museum air conditioners were having a hard time keeping up. So we took it easy our first couple days until the weather cooled off a bit.
Our first evening in Paris we took a Seine cruise on one of the Bateaux-Mouches. This is a nice way to get an overview of the city, and the breeze felt so good on a hot evening.
Day 2:
Early on our first morning in Paris (before it got too hot and the crowds came out) we met with a local photographer to take some family photos. I had come across the idea on tripadvisor, and we ended up with some wonderful images to commemorate our trip – and great options for our Christmas card.
In the afternoon we went on a Chocolate and Pastry Tour . During this 3 hour tour in the St. Germain des Pres neighborhood we tasted chocolates, macarons, bread, croissants, and the most amazing hot chocolate!
First stop on our tour
It was still very warm that afternoon so we scrapped our original plan to do some sightseeing and instead had fun at the amusement park that is set up in the Jardin des Tuileries every summer.
A fun way to cool off on a hot day
Day 3:
We took the train out to Versailles where we started our visit with a guided tour of the private apartments of the Kings. This was a small group tour that took us into rooms that we could not have seen otherwise, and was a much more pleasant experience than fighting the crowds in the rest of the palace (which we did after the tour) – – and it allowed us to bypass the HUGE lines which had already formed first thing in the morning.
A private apartment of the kings
After seeing the main palace, we rented a golf cart and visited the gardens, the Trianon Palaces, and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate.
The golf cart was a fun way to ride around the gardens, and you can stop and park it in various places in the Estate.
Grand Trianon
After we were done at the palace and grounds, we headed over to the Royal Stables (outside the estate) to see a show by the Versailles Academy of Equestrian Arts. These are some very talented horses and riders! After the show you are able to walk through the stables and get a closer look at the horses.
After a full day in Versailles we headed back to Paris for the evening.
Day 4:
We started the day on a private tour of the Louvre with Paris Muse. We took the Louvre Quest family tour aimed at ages 13 and up, which involves an interactive game where you solve a number of clues as you work your way through the museum. This was an excellent way to see the Louvre, which is so large that it can be overwhelming. I had visited the Louvre on my own in the past, and this was a much better experience. We all learned and saw so much, and our guide was able to maneuver us through the crowds and put us right in front of the popular (and mobbed) pieces of art or artifacts.
The mob of people waiting to take a picture of the Mona Lisa – our guide brought us right to the front of the line
After the Louvre we checked out the nearby Palais Royal grounds (and grabbed a bite to eat).
Palais Royal
In the afternoon we explored the Ile de la Cité: the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned), Notre Dame (we did not climb the towers as the line was crazy long, and opted for an ice cream break instead), and Sainte-Chapelle.
Notre Dame
We relaxed at a sidewalk café for a while before taking a sunset tour of the Eiffel Tower. This was a great time to visit, watching the sunset from the top of the tower. When we came down, we watched the light show that occurs every hour after dark.
Day 5:
Our final day in Paris started with a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, where we climbed to the top for great views of the city.
After a delicious lunch at a creperie, we went on a self-guided walking tour (using Frommer’s suggestions as a rough guide) of the Marais neighborhood that includes the historic Jewish quarter.
a street in Le Marais
We spent our final evening in Paris at a relaxing dinner, before packing up to head home. Oh Paris, j’adore. Until we meet again…
London is a wonderful city to visit with teenagers. You get to experience a foreign country while still being able to speak the language, and there are tons of things to do that appeal to that age group. We traveled there last summer as a family of 4, kids ages 15 and 12 (okay, our daughter wasn’t technically a teenager yet, but she sure seems like one!). When I was planning our trip I found a lot of information on traveling with young children, but not as much on teens. So I did a lot of research and found activities that I thought would appeal to our whole family. We had such a great time! I hope this information is helpful to other people planning a trip there (you don’t have to be a teen to enjoy it!).
LODGING: We rented a flat for a week through A Place Like Home. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going through a rental agency in another country. But this was an excellent experience – they were responsive, helped us find an appropriate flat (good sleeping arrangements, in a convenient neighborhood, and close to a tube stop), arranged transportation, etc. Many European hotels limit you to 3 people, so as a family of four we would have had to stay in two hotel rooms. We found renting a flat to be a better option – more space, laundry and kitchen, and also less expensive – plus you feel like a local.
Then we took a cruise along the River Thames which was a nice introduction to the city – – and all we could handle after our long flight and lack of sleep, so headed back to the flat to catch some Z’s.
the London Eye seen from the River Thames
Day 2:
We started our day at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where we climbed up to the top of the dome to get a great view of the city. We all enjoyed the Whispering Gallery with acoustics that carry a whisper from one side of the dome to the other.
View of London from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral
Then we moved on to the British Museum, which is of course an amazing museum with lots of things interesting to kids and adults alike (e.g. the Rosetta Stone and mummy shown below) but was also hot and crowded.
the Rosetta Stone
mummy at the British Museum
We checked out Forbidden Planet which is a megastore for Dr. Who, Star Wars, and comic book fans and then did some shopping along Oxford Street. Last activity for the day was riding the London Eye for great views of the city.
London Eye capsule
Parliament as seen from the London Eye
Day 3:
This morning we went on Fat Tire’s Royal Bike Tour which gave a great overview of royal London. The ride included a stop where we could pop into a traditional English pub.
