Fun Food Friday: Matsumoto Shave Ice

Lines at Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa, Oahu are always long, but the texture of the 'snow' and the fresh, homemade flavors are totally worth the wait!

Fun Food Fridays: Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, Oahu

If you love garlic shrimp, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore of Oahu is a must-stop.  It's hard to miss the locations in Haleiwa and Kahuku - just look for the long line-ups!

Fun Food Friday: Huelo Smoothies

The Hana Highway on the island of Maui, is full of twists, turns and beautiful scenery.  But one of our favorite highlights was stopping for delicious, fresh smoothies and homemade banana bread along the way at the Huelo Lookout Fruit Stand.

New bike-share for kids in Paris!

Source: http://blog.velib.paris.fr/en/ptit-velib/

How fun is this?  A new bike-share program for kids launched earlier this summer in Paris, France.

P'tit Vélib' offers a variety of bikes suitable for children from 2 to 8 years of age for rent in several green and/or pedestrian areas in Paris.  Helmets are also provided!

Prices vary by rental location but range from 4-6€ per hour (or 10-15€ per day).


Have you tried Paris' new bike-share program for kids?

Fun Food Friday: Mickey Mouse Waffles

Though I wasn't super-impressed with our Disney cruise, it was hard not to love these adorable Mickey waffles at the breakfast buffet.

Awesome Travel Games: Imagine I Can games by Manhattan Toys

Image source: www.manhattantoys.com

Since we travel so regularly, I’m always on the lookout for fun games and toys that are a) inexpensive and b) compact to take along on our travels.  So I was thrilled to find the Imagine I Can tinned games by Manhattan Toys.

Manhattan Toys have created a clever and cute series of games and toys for ages 3 and up which pack away in their own tins. My favorites are the most compact games, priced at about $6 each depending on the retailer.  Just slightly larger than a deck of cards, these games are perfect for traveling!

B and I have been enjoying the Catch a Pirate game and instructions are provided for standard play and modified play for beginning players.

With little pieces, these games aren't particularly well-suited for play in the car or on an airplane (I wouldn’t want to crawl under my airplane seat each time a piece is dropped!) but they are just the right size for packing in your carry-on for keeping busy at the airport, on a cruise ship or in a hotel room.

Where to buy:
www.manhattantoy.com
www.mastermindtoys.com

Fun Food Friday: Spam Nuts

As a kid, I can remember my Mom cutting up Spam into thin slices and pan-frying it with brown sugar for breakfast, but it's something I haven't eaten in decades.  Visiting Hawaii, it is interesting to see how Spam has become part of the cuisine, with everything from Spam musabi to Spam fried rice appearing on menus. These Spam-flavored macadamia nuts seemed like the perfect Hawaiian souvenir!

Huffington Post Article: Why Do Hawaiians Love Spam So Much?

Are you a fan of Spam?

Fun Food Friday: Key West Conch Fritters

Conch fritters are a can't miss treat when visiting Key West.  B and I loved these ones from the conch fritters stand just outside the Aquarium.  The key lime mustard dipping sauce was phenomenal!

Fun Food Friday: Giant Apple Pie

If the movie Jerry McGuire had been about dessert rather than sports, perhaps Renée Zellweger's memorable line would have been "You had me at pie".  That is exactly what came into my mind when we were offered a slice on a recent Royal Caribbean cruise.  Apple pie can be hard to get just right but it was delicious!

New Construction Theme Park: Diggerland USA

Source: http://diggerlandusa.com/ 

If your kids are crazy about construction vehicles, they will probably LOVE Diggerland USA which opened last month in West Berlin, New Jersey.  With Giant Diggers, Dumper Trucks, Backhoe Adventure and 20 other attractions, kids will get to fulfill all of their construction dreams!  West Berlin, New Jersey is an 8-hr drive from Toronto or a quick 30-minute drive from Philadelphia's International Airport.  No hard hats or safety boots required!

Have you been yet?  What did you think?

Fun Food Friday: Belgian Chocolate

It is hard to resist the lure and aroma of chocolate shops in Bruges, Belgium, particularly when being drawn in by these clever chocolate creations!

