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Archive for the 'Traveling' Category
Contents
Posts
Some Tips to Help Guard Against Theft While Traveling
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Let’s face it, when we’re tourists we can be targets of theft – even if it’s only petty theft. This is even more true when you’re traveling with kids: You’re more vulnerable since your eyes are on your kids, not to mention your bags, money and passports.
Don’t despair! Here are some tricks to help you safeguard your possessions.
Your pocketbooks and knapsacks should have zippers so you can’t be as easily pick pocketed. I purchased a special small pocketbook that has special straps that are difficult to cut (they have wire inside them). Two of the pockets inside zip and there’s an extra flap over the top that closes so someone can’t easily slip their hand inside of it.
We bought safety pouches to wear under our clothes to keep our passports tucked away. There’s one type that you wear around your waist and another that you wear around your neck under your shirt. We also kept photocopies of our passports on us in case we lost the originals.
Unfortunately, one of the pouch’s zippers broke before we even left our house (when my husband tried to fit in all 4 of our passports and zip it up), so we only had one to bring. So the lesson there is to test out your equipment a couple of days before you leave.
Beware of pickpockets! My husband was careful to keep his wallet in his front pocket.
Every nation has its own currency and it’s a good idea to look it over before you enter the country. I found the euros to be confusing to count because they don’t have bills for a 1 euro and a 2 euro. They’re both coins. So if you give someone a 10 euro note, you may be handed back a lot of change in coins. If you’re traveling with kids, it’s probably a good idea for either you or your partner to take responsibility for paying, while the other watches the kids. This way, whoever is paying can take the time to count the change. I was short changed a couple of times. The first time, in the airport after we first arrived, I realized it too late. I only lost a euro, but it was a good lesson to be vigilant. Another time, in a pharmacy, I was shortchanged a euro again. This time I was ready and pointed out the “error” and got the correct change.
I’m sure this happens to tourists in all countries. They’re obvious targets.
Below are some images of euros as a reference for people traveling to Europe.
Here are images of 1, 2, 5 and 10 cent euros. (The coins of the each denomination are lined up in columns.) You can see that the back of the euros can look different, even when they’re the same euro amount…
Here’s a photo of 20 and 50 cent euros…
Finally, below you’ll find a photo of 1 and 2 euro coins. You can see there are a lot of variations on the back of the 1 euro coins I got back for change…
What’s interesting to me is that when I lived in France as a college student, and then toured around Europe, someone only tried to short change me one time when I first arrived in France. This time there were several occasions where people made attempts to cheat me, either by shortchanging or overcharging. I wonder if having kids made the difference? Maybe we seemed more vulnerable. Fortunately, the amounts were small so we can laugh it off as an experience. I had a great time and I’d love to return to Europe tomorrow, but it is a good idea to be aware of your surroundings while there.
Here are some sites where you can find images of various foreign currencies, if you’d like to familiarize yourself with them. (These can be fun to look at with kids, even if you aren’t planning any travel.)
Don’s World Coin Gallery (Select by Country)
The Best Way to Exchange Money for a Trip Overseas
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
We just returned from a trip to Europe. We toured around France, in the areas of Provence in the south and Paris. We learned some important lessons about dealing with money overseas.
First, before you embark on your trip, make sure you tell your credit card company and bank when you are going. This way, when you use your ATM card or credit card overseas, they will know that the charges are authorized and not think that your card has been stolen. Otherwise, they might put a hold on your accounts!
While you’re on the phone with the bank and credit card company, ask them what their charges are for using the cards overseas and also what their current rate of exchange is. This way you’ll know how you’ll get your best rate. Most people will tell you that the best thing to do is to charge everything. This may not be the case for you. It wasn’t for us! Our credit card company charges us a 3% fee on all credit card purchases overseas (regardless of whether or not we pay our bill on time). Meanwhile, our bank charges us 1% of money withdrawn from ATM machines overseas.
It appears that most banks will only allow you to withdraw an equivalent amount of $500 US dollars per day. Also, you may be charged a fee for the ATM machine you’re using overseas.
Whatever the current exchange rate is that you read in the newspaper, you can expect to pay a little more.
We converted some money to euros before we left. Many people do this at the airport, but we were traveling with our young daughter, and lots of bags, so we didn’t want the added pressure of one more thing to worry about before or after the flight. My husband works in New York City, so it wasn’t too hard for him to find a place to make the conversion there, a few days before we left.
