Berlin – at Checkpoint Charlie and the Spy Museum
The idiosyncratic Mauer Museum at Check Point Charlie that is at the original border crossing between the Cold War American and Soviet sectors of Berlin. The location is no accident.
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Westin Gets it Right for Families in Berlin
Westin and Le Meridien Hotels have just introduced new family programs, they say, in response to a changing global demand for family travel. Rather than focusing on a kids club, this idea stresses that playing “knows no borders or language barriers but rather inspires kids to explore learn and build relationships.”
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A Journalist and a Fan finds the LA Clippers are a Nation
What was a room I have only seen on television was a standard NBA Press Conference room. It was open seating, so I sat in a comfortable second row to await for LA Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers. Journalists were not shy asking about the tough questions.
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The Season of Force Awakens at Disneyland
I walked into the entrance of Star Tours–The Adventures Continue. That was the first ride of the day, yet I wondered, “What galactic troubles can I get into next…?”
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The Force Awakens ahead of the movie at Disneyland
The Force Awakens at Disneyland today, just in time for the holidays –and of course the much-awaited Star Wars movie debuting Dec 18.
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Aboard the New Anthem of the Seas
Kids of all ages give high marks to Royal Caribbean’s second Quantum Class ship Anthem of the Seas which will be home-ported year round in Cape Liberty, NJ.
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A local tour of Seattle’s Pike Place Market
We’ve signed on for Seattle’s only chef-led tour of the market with Elizabeth McClure’ new company Eat Seattle Tours. She also does cooking classes in the Market’s Atrium Kitchen, shopping with the students first for ingredients .
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Hotels restaurants increasingly focusing on local food and healthy choices
It is Friday night in Seattle. But what’s interesting is the Sazerac with its distinctive chandeliers and hip-but-casual vibe and food best described as modern South meets Northwest is in Kimpton’s Monaco Hotel.
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Innovation on display at Seattle Museum
Seattle has always been a center of innovation and it’s on display at the Bezos Center of Innovation at the Museum of History and Industry. Did you know the Native Americans and traders invented a whole new language?
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Shopping in Tokyo’s ‘Kitchentown’
There’s shop after shop of kitchen wares—ceramic sake cups, wooden bowls for miso soup, colorful bowls for rice, all varieties of chop sticks and of course hand-made Japanese knives that will be engraved on the spot with your name in Japanese. And everything is a bargain!
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What for dinner in Tokyo? How about 14 courses, small but delicious?
If you think a 14-course dinner might be a little much to handle, come sample Chef Kenichiro Ooe’s fare at Kozue on the 40th floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo with stellar views of the city.
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Hiroshima school: memorial and symbol of peace
The Honkawa Elementary School is in the heart of Hiroshima and when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, all but one of the 420 students and teachers perished. Today is a again a bustling school and a memorial to those who died.
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Exploring Japanese pop culture at the Manga Museum
These aren’t just any comics. These are the enormously popular and traditional Manga, the basis for Anime, at the Kyoto International Manga Museum which is run by Kyoto Seika University and the Kyoto City Government. The University teaches aspiring Manga artists and writers in its design and fine arts department.
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Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Travel Diaries
Cruise follies, foibles, TMI, TLI and unexpected discoveries
No cruise is complete without its follies and unexpected discoveries.
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Kids have a different take on cultural exchanges on cruises
Listen up parents — if you thought the educational part of cruising was only seeing historic and cultural sites, you were wrong. It seems much more cultural exchange happens right on board at the kids’ and teen club, kids say.
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Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Getting There | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries
In Hokkaido: navigating on our own is not that difficult
The ship staff had warned that navigating on your own in Japan is different than elsewhere. Very few locals speak English and signs are only in Japanese. I understand now why in the U.S. Japanese tourists always move in a group with a guide.
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A visit to a Japanese hot springs in Hokkaido
Good news! I’m going to live at least seven years longer. That’s because I’ve visited a Japanese Onseng—a hot springs resort. They are ubiquitous in Japan—there are thousands of them.
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Japanese hot tubs and amenities on the Diamond Princess
The on board Izumi Japanese Bath features indoor and outdoor bathing experiences ($15 for 90 minute visit), including misted steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and hot tubs, some open to the sky.
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East meets West on a Princess Cruise in Japan
Until I came aboard in Yokohama, I hadn’t thought much about the cruise experience being educational but here, with more than 1000 Japanese passengers, we westerners are getting a lesson in Japanese culture and food.
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At the Tokyo Fish Market: mixing culture and tradition in unique culinary ways
It is eight in the morning and we are at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish Market, Japan’ largest. More than 15,000 people work here; international tourists line up in the early hours of the morning for the chance to watch the famous auctions of the fish, including the tuna.
