Category — Travel in Europe

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I have so many dreams of traveling with kids. Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.. The list is endless and I don’t know if we can do it all. But when one of the dream seems to be within reach, it makes the dream even more exciting.

We have been talking about taking the kids backpacking through Europe in the next few years when they will be old enough to take care of some walking without whining.

Tuscany With Kids

But last week, I entered our family photo vacation for a chance to win a week long stay in Italy. Tuscany to be precised. Now, I have to admit when we were talking about Europe I was thinking more about Rome, London, Amsterdam or something in that nature. I didn’t even think about Tuscany.

Now, that there is a chance.. I start to dig more and see what could we do in Tuscany with kids. Will they get bored? We are not wine connoisseurs. Will we enjoy a week out in this beautiful countryside?

The answer is YES.. Big fat YES..

Resources for Things to Do with Kids in Tuscany

There are many more things to do for kids in Tuscany than we can fit into a week. A great resources from Ciao Bambino gives us a good start.

I let my fingers do a little more work and found more information at Children in Tuscany. A great resources for various things to do with kids in Tuscany. Kids will love to climb the Leaning Tower in Pisa, ride the bike in Lucca, climb the bell tower in Siena, and tour the amazing Florence.

The winning prize is a week stay in Casa Cornacchi Country House. The location is perfect for a family home base to explore Tuscany.

Now, why do you care about my dream?

You can help me achieve this dream my dear friends. It’s relatively easy.

How To Help

1. Become a fan of Ciao Bambino – Ciao Bambino Facebook Fan page (so you can do the next step)

2. Leave a comment on my family photo – Our Family Vacation in Macau

That’s it!!! Each comment will give us one vote.

The contest will run until March 12th. So you still have time to help us out.

Cheer to the dream!

You can check out other travelers dream for this Monday at Mother of All Trips.

First photo by Giampaolo Macorig

My good friend just recently came back from their Summer vacation in Europe. I’m so excited to talk to her about her experience during her trip. Her first stop was in Paris. She gave me great tips on things that went wrong during her trip.

Double and Triple check your hotel information

When they arrived in Paris to their hotel which they booked online, they were in for a surprise to found that their hotel has no A/C. Apparently, it is typical to a lot of hotels in Paris. This is one thing that I have never known about before but now I know that it will be one of the feature I will make sure to check.

Verify the museum hour for different days of the week

When you travel back and forth between time zone, the jet lag and the date change can get to you. Make sure to double check the date and time of the operating hour as it may be different each day. And check your calendar when you arrive to make sure that you know what day you are of the week. :) It happened to me a lot especially when I flew back to Thailand. I have to stop and think what day was it.

Don’t forget about the Metro System operating hour

When we travel, we could get carried away visiting all those fabulous tourist attractions that we forget about how we can get back to the hotel. The night time at the Eiffel Tower is one of the amazing sight to see. But make sure you have a way to get back to your hotel because the Metro System might not be operating after the light show.

Give yourself time to adjust

It will be best if you give yourself some time after arrival to adjust to the travel exhaustion and jet lag. So give yourself one extra day to relax instead of doing lot of sightseeing the first day.

Do you have any tips before anyone heads to Paris to share?

Oh.. Amsterdam.. where do I start? It’s one of the city that on my list for our Europe trip that I have been planning. We want to be able to go there in a couple years.

The first thought that came to Mr. Rojo’s mind is of course the “coffee shop” and the redlight district. So he questioned if it will be family-friendly city to visit with kids. I have read several posts and reviews and found that on the contrary, Amsterdam is highly recommended for family with children.

Staying:

I’m dreaming of renting a house boat and spend the morning sitting on the porch watching life happening along the canal.

Doing:

I’m dreaming of visiting the Keukenhof in Spring and being mesmerized by the beauty of the colorful tulips. But if we can’t get there by Spring, I’m dreaming of checking out the flower market along the canal or take a day trip to check out the flower auction.

I’m dreaming of renting a bike and putting on our helmet and setting off around town to check out little hidden gems that might not be in any travel guide. After a long bike ride, we will stop by one of several parks around Amsterdam like Vondelpark to enjoy the beautiful summer and free music performance at the Open Air theatre on Sunday; or Museumplein park to take a break from museum visits.

I’m dreaming of visiting various museums – being the Rijksmuseum to see Rembrandt and Vermeer masterpieces, the Van Gogh Museum to learn about his lifework and let Miss J and Mr. Z enjoy the audio tour, or the Science Museum Nemo where the only rule is ‘please touch everything you see and explore!’. And depend on the energy level we have left, we will want to check out the Ann Frank House. It will be a great educational experience for them to learn.

I’m dreaming of cruising on the boat along the canals to see what Amsterdam has to offer or maybe renting pedal boats called ‘canal bikes’ and sweating ourselves pedaling around the canals.

Day-tripping:

I’m dreaming of taking a day trip to Zaanse Schans. We can’t go all the way to the Netherlands and not visit the working Windmills.

Eating:

I have to admit. I don’t know much about the dutch food but I do know that we will have to try the famous snack ‘Vlaamse frites’ - which basically french fries with mayo. And based on WhyGoAmsterdam, the best french fries in Amsterdam is either Vleminckx Sausmeesters or Manneken Pis. For a quick bite, I might try FEBO vending machine per EuroCheapo’s recommendation. This is not your American vending machine but a fast-food franchise in the automat style. We might also try our hand (or stomach) on Indonesian food. It might seem weird but Amsterdam has a large Indonesian population so the food there is amazing.

Now that’s my dream. Check out other travelers’ dreams at Mother of All Trips.