It’s that time again for a new installment of my Traveling With Kids column on the Classic Play! This adventure takes us to the Longji Rice Terraces in China. We stayed in the small town of Ping’An and really got to experience rural China first hand. It was an absolutely beautiful experience for the whole family. Pop on over to read about what we did and to see some photos.
My newest installment of Traveling With Kids is on Classic Play! today. This time we visit the Belgian seaside. People think we’re crazy to drive 1200km north to do a beach vacation but I have to admit that I absolutely love the Belgian coast. Yes it may be a lot colder and windier (often even rainy) than the beaches here in the south but it has so much to offer kids and families. If you like cycling, walking, kiting or eating pancakes then this is the place for you. Pop on over to Classic Play! and if you have time leave a comment to let me know what you think. 
The other day we woke up in Belgium to a rainy cloudy sky. We hadn’t really made plans for the day so we decided to drive to Lille, France to visit the Lam Modern Art Museum. After wrestling the kids out of their pajamas and into normal clothing (they wanted to stay home and read comics all day) we made it out the door.
Luckily the French border is mere minutes from where we were staying and we made it to the museum in less than half an hour. The kids were slowly getting over their dismay at being forced out of the house and by the time we saw the museum they were actually excited to visit it. They kept asking whether the “beetle-guy” (Jan Fabre) would be exhibiting seeing as it was a modern art museum. Unfortunately for them he wasn’t.
The Lam Musee d’Art Modern is a great museum to take kids. It has some really lovely permanent collections as well as temporary ones. The museum isn’t too big which means the kids can visit all the collections without getting too tired or “bored”.
The museum offers modern art collections as well as contemporary art collections. The kids loved all the cubist pieces and the way they evolved over time. I always find it amazing what kids notice in art and they way they communicate what they see. When they were looking at the Modigliani paintings they were commenting to each other on the ladies he painted and their long necks and noses, their blank eyes and sloped shoulders. They also really enjoyed the room with art brut. They loved reading the stories of the untrained artists and their life stories.
The museum offers (for a small fee) ipods for kids, teens and adults with guided tours of the museum. Our girls took the French version of the teen tour (after 4 years of French as a second language!).
After our successful trip to the museum the kids were motivated and excited to walk into town with a box of charcoal and some paper to do some sketching at the local convent.
They all found a little spot with a view and sketched away for the rest of the afternoon.
After the drawings were finished we headed to the local waffle shop (of course). All in all it was a perfect ending to our Belgian summer vacation.
The newest installment of my Traveling With Kids column is on Classic Play! today. This time I talk about the importance of culturally preparing your children before visiting a new country and culture. These are simple things that can make a big difference for everyone involved and make your trip that much more enjoyable. Pop on over and let me know what you think!
You can check out my other posts in this series here and here.
Pop on over to Classic Play! for my next Traveling With Kids post. This time we’re visiting the Kroller Muller Museum in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands. It’s a beautiful spot and well worth a visit.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and even experiences if you’ve already been there!
The other day we all piled into the car and headed north to visit family in Belgium for a few weeks. We started our day in 37 degree heat and air conditioning and ended our 12 hour voyage in 14 degrees and heating.
We are now in the land of chocolate, waffles, beer, french fries, mussels and so much more. The kids are over the moon to be with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.
After a few days of visiting various family members we headed to the sea. We arrived in the pouring rain to a beautiful seaside apartment (thanks dear Julie!). This morning we woke up to cloudy skies but dry weather and decided to do a long cycle ride to Holland and back. The goal for the kids to get through the 50 km bike ride was the promise of the best pancakes in Belgium at the end. We all got through it and they were indeed delicious.
During our cycle trip we came across an entire town in Holland that was transformed into an outdoor rommelmarkt (flea market). We stopped and browsed through it and ended up buying these vintage umbrellas. The kids were excited until hearing from the enthusiastic seller that he found them in an old box from the 50’s in a dead woman’s house. They are in great shape and were a bargain at 5euro for all three.
I also came across this old book about making old scary looking dolls! For 1 euro I was tempted to buy it.
Pensive cyclist dreaming of pancakes.
I’m really really excited to let you all know that I have been asked to be a contributor to one of my favorite blogs. I’ll be writing a Traveling With Kids column for Classic Play! and I’m over the moon ecstatic to be doing it.
Today my first column is published and it’s about our recent trip to Japan. For the post I asked the kids to give me their top 10 favorite memories about the trip and in the end they came up with the exact same ones I would have (except the Japanese toilets maybe!). I’d love it if you popped over there to take a look and even make a comment if you so please.
A lot of people have been asking me whether Japan is really as expensive as they all think it is. When we were there we were really surprised at how affordable it actually turned out to be. For us the prices were comparable to European prices for many things. Eating out in Japan was actually even cheaper than eating out in Italy and the museums and entrance fees to temples and shrines were also reasonably priced.
The things that do cost a lot in Japan are the accomodation and transportation. If traveling to Japan I would definitsly recommend buying a rail pass (only available for non residents of Japan and it must be purchased beforehand) and looking into renting a house instead of staying in hotels. In Japan you pay per person and not per room in most cases. So for us, a family of five, staying in a hotel became very very pricey.
