Probably not your first thought for this year’s summer vacation, right? Well – Krakow, Poland is a wonderful place for families, and being just on the edge of Eastern Europe, the value can’t be beat! The city holds a unique place, both geographically and historically, bridging Eastern and Western Europe with delightful results.

Krakow, like any European city, has its challenges for the American visitor. Our family found Polish a hard language to crack, and while most younger people, and practically everyone …

Europe offers a huge amount of variety and choice for family skiers; there really is something for everyone. Essentially accommodation choices come down to three main categories; self-catering, hotels or catered chalets. All can work well for families if you do you research and between them they cover all budgets.

Picking just five European resorts that work well for families is hard, but we think this selection represents some of the best options on offer.

Nancy wrote about London with kids at length when she returned from her trip last summer. However, she left out a few fun and juicy tidbits when she wrote our articles. I have good news—the rest of her story is online today on Delicious Baby.

If you want a laugh, check it out. Her harrowing flight across the Atlantic is familiar to all of us who have traveled abroad with babies and toddlers.

Edinburgh in November. If you’re anything like me the first thing that comes to mind is cold! Don’t let the weather put a damper on your family plans. Edinburgh is a great place to take the kids. Just don’t forget a good coat.

Though I’m not typically a big fan of tour buses, it was a good choice for my family. Almost all of the tours allow you to use your ticket to get on and off as often as you’d like.

A visit to Tuscany is an excellent addition to any Italy travel itinerary with kids. Despite the touristy element, vacations in this region are easy to manage and there are loads of things to see and do for all ages. Family-friendly accommodations are plentiful, and little tummies appreciate all the pasta and gelato.

Although there are endless wonderful cultural and historic attractions, you can’t see everything in the usual week-long trip. Five of my favorite sights …

Eating in a foreign country can be the highlight of your trip, or it can be the downfall. Picky eaters are what they are, but don’t let them stop you from dabbling in a little culinary adventure. It might just be the best thing that happens to your kid’s diet since peanut butter.

We were lucky enough to spend two weeks in Spain this fall. One of the top things on the list for my husband and I was paella. Emphasis on for my husband and I - it was all about churros for the girls.

Italophiles take note … our friend Kathy McCabe, the Editor of the esteemed Dream of Italy newsletter, just announced a Christmas in Italy e-book that is free to the subscribers of her new Italian Daydreams daily email covering food, wine, culture, and the arts in Italy.

I contributed to the e-book with a few highlights from our properties offering Christmas/New Year’s promotions, but there is much more to know if you are lucky enough to be spending the holidays in Italy this year.

Ciao! I’m posting my very first travel blog … I’d like to share a bit about my recent trip to Italy. It had been two years since I had been there. Cancer treatments and recovery have kept me grounded in New York for a while, so I was thrilled to get an e-mail from my dear friend Jill asking if I’d go with her to the Amalfi Coast. I was to fill in for her husband who canceled at the last minute because of work. Sigh.

There really isn’t much better than going on a spontaneous tripanywhere with your best girlfriend. We had a ball. This was a trip sans children …

We were supposed to go to Disneyland. Just a quick flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. No real planning or creative packing required. But when a ticket search in the wee hours of the morning turned up an incredible deal to Europe, L.A. went out the window. In one hour and the click of a mouse, my family of four was headed to Madrid, Spain.

When most people think of Madrid, they don’t think of kids. It’s one of those grown-up cities.

You don’t need to be a hard-core foodie to appreciate the culinary offerings in Italy - and you don’t need to spend a fortune to have a truly Italian dining experience every single day. In fact, in most places, it’ll cost you less than €2 total. What am I talking about here? Why, Italian coffee, of course!

The typical Italian breakfast consists of a tiny cup of espresso (or some similarly small espresso drink) and a pastry, consumed in a minute or two while standing at the bar.