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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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Volunteer & Service | Weekly Column
So much invention in Seattle: Inspiration for Kids
The Museum of History and Industry, now in the historic Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park, boasts the largest heritage organization in Washington State with nearly 4 million artifacts. It is a good place to start any family visit to Seattle.
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Ireland’s Ashford Castle: very popular with American families
Ashford Castle, in western Ireland on 350 acres along the shores of Lough Corrib and the River Cong, is famous for its fishing and falconry but if you’re a boy just staying in a bona-fide castle is the real attraction.
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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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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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Visiting a traditional Japanese Ryokan — not your ordinary hotel
Welcome to the traditional Japanese Riokan. There are these hotels all around Japan, some in the mountains, which offer the chance to try the Japanese hot springs baths called onseng
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Touring Kyoto with locals and on bikes: seeing more than temples
Kyoto is famous for its Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. This morning, we’re cycling a 14-mile loop with Kyoto Cycling Tour Project with stops at the Golden Pavilion and Ryoanji Temple with its world-famous rock garden – two of the city’s and Japan’s top tourist attractions.
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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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Sampling Orlando’s changing restaurant scene during Magical Dining Month
Visit Orlando’s magical dining month, which starts August 24 and continues throughout September and highlights many restaurants offering prix fixe dinners for $33. (Ready to share with your junior foodie?)
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On a cruise – options for dining vary on taste and budget
Like other cruise lines, Princess offers specialty restaurants on board for which you pay an extra fee.
Like on other cruise lines, the specialty restaurants offer an enhanced experience. -
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.
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A long flight to Japan – jet lag cured with spa treatment at Conrad Tokyo
The Mizuki Spa at the Conrad Tokyo is the largest spa of its kind in Tokyo and boasts Tokyo’s only true Hinoki bath. Treatments are inspired by the moon and the water.
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Jake and Tobey go on a Safari in Style in Tanzania
Jake and Tobey Bill, ages 12 and 13 from Weston CT, went on a “Safari In Style” tour of Tanzania with the tour operator Abercrombie & Kent. They had heard great things about Africa and watched a few PBS specials about it, but nothing prepared them for what them saw and experienced in this amazing place.
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Best of Taking The Kids | Cruises & All-Inclusive | Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Weekly Column
On a multigenerational cruise with Windstar in Scotland
The 91-year-old had chosen the Windstar Star Legend, a 212-passenger ship for a cruise with her 17-year-old grandson— one of three yachts without the line’s famous sails that the company has recently acquired from Seabourn
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Destinations | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Parks & Outdoors | Travel Diaries | Volunteer & Service
Enesi’s excellent adventure in the Dominican Republic – Part 2
Sixteen-year-old Enesi Domi shares his daily diary from a youth service experience in the Dominican Republic with the community service organization Rustic Pathways. This is the second of two installments. More than 5000 youths will go on Rustic Pathways service trips this year.
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In Edinburgh, where Harry Potter was written and history abounds
Welcome to Daigon Alley. No, this is not at Universal Studios Orlando. It’s here in Edinburgh, where JK Rowling famously wrote the first book in a coffee shop.
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Gleneagles: a world-famous golf resort, now family friendly
Of course, Gleneagles is known for golf — it is home to three of Scotland’s best championship courses and it is where the 2014 Ryder Cup was played. But today, only 30 percent of guests play golf — and some of them may be kids taking lessons.
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Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland – a foodie paradise
What is vacation without good food and Gleneagles Hotel certainly delivers. It is home to Andrew Fairlie, chef of Scotland’s only two Michelin-starred restaurant. But the other restaurants offer something special as well—maybe trying Scottish food for the first time.
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Gleneagles: Famous for golf but beloved by UK and US families
Gleneagles is known for golf—it is home to three of Scotland’s best championship courses but today, only 30 per cent of guests play golf and Gleneagles is a kid-friendly resort that draws families from the United Kingdom as well as the United States back year after year
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At sea with Windstar – connecting families and generations
Of the 204 passengers, there are 117 who have sailed Windstar, some as many as 11 times. While you may think of this as a cruise line for adults, I’ve been thinking of this as a way for grown and mostly grown kids to connect with parents and grandparents, sharing new experiences.
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A hidden gem of a restaurant in Scotland
Three Chimneys Restaurant and six-room inn is on an out of the way stretch of road on the Isle of Skye where you brake for sheep crossing the road and the fish you eat for lunch might have been caught that morning, the lettuce just harvested.
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Cruising Ireland and Scotland on a Windstar yacht
We are on an eight-day Gaelic Explorer Windstar Cruise on a yacht with just 212 passengers can go to smaller ports. Windstar, known for its sailing yachts, has added three more yachts from Seabourn—these without sails–that after a $12 million refurbishment have joined the fleet.
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A multi-gen foodie heaven at Ireland’s Ashford Castle
The great food at Ashford Castle in Ireland is inspired by Lord Ardilaun, a scion of the Guinness family, who insisted on only the freshest and most varied of local produce, a tradition continued by new executive chef Philippe Farineau
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Touring London with a local journalist – curry anyone?
Will Hide, a London journalist, jokes that locals say Chicken tikka masala should be Britain’s national dish. Indian food—especially “takeaway” is so popular. Vacations, of course, are a great time to try new cuisines and when in London, that means Indian food (actually mostly Bangladeshi).
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Hotel VIP Lounges – great for families on extended vacations
It’s not that I need to be treated like a VIP. I just want to de-stress experience as much as possible—especially with kids. That means not having to wait to be served breakfast or a snack or paying through the nose for food the kids won’t eat.
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Tea with Charlie at a hip but kid-friendly London hotel
In Britain these days, one young local explained, tea “is for a special occasion—like a birthday. Maybe it’s going to see your first West End Play—say Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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Backyard Vacations | Destinations | Disney | Families & Groups | Food and Dining | Lodging | Weekly Column
A new Orlando resort that does more for families
The kids want to stay right where they are because they’re having way too much fun at the expansive Explorer Island pool-water play area at the New Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World,