The rate of exchange we got was $1.62/euro (which was worse than the then current rate of $1.55/euro). Plus there was a flat fee $5.00.
That rate was better than what you’ll get in many cases at a currency exchange place in Europe. One that we found had an exchange rate of $1.77/euro if you’re exchanging less than $500 and $1.65/euro if you’re exchanging more than $500. Plus they had a surcharge of 6%. That’s a rate you’d want to avoid!
We were never able to find a bank in southern France that exchanged money. The truth is that we didn’t want to spend our whole days searching for one. Also, in southern France, many businesses close at lunchtime from 12 – 2 pm making the task more difficult.
Even in Paris we had a hard time finding a bank to exchange dollars into euros. Finally, once we ran out of the euros we had brought from the US we used our ATM card to withdraw more and in a pinch we used our credit card.
If you’re planning on traveling overseas in the future, I’d recommend exchanging some money before leaving on your trip. The rate might not be great, but it will most likely be better than or equal to what you’ll find overseas. Otherwise, depending upon your bank’s policy, you’ll need to decide which is the best course of action for you.
For further reading, here’s an article on the same subject by CNN called Choosing the Right Currency for Your Trip.
Traveling With Kids
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008My family and I are planning a trip to France! And, yes, that does include my six year old daughter and thirteen year old son.
My husband and I are very excited, but we’re trying to go with our eyes open: It’s not going to be easy! Traveling with young ones is always a challenge, and the current low value of the dollar makes the financial burden that much greater.
Here’s a few of the thoughts we’ve had and resources we’ve discovered as we prepare.
Baby Jetsetter is a wonderful blog about traveling with kids. It’s focused on babies, so my kids are a bit old for some of the tips, but if you’re planning a trip with the diaper and pacifier set, you should definitely check it out. For instance, the latest post gives great recommendations on what to pack and what not to pack in your carry-on bag for the plane.
The falling value of the US dollar is making traveling more expensive for Americans. Just this morning the New York Times posted an article on some coping strategies. I particularly like the suggestion of one commenter to forgo expensive Parisian restaurants and, instead, plan some picnics of baguettes and wheels of Brie or Camembert. (And maybe some grapes or apples on the side. I can’t completely ignore my diet!) What could be more genuinely Parisian?
I can get by in French, and my son is studying it in school. But my husband and daughter don’t know a word. I’m trying to prepare them by injecting some phrases into our conversation where I can. A few bonjour’s and s’il vous plait’s may not seem like much, but they’re a start.
And then, of course, there are the books!
I’m planning on picking up Ludwig Bemelmans classic Madeline to help acquaint my daughter with images of Paris in a way she can relate to.
There’s only so much wandering around museums we can expect a six year old and thirteen year old to tolerate, so we picked up Fodor’s Around Paris with Kids. It’s filled with kid friendly parks, boat rides and amusement parks that will, hopefully, make the city of lights come alive for our kids.
And finally, my husband is an inveterate reader and a history buff. He refuses to leave the house without studying two thousand years of the history of any place he goes. So he picked up La Belle France, A Short History by Alistair Horne. When we finally arrive, he may not be able to speak a word, but we’ll have to struggle to cut him off from lecturing us for hours about the historical background of every monument and Roman ruin we visit.
It’s taking a lot of preparation and it’s going to cost us a bit, but I think traveling is very important for both kids and adults. And, despite all the anticipated problems, it should be a huge amount of fun!
Touring Amish Country
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007Last month we brought our children to the Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Amish are a group of Christians originally from Germany, Switzerland and the Alsace region of France. They immigrated to the US in the 18th century. They believe in being separate from the society around them.
Amish people don’t use electricity, automobiles or other modern conveniences. Amish kids don’t use bicycles (though they do use Amish style scooters).
When you visit a region where the Amish live, you can see them driving around in horse drawn buggies. If you’d like, you can even get a tour of the area in a buggy. That’s what we did. Our driver was very nice and he gave our kids an extra thrill by letting them take turns driving it.
Driving around Amish country, you can see the dresses and clothes the Amish wear hanging out to dry. The Amish prefer dark colors: black, maroon, deep blues and purples. The women wear dresses that hang below the knee with bonnets covering their heads. The men wear pants, shirts, jackets and hats. Married men don’t shave off their beards.