Fun Food Friday: Sky-High Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie is a can't miss treat when visiting Key West, Florida and one of our favorites is at Blue Heaven.  There's usually a long wait for tables and they don't take reservations but the food is worth it!

Fun Food Friday: Banana Soup

B and I love reading Richard Scarry books so we just HAD to try banana soup when it appeared on the menu on one of our Royal Caribbean cruises.  We weren't sure what to expect, but it was more like a banana milkshake - and was delicious!  Bananas Gorilla would thoroughly approve!

Fun Food Friday: Beignets

Fresh, hot beignets at Cafe du Monde, New Orleans.

Fun Food Friday: Alligator sausage!

A giant alligator sausage from N'awlins in the French Market, New Orleans.  B ate the whole thing!

Fun Food Friday: Tacos!

Colorful (and delicious!) tacos, Valladolid, Mexico

Fun Food Friday: Crepes in Paris!

There's nothing better than a chocolate filled crepe, eaten at a sidewalk table in Paris!

Fun Food Friday: Giant Cupcake!

A beautiful giant cupcake on display in the Plaka area of Athens.

Why Disney Cruises Aren't For Us

This time last year B and I had to opportunity to join his grandparents for a one-week cruise on the Disney Wonder.  It left me feeling, well, disappointed. But, before you think I’m a spoil-sport, let me explain…

First, I’ve got to tell you I’m a big fan of Disney.  I love Walt Disney World, I love the Magic Kingdom (really, who doesn’t?), Animal Kingdom and Epcot Center.  The Norway pavilion at Epcot led to my decades-old dream of visiting Norway, and no matter how many times I go through the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom, I still get a thrill out of being joined by a ghost in our ‘Doom Buggy.’  I’ve delighted in the wonderful buffet (and service!) at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, enjoyed the light-hearted luau at the Polynesian Resort.  And, I’ve purchased my fair share of Goofy-shaped gummies, Mickey-shaped pasta, t-shirts and Disney toys. So, not surprisingly, my expectations were a bit high…

Of all the cruises we’ve done, I felt this one was actually the LEAST kid-friendly and a big let-down.  Here’s why:

• The food.  In a word, yuck. It’s not exactly news that Disney Cruises aren’t known for the quality of food. There were occasional exceptions (like the wonderful Mickey-shaped waffles!), but the quality of most meals left something to be desired and dinner options were surprisingly limited.  If we didn’t want to do dinner in one of the dining rooms, the only other option was to eat hot dogs or pizza.  Unlike most other cruise lines, there is no come-and-go-as-you-like buffet option for those days when baby is fussy, when the kids are sleepy and jet lagged or when you just don’t feel like dressing smartly for the dining rooms. While food on the kid’s menu was especially poor (think greasy and heavily processed), on the plus side, the entree was always served with well-prepared fresh vegetables.

• The Navigator, the ship’s news was always delivered well after 10 pm, long after we would be asleep and therefore of little use in planning for the day ahead.  While this didn’t matter much for sea days, it would have been nice to learn of the logistical details of some of the ports a bit earlier than having to rush through it while getting ready to get off the ship.

• The cabin bathroom.  There is no question, the split bathroom is handy.  However, neither of the doors would fully open, making entering and exiting awkward, wasting a lot of space and obviously making the toilet room more challenging to clean properly.  Given that a large number of passengers are toilet training kids, the toilet had a less-than-ideal smell.

• The Kid’s Club.  Don’t get me wrong, Disney’s two kid centers - the Oceaneer’s Club and Oceaneer’s Lab are great - lots of different activities and a fun play structure for the younger set.  What made the kid centers less than ideal however were long lines to check in each morning and the huge bracelets kids have to wear to keep track of them on board.  I am not exaggerating when I say they are huge, uncomfortable and poorly thought-out.  It was ridiculously huge on B’s small wrist and he was screaming for it to come off after just a few hours.  The clubs also accommodate so many kids, it felt a bit more like crowd control than a place where kids had much personal interaction with the staff.  B is pretty easy going but he literally hated going there.

