Travel is more fun with kids

Chinese New Year Traditions

2010-02-09T09:04:14-08:00

This year is the year of the Tiger. My oldest daughter is a tiger so I am keeping my finger crossed for No Rain on the Parade! We went last year for the second time and we had a great time. It is a fabulous event. Even though we are not Asian, the cultural mix of the Bay Area make it a fabulous opportunity to share other people’s customs and celebrations.

The Chinese New Year is dependent on the Lunar Calendar and therefore changes every year. This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 14th and we will enter the lunar year 4708. People will tell each other Gung Hey Fat Choy" which means "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth".

It is fun to check yours and family members Chinese Zodiac sign if you do not know it already; maybe one of you is a Tiger. If you are not sure what your sign is, look at this website.You will also discover the main characteristics associated with your sign. If you are born in 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 you are a Tiger.

To celebrate the New Year, Chinese families eat lots of lucky foods in order to get lucky for the coming year: long noodles will bring a long life, dates, peanuts, sticky rice, lettuce (the word for lettuce and money is the same in Chinese language), and tangerines (The word tangerine in Chinese is the same as good luck).

It is customary to give younger generations a red envelope with a money inside.
Learn how to make your own Red Envelope.

Before Chinese New Year, homes will be cleaned thoroughly to sweep away the bad luck. Houses will be decorated with lots of red as it is the symbol of good luck. A traditional dinner with lots of food will be held on New Year’s eve,

On Chinese New Year, people will wear new clothes, will not take a bath or shower as it is believed to wash the luck away, same with the dusting and the cleaning. They are very careful not to break anything, visit relatives and friends.

Famous Tigers
Emily Bronte, Sheryl Crow, Tom Cruise, Emily Dickinson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jay Leno, Karl Marx, Marilyn Monroe, Marco Polo, Beatrix Potter, Queen Elizabeth II, Jon Stewart, Stevie Wonder,Ludwig Van Beethoven,Mel Brooks, Oscar Wilde.

Next year will be the year of the Rabbit!

Reminder: Saturday and Sunday February 27 and 28
San Francisco Chinese New Year Celebrations

Saturday February 27 - 5:15pm-8:00pm - Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson
Location of bleachers: Kearny Street (between Sacramento & California and between Pine & Bush). Call 415 986-1370 or 415 982-3071
Free
$30 for bleacher tickets
Parade highlights include elaborate floats, lion dancers, folk dancers, costumed elementary school groups, marching bands, stilt walkers, Chinese acrobats, and a 250 foot long Golden dragon, (“Gum Lung.”)

Saturday and Sunday February 27 - 28 Chinese Culture Center Spring Festival
11:00am-4:00pm
750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor (Hilton SF/Financial District)
Information: 415 986-1822 415 986-1822

Travel articles I enjoyed reading

2010-02-05T09:36:31-08:00

Many interesting travel articles out there. Here is my selection:

InFlightOut pointed us to a CNNMoney article about the biggest Rip-offs: do not miss the 1,300% markup on hotel mini-bars and the 200% mark-up on hotel in-room movies.
By the way, do not miss Mike’s tip on late hotel checkout.

Trekaroo provides reviews of kid-friendly hotels, activities, and travel tips for parents and children traveling all over the US. They turned one this week and they have tons of good deals.

We have family and friends visiting us from France on a regular basis. If you have families or friends visiting from a country with a no-visa policy to enter the US, you will be interested in reading the Frommer’s article ‘Our instructions to Travelers Wanting to Visit the USA: Veuillez répondre à toutes les questions en anglais" You will learn about the new Electronic System for Travel Authorization rule for travelers who do not need a visa to visit the US.

I really enjoyed reading Ordinary items make the best keepsakes on CNNTravel. My philosophy exactly.

And just for a fun read, Forbes has put together a list of the world’s most beautiful cities, I love these lists but it is all relative. As my husband said: where is your little village in the South of France? Hey, that’s one the nicest place in the world for me.
I am always happy to see anything about Paris, London, and Sydney. San Francisco is on the list too. And check out the rest of the cities for yourself.