Our buggy driver had been Amish as a child and he welcomed questions about the culture. Of course we had a bunch!
Do the Amish have plumbing? Yes, they have indoor plumbing. Do they use anything for heat? Yes, they use coal stoves and generators. The important thing is that they don’t have to rely on the outside world for their energy (like an electric company). Do they pay taxes? Yes, they do – but not Social Security (a tax that you pay in the US to help old people afford to live after they retire). They don’t pay Social Security because they sign a waiver that they won’t receive it when they grow old. Do Amish people go to doctors? Yes, they do. They don’t generally use telephones unless it’s for something like a medical emergency.
We noticed that some of the Amish houses we passed on our buggy ride had aluminum siding. We were curious if it was all right for the Amish to buy supplies from the outside world. (It was hard to imagine them manufacturing aluminum siding.) Our driver said the Amish will, in fact, sometimes buy equipment from outside their community.
My son asked if the Amish observe any holidays. Our driver said they celebrate Easter and Christmas.
Then we asked a general question about schooling. He said many Amish go to school in one room school houses run by the Amish instead of going to public schools. They only attend school until the 8th grade.
Finally, our driver told us about how the Amish organize themselves (at least in the Lancaster area where he grew up). He said that several households will make up a church district. The members meet every other Sunday for a service that is held in a member’s house (as opposed to a church). The following Sunday will be devoted to spending the day together as a community.
Much of Amish lifestyle is geared towards spending time together as a family or community. You can see this when you tour, when you often see whole families farming together.
Finally, we reached our destination, an Amish house and store. There we bought root beer floats made by two Amish boys. They said their mother had made the root beer herself.
It was interesting to see such a totally different way of life. I’m glad my children were able to see that people can live so differently, even in their own country.
There are indeed other ways to live, outside of our information packed, high-speed, electronic world – interesting and lively though it is!
(By the way – It’s important to remember, the Amish aren’t putting on a show for our benefit. They’re real people, going about their real lives. So if you do visit their area, treat them with respect and courtesy. One thing in particular to keep in mind is that Amish don’t like being photographed, so don’t take any snapshots of them without explicit permission.)
24 Hours on a Dairy Farm
Friday, September 7th, 2007This past summer we took a trip to Pennsylvania with our kids. Our first stop was at a dairy farm in a town called Paradise. The farm had about 40 cows and grew corn to feed them.
We each got to milk a cow – which was a weird experience. It’s something I’ve never done before. My son was particularly good at it – so I told him that maybe he should leave his video games behind and go and live on a farm! Just kidding of course!
The farmers normally use machines for milking. That way they get 4-5 gallons of milk out of each cow per day, as opposed to 1+ gallon per day if they milked the cows by hand into a bucket.
Most of the milk on the farm we visited is sent to Land O’ Lakes to make butter and to Hershey’s to make chocolate. That was interesting to find out, as later in our trip we were going to Hershey’s.
The farmer gave us a tour of the whole farm and talked about his crops. It was interesting to hear about how his whole life revolves around the weather – much more than for people living in the suburbs or a city. Yet he does use modern conveniences in that he uses high speed internet access to find out what the weather reports are. (He also uses artificial insemination to propagate his herd – rather than have a bull on site – which can be dangerous.)
On the tour, we all got to pick an ear of corn and to later feed it to the cows. The cows eat the whole thing: the corn, the corncob, the leaves and the silk. We learnt that cows have four stomachs for digesting – that’s why they can eat such tough food (that we can’t digest) like grass and corncobs.
Our kids got to feed two week old calves with very large bottles of milk. The calves are already pretty large at that age. So they need a lot of milk.
We slept in guest rooms in a special section of the farmer’s house. The next morning, all of the guests had breakfast together. We had raw, un-pasteurized milk – straight from the cows. I’ve never had milk that tasted so fresh and creamy! (It was recommended by the farmer that pregnant women and infants didn’t drink it.) They also served homemade yogurt, fresh sausage, scrambled eggs (the eggs came from the poultry farmer next door) and peach cobbler.
I think this was a great experience for the kids, while interesting and enjoyable for us adults. I’d recommend a trip like this for anyone. It gave the kids another perspective on the world, while being hands-on fun. It’s nice when vacations can be restful, yet open the mind to other possibilities in life!
Great Photo of the Beach in Norway
Thursday, August 9th, 2007Monique, my colleague at Mama Lisa’s World en français, sent me this lovely photo of the beach in Norway, which she recently returned from visiting.