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In the afternoon we headed out to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour where we spent the evening. This was enjoyed by all, even those of us not very knowledgeable about Harry Potter. The description of the movie making process and getting to walk through the original movie sets was fascinating. [NOTE: Tickets must be booked in advance and tour times will fill up during peak travel times.]
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Day 4:
On our fourth day we visited the Tower of London, where we took a Beefeater Tour and saw the Crown Jewels.
After a few busy days, the kids were ready for some down time, so they stayed in for the evening while my husband and I went to dinner and a West End show (Bradley Cooper in The Elephant Man – excellent!).
Day 5:
Today we went on a full day trip to Bath and Stonehenge on a small group tour with The English Bus. Our guide for the day was great, and I much prefer a small group tour to going with a big bus full of people. The tour also made a stop in a “secret place” – I’m not supposed to give it away but we loved it! While it is true that you don’t get a lot of time in Bath doing a daytrip like this (versus staying the night), we still felt like we had plenty of time to wander around, grab some lunch, and enjoy the town.
Stonehenge is fascinating, and awesome to see in person something that we’d all seen pictures of.
We watched a bit of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but it was so crowded you couldn’t see much. We did get a close up view of the Guard marching to the Palace.
Next we moved on to visit the Churchill War Rooms. It was intriguing to see the rooms where Winston Churchill ran Britain’s campaign in World War II which have been pretty much frozen in time.
We had a traditional afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. I was surprised by how much the 15 year old son enjoyed this!
In the afternoon we checked out Harrods, the famous department store. Wow, it’s HUGE, and for the most part very expensive, but fun to wander around and check it out. It’s easy to get lost there!
That evening we went to see Matilda at a West End theatre. All four of us loved the show!
Day 7:
Our final day in London started with a horseback ride in Hyde Park. This was definitely one of my favorite experiences in London! We got to ride along Rotten Row, the same path kings used to travel between palaces.
We spent our afternoon at Hampton Court Palace, a short train ride outside of London. We wandered the palace and grounds, and tried to find our way out of the maze. This is a fun palace to visit because it has an interactive feel to it, where you can sit at a banquet table, play a traditional board game, and they even provide free cloaks you can wear while visiting.
Then it was back to London for a relaxing dinner near our flat before we had to pack up and get ready to leave London for the next leg of our trip. We loved visiting London – there was so much to do and see that appealed to each of us!
PLAN AHEAD:
2FOR1 – There is much debate online over whether the London Pass (which covers 60+ London attractions) is worth it or not. For our family we were better off using the Days Out 2FOR1 vouchers. Before our trip I printed vouchers for attractions I thought we might visit. You then show the voucher and your train ticket (or Travelcard) when purchasing tickets. This was a huge money saver for us.
ADVANCE BOOKINGS – Many of the attractions we visited can be booked ahead. In some instances this allows you to skip lines, which can be incredibly long during peak travel times. I did not buy tickets in advance if I wasn’t sure when or if we would visit a specific attraction, or if I planned to use a 2FOR1 voucher (in which case you have to buy the tickets at the attraction and show your train ticket). For the attractions we chose, I booked the following in advance:
Bike tour (Fat Tire’s website says you don’t need reservations, but we were traveling during a busy time and some people who showed up were not able to be accommodated)
Warner Bros. Studio Tour (this must be purchased in advance)
Show tickets
Bath and Stonehenge day tour
Horseback ride in Hyde Park
I hope you’ve enjoyed my trip report and found some useful pieces of information!
Planning a trip where you have a lot of sites to see or activities you want to do? Many attractions will be closed certain days of the week or have shortened/extended hours on others. There are often best days or best times of the day to visit. (For example the Louvre is closed Tuesdays, but very busy on Mondays because that is the day Versailles is closed.)
How do you keep track and plan accordingly?
Choose what you want to see
When I’m planning a trip, I usually start a document where I list places I want to visit. I record in the document notes on the various sites and tours, for example their days and hours of operation, the admission fee, the best days to visit, and whether they can be booked in advance. I’ve found that often travel planning websites have outdated information, so I gather details directly from the attraction’s or tour company’s website. I prefer to type the list because it takes up less space on a sheet of paper and I know I can easily print it and take it with me when I go. (And then it’s easy to share with friends or refer back to later!)
Plan what day to do each activity
To plan my days, I print out my list of attractions and cut the page into strips, with each attraction on its own slip of paper. I then make a heading for each day of my trip and arrange the strips under those headings. I can play around so my days aren’t too full, arrange attractions that are close to one another on the same day, and make sure I don’t miss seeing something because it is closed on the day I try to go there.
The final product
Once I had everything laid out the way I wanted, I took a photo, and then created an itinerary that I could take with me on the trip.
I don’t view this as a set in stone itinerary, but rather a general outline of what I would like to do. I don’t pack a full day’s worth of activities in my schedule (especially when traveling with kids), leaving plenty of time for breaks (gelato anyone?) and impromptu stops. For this trip I also listed “extras” to the side – some more stops I thought we might like if we had time. If we don’t actually feel like going to one of the attractions on our itinerary when that day rolls around, that’s fine. But this way we know that we can IF WE WANT TO hit all these places that seemed important to us when planning the trip.
After seeing the main palace, we rented a golf cart and visited the gardens, the Trianon Palaces, and Marie-Antoinette’s Estate.
Trips and Tips 