When you ski in the Alps, you’re skiing mountains not runs. The sense of open space is incredible and one of the things that makes skiing in Switzerland so epic.

Here’s a shot of our 9-year-old Devon skiing in Grindelwald, Switzerland last weekend. Believe it or not, this was taken on a bluebird Saturday, i.e. where are the other people?

Ever since I watched (and re-watched) the movie English Patient, I’ve dreamed of seeing the Sahara Desert sand dunes in North Africa.

When I planned our family trip to Morocco in October, I was determined to include sand dunes in our itinerary. A task that proved challenging and ultimately, impacted every stop we made on our trip. I quickly realized that no matter how you organize sightseeing stops in Morocco, a trip to the dunes involves 10+ hours of driving through remote parts of the country.

If you didn’t know better and arrived in the city of Lugano on Lake Lugano, you’d think you were in Italy. You hear Italian, it looks Italian, and it tastes Italian. Surprise, surprise — the city of Lugano is part of the Ticino region of Switzerland.

We had an parents-only getaway to Lake Lugano this fall. The scenery is very striking with rugged mountains that rise right out of the lake.

The highlight of Marrakech for adults and kids alike is undoubtedly the medina (old city). Stepping into the medina is like landing on another planet — one where the same traditions have been in place for hundreds of years.

The medina is comprised of a network of souks — open-air markets — where anything and everything is on display. Many of the handicrafts are produced within the market and you can watch artisans at work. This is the only shopping experience we’ve encountered thus far in our travels that our 8-year-old has enjoyed.

I kicked off 10 day tour of Morocco with my family in Marrakech this week. We’ve had a marvelous stay at the new Four Seasons Marrakech, but otherwise the highlight here is without a doubt the exotic medina, the largest of its kind in North Africa. More on that soon!

As I begin my coverage of Morocco on the Ciao Bambino blog, I want to acknowledge that we are not impervious to feelings of uncertainty …

I’m at the new Aulani resort on Oahu this week with travel writers from around the country checking out Disney’s latest family vacation hotspot.

Stay tuned for a full report on the blog … In the meantime, I’ll share a few photo-friendly moments from our surf lesson with Hawaiian Fire, a local Honolulu-based surf school run by area firefighters for Photo Friday.

One of the toughest parts about traveling in Washington DC with kids is that there’s so much to see and do. Even when you narrow down the “must see” there’s still a great deal of physical ground to cover.

Getting to and from so many monuments and memorials takes time and can wear on travelers young and old. So when I discovered Bike and Roll, I ran, or should I say rolled, with it.

Every family trip has those truly memorable moments that you talk about forever. Sometimes it’s the travel nightmares that make an entertaining story (producing smiles only in the back end), sometimes it’s an extraordinary experience that sticks in our minds, while on other occasions what we remember is those funny moments that aren’t big bang experiences, but a time when we witness something simple yet utterly foreign.

Like this moment on our family safari in Africa.

Istanbul, Turkey is a photographer’s haven. The city overflows with historic images, beautiful waterfronts, sophisticated designs and diverse people. It’s a city that successfully embraces its past while driving forward efforts to create a modern metropolis.

I have wanted to go to Istanbul for a ling time, drawn by its historical importance and rich culture. It did not disappoint! We absolutely fell in love with Istanbul. It was exotic enough to keep us completely engaged, but we were easily within our comfort zone, with fabulous hotels and spas …

Last week for Photo Friday I covered glorious Mürren in the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland. Our itinerary included a stop at Trümmelbach Falls.

The Michelin Guide gives the falls one of their coveted 3 star ratings. We discovered the reason for this — Trümmelbach Falls is quite simply astounding as visitors witness …