• The noise.  I know… we were on a cruise ship full of kids and extra noise is to be expected.  But we were awakened almost every night by kids laughing, screaming and running through the hallways well after midnight.

• The staff.  Let me premise this with the exceptions:  Our waiter, assistant waiter and cabin attendant were wonderfully friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately I found the rest of the cast members less so.  Many crew members seemed downright disinterested and many did not know the ship well enough to even point the direction to the dining room.  I got the distinct impression the ship had just done a large switchover of staff but don’t know if this was actually the case.

• The Pixar Party – the cruise’s signature event, and a party B was really looking forward to – was moved from its regular 7:30 pm time to 10:15 pm, to allow an adult comedian to perform in the earlier time slot. With the 3-hour time difference from home, this was like having the party at 1:15 in the morning.   B was asleep well before the party even started.  Booting the Pixar Party from ‘prime time’ in favor of an adult show was perplexing to say the least.

• The production shows are well done but they really aren’t targeted to young kids.  Mickey rarely made an appearance and the Toy Story show, while visually splendid, had a distinct focus on the scarier elements.  B’s grandparents and I enjoyed the highly polished shows, but B (who really should have been the audience for the show) did not.

• The onboard elevators were very small.  This made getting using a stroller particularly awkward as only one would fit in the elevator at one time.  This issue was particularly frustrating to passengers on board using wheelchairs.  While we had the option of collapsing the stroller and walking up or down several flights of stairs, this is not an option for everyone.

• Long lines for absolutely everything: At the breakfast and lunch buffets, to get our table at dinner each night, to meet the characters, to get off the ship, to get back on the ship, to meet Disney characters, to speak to guest services, to check into the Oceaneer’s Club… 

• The muster drill was chaotic and disorganized.  Again, I wonder if the ship had recently undergone a large-scale employee turnover, but whatever the reason, I was left feeling uneasy about the ability of staff to deal with any emergencies that might arise.

• Dinner times.  I can’t really put this on Disney but there was a decidedly different air from other cruises we’ve been on. With so many kids at neighboring tables using the cutlery as a table toy, it hardly allowed for a relaxing family meal.  Adding to that, I felt uncomfortable watching parents ask their servers to cut up their children’s food for them.  And, this happened a lot.

While there were a number of factors which dampened our Disney cruise experience, here is what Disney did great:

• The Disney Wonder isn’t one of their newer ships but it was well-maintained, many areas had been recently renovated and the ship (with the exception of our bathroom) was spotlessly clean.

• Bathtubs in every cabin.  Cute, kid-sized bathtubs meant this was one cruise where I could leave our inflatable tub at home.

• Our cabin was roomy and it had LOTS of storage space.  B had his own pull-out bed divided from the rest of the cabin by a well-placed curtain.  The cabin also had a childproof balcony safety latch, something that is frequently lacking in many other cruise line cabins.  Another bonus was the refrigerator, which rather of being stocked with loads of additional-cost items, was left completely empty so we had lots of room to keep B’s milk and other snacks.

• Wi-Fi, while typically expensive, was strong throughout the ship, including in our cabin.

• Wonderful retail shops with some really cute merchandise – great for mementos of our Alaska cruise, and for taking home as souvenirs for all the cousins.

• 5 words: Mickey Mouse ice cream bars.  Need I say more?

Our Disney Cruise wasn’t all bad – we absolutely loved Alaska, but I don’t think we’ll cruise with Disney again.  I can’t I help but think the money would have been better spent at a Walt Disney Resort hotel instead.  Every cruise line has its strengths and weaknesses and Disney’s cruises will work very well for a lot of people.  It just didn’t work for us.

Have you been on a Disney Cruise?  What was YOUR experience?

Read more:

Cruising with a baby
Getting away from crowds and your stereotypical cruise vacation 

Reasons not to take baby on a cruise? No way!

Why cruises are awesome for multigenerational travel

Cruising on Oasis of the Seas with a baby

Cruising the Norwegian Coast with a 2 year old

Fun Food Friday: Konstantine Bakery, Athens

Delicious baklava, gelato and other treats at the Konstantine Bakery in Athens.