I thought I’d do another post with some of my favourite purchases from our trip (see previous post here). I bought some of these souvenirs at the 100 yen shop (equivalent to the $1 shop). It’s a great place to pick up little gifts and keepsakes to take home with you.
I couldn’t go to Japan and not buy a little Japanese lunch box. This one has two little compartments inside to store different foods. It’s lovely but absolutely too tiny to carry enough food for this family of five. It might soon become a place to store all my sewing needles and seam rippers.
I bought these not knowing what they were but merely because I loved the packaging. For all I knew these tiny boxes could have been filled with anything from shower caps to thumbtacks.
While taking these photos I decided to open one up and it turns out that they are delicious soft caramels. What a nice surprise! And I’m so glad it wasn’t anything illegal.
These rice crackers come from a specialty shop located near some of the famous temples of Kyoto. Everything in this shop is painfully spicy. While in the shop you can taste any of their products and we all tasted these crackers not expecting the burning fire of pain that our poor taste buds had to endure. Luckily there was a lady waiting with a tray of cold matcha tea to ease the pain. We still haven’t had the guts to open this pack and give them a try.
I have been collecting Japanese stationary for almost two decades now. So when I actually got to go to Japan and buy some for myself I was ecstatic. Surprisingly enough I got these ones above at the 100 yen shop. They come with a stack of writing paper, envelopes and a sheet of stickers to match.
I bought this little iphone case at the same shop my daughters bought their prized purses. It’s by Wabisuke and Made in Japan (which I love). Once again, I’m in love with this fabric.
Another 100 yen shop purchase are these little paper gift bags. Oh how I love Japanese packaging!
I was surprised to see that in every gift shop you go to in Japan there is always a selection of miniature towels and handkerchiefs to buy. Apparently it’s one of the number one souvenirs that are purchased and people use them to dry their hands after washing them in the shrines and temples. My daughter picked out this little one above and it’s made from linen and cotton and is so soft and dainty.
As some of you may know, we went on a two week trip to Japan a few months back with our three kids. It was an absolutely amazing trip. We saw and did so many wonderful things and met so many wonderful people. It was really a trip of a lifetime.
While there we had a few occasions to pop into various shops to browse around. Obviously with three kids these occasions were few and far between but I did manage to pick up some really neat little gifts and souvenirs. The Japanese are famous for their beautiful packaging and I’m a huge fan of everything they do. I love the care and time they put into making everything from cookies to presents to even toilet paper look pretty.
I’ve noticed that people who pop by our house are so intrigued to see our little Japanese purchases so I thought I’d show you a few here. Of course many of them have something to do with packaging (either the way it was packaged or something to help me package nicely).
These little mini packages of rice crackers with a face and clothing printed on the plastic wrapping. The kids bought them to take into their classmates as a souvenir from Japan.
Same idea as the rice crackers but these are two chocolate balls and instead of kimono wearing geishas and warriors it’s Russian Babushka dolls.
I tried one out today and although they’re cute they taste pretty crappy.
I couldn’t go to Japan and not buy the famous and over-used Washi tape. Even if it did cost more than it does in Italy. 
Striped and polka dotted twist ties. I regret not buying tons more of these. So great for all those bags of cookies and brownies that I leave in people’s mailboxes.
My daughters were given Japanese yen for their birthday from their grandmother and could buy anything they wanted. In the end they both decided to buy these Wabisuke purses Made in Japan.
They are so well made with a thick canves in the most adorable fabrics.
Look at this elephant material! I wish I could have bought this by the metre.
And of course one of the all time favourite purchases was this Lego Candy we found at a stall in the Nishiki market in Kyoto. You can actually build stuff with it! I’m already planning my son’s birthday cake with these arranged on top.
I can’t forget that I also bought these Echino materials as well while in Japan and received these amazing Japanese Temari Balls as a gift.
This past week-end we went on a little hike in the mountains of Switzerland. We reached the 1704m summit of Monte Generoso by a little cogwheel train that we caught in Capolago on Lake Lugano. 
The views from the top of Monte Generoso are absolutely spetacular. On a clear day you can see all the local lakes (Lugano, Maggiore, Como and Varese), mountain ranges and even Milan in the distance.
There are beautiful trails for every kind of hiker (15 minute walks to 4 hour hikes) . Some take you through Swiss cow pastures where you’ll hear the lovely sound of cowbells and see the dairy cows chewing their cud and minding their own business. A great hike to take kids on is the trail that leads you to some ancient bear caves where you can have a guided tour of the cavern and all its 20 000 year old bones and remains. My kids absolutely loved it.
View down to a little Swiss town from our picnic spot.
Dancing amongst the Swiss Dairy cows. I could only think of chocolate when I saw them. Delicious Swiss milk chocolate.
Looking for fossils along trail. And there are many to be found!
This is enough to give a mama a heart attack (until she realises there is a little landing below and not a cliff).
For more information check out the Monte Generoso official site for timetables, activities and any other information you might need to organise a trip there with friends or family.
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Jillian in Italy Interview by Classic Play!
Jillian In Italy interview on Pret A Voyager
Embroidery With Kids
Father's Day Origami Garland
Miniature Bulletin Boards
Surprise Activity Garland
Italian Crostata Recipe
Snail Mail Booklets
Doily Fairy Lights
Jan Fabre Exhibit With Kids
Japanese Handicrafts
Miniature Waffle Cookies
Jillian In Italy 