A Day Trip To Rome | A Day Trip to Florence So you’re on a cruise ship up the Italian coast and you’re stopping in the port town of Civitavecchia solely to head to Rome for a day, or in Livorno to visit Florence. Or you’re staying elsewhere in Italy… Read More
Best of 2017: Favorite Things Around the World
It was another amazing year of travel! I didn’t quite match my 2016 statistics, flying 230,511 miles, or roughly 25,000 fewer than last year, but I couldn’t have fit another trip in if I tried! My 22 countries included (in order): US, UK, Oman, UAE, Costa Rica, Israel, Chile, Bermuda,… Read More
European Bucket List: 9 Can’t Miss Family Travel Activities
A Europe Family Bucket List! When we’re planning a trip to Europe – or anywhere else – we start looking for activities far in advance. If there’s an amazing festival, we want to know the best way to experience it. If there’s a wonderful guide for a walking tour, we… Read More
10 Cities That Should Be on Everyone’s Bucket List
Bucket List Cities Creating a bucket list is tricky! The world is full of amazing cities. It would be easy to put together a list of unique cities that are off the beaten path, or a list of the coolest small towns, or up-and-coming destinations. But for this list I… Read More
Five Incredibly Kid-Friendly European Cities
Note: This post originally appeared at Travelocity.com. When Travelocity asked me to write about our top five kid-friendly cities in Europe, I thought about everywhere on the continent that we’ve traveled the past 10 years – 70+ cities in 20 countries – and made a short list. My top two,… Read More
Best of 2016: Favorite Things Around the World
It’s an absolutely amazing world, and I was lucky enough to see a lot of it this year, mostly with the kids. I started the year in Thailand, then moved on to the Philippines, Taiwan, the US, Tanzania, Kenya, Switzerland, Germany, Jamaica, China, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the UK, France,… Read More
A Week in Florence Without Kids
The Best Text Ever The text arrived on a Tuesday in May: “Any chance you’ve got an opening for a quick trip to Florence?” It was from my college roommate who I had studied in Florence with 26 years earlier. Of course! It would be fun to get back to my… Read More
How to Have the World’s Great Sites to Yourself
Note: This post originally appeared at Travelocity.com. My biggest annoyance when I’m traveling: crowds. If I fly halfway around the world to see an amazing site, I want to experience it with as few other people around as possible. This is especially true if I’m with my kids. Long lines and… Read More
Disney Cruise Port Stops and Excursions in Europe
We’ve gone on three Disney cruises now – two in the Mediterranean and one in northern Europe – and stopped at 20 different ports. At those stops we’ve done a little of everything: we’ve booked official Disney Port Adventures; we’ve booked our own private or group excursions; and we’ve wandered around without booking… Read More
My Eight Favorite Places
“What’s Your Favorite Place?” Almost every time I tell someone I’m a travel writer, I get asked what my favorite destination is. Now that I’ve traveled to 80 countries (Jamaica last week for spring break was number 80), I’ve started giving some thought to my favorite places around the world.… Read More