The Vacation Gals adore and support our travel blogging bretheren. From camping to cruising, there are as many types of travel writers as there are types of travel – there’s room on the interweb for us all. And when we daydream, we daydream about luxury family travel; imagining that there’s some way the whole lot of us could work out a fantastico deluxe European vacation together, with all our children of varying ages magically wanting to see the same sights as us. Not gonna happen, of course, but when we indulge our fantasies, we go to Ciao Bambino.
Ciao Bambino is our favorite luxury family travel planning website. It doesn’t merely list classy vacation packages and 5-star travel deals in swanky destinations. Ciao Bambino has reviews, opportunities for community feedback, and a hoppin’ blog. Nancy Solomon, one of the freelance contributors to the Ciao Bambino blog, was happy to sit for an (email) interview.
What special compromises do you make when you travel with your children?
Dinners out! We simply cannot enjoy a lovely meal with our four children. This is harder for my husband, a true foodie, than myself. We tend to get a nice lunch and then just a simple evening meal. We also love to hit local markets and picnic. Occasionally, my husband will take one of the older kids out while I stay back with the younger ones. By 8:00 PM, after playing tour guide all day, I’m usually exhausted, so I’m delighted with this. Every once in a while, we’ll book a sitter and enjoy a nice meal.
The other area where we compromise is in the destinations that we choose. For the last eleven years I’ve been either pregnant or traveling with a baby. This presents safety issues that limit where we felt comfortable traveling. We have tabled the exotic, far-off destinations. My youngest is 20 months now, and we are just starting to look at Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. For the last while, we chose Europe, the Caribbean, and the USA.
What destinations are on your “bucket list?” That is, where have you not yet been, that you’d love to get to when you have the time and it’s feasible?
- London Bridge (ciaobambino.com)
I can’t wait to take my kids to London (pre-kid favorite). My daughter has been studying the Middle Ages and the time is perfect. We are headed there and to Ireland this summer. Other than that, I really want to go to Turkey, Morocco, Israel, Kenya, Costa Rica, Chile, Vietnam (again, loved it pre-kids) and Greece. I want to do a farmstay in the Netherlands and a bike trip anywhere. Oh yeah, I’d also love to show my kids Yosemite, Zion, and the Grand Canyon National Park.
If there is one personal aspect of yours regarding travel that you’d love your children to emulate, what would it be?
To just go with the flow and to try to connect with the destination. There are so many little things that happen when you travel that can be seen as irritating. You have to just be patient and enjoy the ride. Rarely do things work out just how I planned them. We have to be flexible and adjust. We also don’t over plan. We have a list of things we’d like to do and then go with it. Also, I always love asking locals for suggestions. It’s how I’ve found the best things. While we are at a destination we try to do things that locals do, like grocery shop, visit the park, go to an amusement park or local ball game. When we side step from the tourist spots is when we really connect with a destination.
Family travelers who really engage in their vacation destinations give an enduring gift to their children. World travelers will often say that they meet the nicest people while exploring different destinations. I’ve found that this is true. It’s heart-warming to know that this camaraderie exits between fellow travel writers, as well.
- Little Dix Bay, British Virgin Islands (ciaobambino.com)
[...] travel destinations. The second half of the interview is on the The Vacation Gals website, Interview with a Traveling Mama – Nancy Solomon, and uncovers Nancy’s travel goals and [...]