It looked to me like such a perfect vacation photo, that I had to ask Monique if I could share it with all of you. So here it is. Thanks Monique!
If anyone else would like to share a great photo from around the world, feel free to email me.
-Lisa
Cold Turkey Week – Can Your Kids Go for a Week Without a TV?
Monday, November 13th, 2006Every year during the week before Thanksgiving, our town library holds Cold Turkey Week.
During Cold Turkey Week, our kids are challenged to give up the tube (TV). In fact, they’re supposed to give up everything with a screen: the TV, computers, Gameboys, etc.
Cold Turkey Week is supported by the school district. They encourage the librarians to come into the schools to talk about the program and psych up the kids to do it.
The kids are given a contract to sign – it’s signed by the child and by one of his/her parents each day of Cold Turkey Week – to acknowledge that the child did not watch TV at all.
Each child is also given a packet of things to do during Cold Turkey Week: mazes, coloring pages, etc. The library has little events going on. Family time and reading are also encouraged. As a final prize, all the kids who successfully finish the week without watching TV get to attend a special show put on at the library.
I think this is a wonderful idea to show kids that there are other things to do besides electronically based activities. They can even give up computers! The Internet is an incredibly wonderful thing, but it’s good to know we can indeed live without it from time to time!
-Lisa
Scottish Gaelic Nursery Rhymes or Songs
Friday, September 22nd, 2006Monique, of Mama Lisa’s World en français, was nice enough to send me this lovely photo of the Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, which she visited this past summer.
Monique asked me to post the photo with a request for Scottish Gallic nursery rhymes or songs. If anyone knows of any, please send them to us. We’d be happy to post them!
-Lisa
Cherry Blossom Festivals Around the World
Sunday, March 26th, 2006In previous entries I talked about the importance of Cherry Blossoms in Japan.
In 1912 the mayor of Tokyo gave a gift of 3000 cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C., thus spreading the love of cherry blossom viewing to North America.
Nowadays, Washington D.C. hosts the National Cherry Blossom Festival. I’ve been there and it was really beautiful to see a mass of cherry blossoms in bloom.
Below are links to some Cherry Blossom Festivals Around the World. If you know of any others, please comment below.
Japan Guide to Cherry Blossom Viewing (Sakura Matsuri)
The Jinhae Gunhang Festival in Korea
Cherry Blossom Festival in Vancouver
Wulai Cherry Blossoms Festival in Taiwan
Cherry blossoms feast at San-Zi Township in Taiwan
Cherry Blossom Festival in Northern California
Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco
Cherry Blossom Festival in Seattle, Washington
Cherry Blossom Festival in Hawaii
Cherry Blossom Festival in Philadelphia
Cherry Blossom Festival in Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, New York
Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, Georgia
Here’s a photo from when we went to view the Cherry Blossoms. I was pregnant with my son at the time.
Photo of the Washington Monument
Tuesday, March 14th, 2006Here’s a great photo my friend Ray Lee took. He was looking at the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Thanks for sharing your photo Ray!
Lisa
Ouzoud Falls, Morocco
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français just returned from a trip to Morocco. While there, she visited Ouzoud Falls, which are about a hundred miles northeast of Marrakech.
Here’s what she said about it..
We went to Ouzoud Falls to see the waterfalls as they’re very famous. In the Summer, people bathe in the pond at the foot of the falls. There are little open air restaurants along the way down to the bottom of the valley. When we went, in February, it had rained a lot and the water was red with mud.
That’s when Monique took these magnificent photos…
Monique took this one at the foot of the falls…
Monique continued…
A young man caught us at the upper end of the pathway so we’d have lunch at his restaurant. The floor of the restaurant is beaten earth, there are only 3 walls and the roof is not a hard roof, it’s covered with large plastic sheets over a cane structure.
So we went to have lunch there, we ate the most delicious simple tajine I ever had, the veggies were somewhat like caramelized vegetables. There were nine of us and we each had a Moroccan salad. We shared 6 tajines and 3 couscous, had some fruit and a mint tea plus a couple of bottles of water.
A tagine is like a stew and there are endless varieties. Tagines are cooked in a special earthenware pot called a tagine. It has a conical lid, with just a little hole in it so it captures most of the steam from the food. A typical tagine will usually include meat, vegetables, olives, lemon, garlic, fresh coriander and an array of spices like saffron, cumin, ginger and turmeric. Tagines are usually cooked slowly over a long time without removing the cover of the pot.
Here’s a photo of the falls when there hasn’t been a lot of rain.
If you’re familiar with any children’s songs, folk songs or lullabies from Morocco that you’d like to share with us, we’d be very pleased! Please email me or comment below.
Thanks to Monique for sharing these great photos!
-Lisa
The Movie Musical 1776
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006A while back I was writing about visiting Philadelphia with kids.
If you’re planning to visit Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I would recommend watching the musical 1776 (filmed in 1972) before your trip. It really brings Independence Hall to life.
It helps you and your kids understand what took place in that one room, called the Assembly Room, in the days leading up to the Declaration of Independence.
Plus, it’s a lot of fun!
Independence Hall
Monday, September 26th, 2005
(Philadelphia with Kids – Part 3)This is the place where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were written. It’s the most important building in American history.
The tour was nice and quick, so the kids could deal with it. It was basically in three rooms. The first room was the main Philadelphia courthouse in 1776. The guide told a great story that my son Calvin loved: In colonial times, the Coat of Arms of King George III hung prominently behind the judge’s bench. Then, after the Declaration was signed, it was torn down in a raucous ceremony and dragged through the streets of the city!
While in the courthouse, our tour guide also talked about the history of the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Then we went to see the room where both documents were created and signed. We saw the seat where George Washington sat.
It was a good time to bring Calvin. He had just studied the early history of the US government in 5th grade.
Independence Hall is a must-see for anyone visiting Philadelphia. And it’s important that older kids understand the significance of the building where the country was born. It’s also good for them to understand how the quality of thought and debate at that time remains unsurpassed in the nation’s history.
The tour was short enough that the kids tolerated it. My 4 your old daughter actually fell asleep in her stroller, so we were lucky.
The Liberty Bell
Sunday, September 25th, 2005
(Philadelphia with Kids – Part 2)We had to get free tickets to visit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
Once there, we were surprised at how tight the security was. We had to go through metal detectors. It reminded me of going through airport security.
Once inside, you go through a large hall with a self-guided tour where you read about the liberty bell, and see memorabilia related to it.
One interesting point is the Liberty Bell was made in England to go in the bell tower on top of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It weighs over 2000 pounds.
On the bell it says, “Proclaim Liberty thro’ all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.”
Within less than a year of the bell being hung in the tower it cracked. That changed the sound of the ring. But they still rang it for major events including the ratification of the Constitution.
On the government’s site for the Liberty Bell it says, “The old State House bell was first called the ‘Liberty Bell’ by a group trying to outlaw slavery. These abolitionists remembered the words on the bell and, in the 1830s, adopted it as a symbol of their cause.”
The Liberty Bell rang for the last time in February 1846. While it was being rung for George Washington’s birthday, it suffered an irreparable fracture.
Interesting Point: The Liberty Bell March, by John Philip Sousa, was written for when the bell was brought on tours around the U.S. They had parades with it. It turns out the Liberty Bell March was also used by Monty Python as its theme song. It’s very disconcerting to hear the Monty Python theme play in the background while visiting one of America’s most famous patriotic relics!
The U.S. Mint
Sunday, September 25th, 2005
(Philadelphia with Kids – Part 1)My husband Jason, and I took our 11 year old son and 4 year old daughter to Philadelphia in August. We went with our friend Raymond who lives near there.
My son, Calvin, really wanted to visit the US Mint there to see how they make money. (Mints only make coins and medals not paper money.) That was our first stop. We got to the front door and a guard asked us if we had any cameras – they’re prohibited. Ray’s cell phone had a built in camera, so that counted. The guard said we couldn’t take it in and that there was no place where it could be stored.
Jason graciously said he would take the cell phone and just walk around the area with my daughter, who would be bored inside anyway. So just Raymond, Calvin and I went in.
The mint only offers “self-guided” tours. You basically walk down a long hallway with a window looking down on the area where they make the money. As you move along, you read signs about the history of the US Mint. There are interesting facts about how the money is made and information about the people who are on the coins and medals.
It was disappointing how little you could see what was going on below. We read how they make blanks of each type of coin and then the blanks go into machines that imprint them. It was impressive to see the huge vats of blank pennies.
But, like my son said, “It was good, but you couldn’t get close enough to the coins.”
________
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