Reminder

This week-end is a busy one if you are in the Bay Area

Saturday February 6th
Enjoy free entrance at 25 Sacramento Museums. You can also see the performances of ‘Thriving in the year of the Tiger’.
Go pick some flowers at the San Francisco Chinatown Flower Fair
Enjoy the Oakland Chinatown Lunar Year Bazaar
Thanks FriscoKids for letting me know about the Giants Fan Fest on Saturday.

Sunday February 7th
I am taking my children to the SF Asian Art Museum and then, we will head with some friends to the Chinatown Flower Fair.
And if you missed it on Saturday, you can still enjoy the Oakland Chinatown Lunar Year Bazaar on Sunday.

Have a nice week-end!

Chinese New Year Celebrations in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento

2010-02-04T10:00:07-08:00

We are going to enter the year of the TIGER and the lunar year 4708. This year, the Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Sunday February 14th.

Here are some events you do not want to miss.

San Francisco
Saturday February 6, 10:30 am Southwest Airlines Mini-Procession & Ribbon Cutting
Grant Avenue from California to Pacific Avenue.
The procession begins at historic St. Mary’s Square, follows the original parade route down Grant Avenue, and proceeds to the Flower Fair’s main stage on Washington below Grant. The procession will include lion dancers, giant walking puppets, costumed stilt walkers, drummers and dancers. Following the procession, the Mayor will join honored guests in officially opening the Festival with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

San Francisco
February 6 - 7 Chinese New Year Flower Fair
Saturday 10:00am-8:00pm
Sunday 9:00am-6:00pm
Grant Avenue from Clay to Broadway Pacific Avenue from Kearny to Stockton Jackson & Washington Streets from Kearny to Stockton

Oakland
Saturday and Sunday February 6 and 7, Chinatown Lunar New Year Bazaar 10 am – 5 pm
(9th Street at Franklin)
The event features vendors selling traditional new year decorations, flowers, gifts, candies, and other items of interest. There will also be continuous live cultural entertainment featuring dragon and lion dancing, martial arts, Chinese cultural music, and a "Little Prince & Princess

Sacramento
Saturday February 6, ‘Thriving in the Year of the Tiger’
Click here for time, location, and ticket prices.
Twenty-five groups with 300 performers will participate: the youngest at 5 years old; the oldest at 89 years old. The stellar cast will include beginners and international gold medal winners.

San Francisco
Sunday February 7th - Asian Art Museum
Lion dance, hands-on activities, and author reading, from noon to 3:00 pm
More details here.
Free (Target First Free Sunday Program)

San Francisco
Saturday February 27 - 5:15pm-8:00pm - Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
Market and Second Street to Kearny and Jackson
Location of bleachers: Kearny Street (between Sacramento & California and between Pine & Bush). Call 415 986-1370 or 415 982-3071
Free
$30 for bleacher tickets
Parade highlights include elaborate floats, lion dancers, folk dancers, costumed elementary school groups, marching bands, stilt walkers, Chinese acrobats, and a 250 foot long Golden dragon, (“Gum Lung.”)

San Francisco
Saturday and Sunday February 27 - 28 Chinese Culture Center Spring Festival
11:00am-4:00pm
750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor (Hilton SF/Financial District)
Information: 415 986-1822 415 986-1822

Things To Do
San Francisco

Saturday February 6th: free day at the Sacramento Museums

2010-02-03T10:10:45-08:00

On Saturday February 6th, 25 museums will be open for free for everybody all day long. The Wells Fargo Museum at the Capitol Mall does not participate as it is closed on weekends.

Here is the list of the participating museums and you can click here to find the map.

Aerospace Museum of California
3200 Freedom Park Drive
916.643-3192
Hours: Tues – Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 10am-5pm Free admission

California Automobile Museum
2200 Front Street
916.442.6802 916.442.6802
Hours: Daily: 10am – 6pm; 3rd Thurs 10am – 9pm

California Foundry History Museum
5301 Price Avenue
916.929.8001 916.929.8001
Hours:Mon–Fri 11am–3pm

The California Museum
10th & 0 Streets
916.653.7524 916.653.7524
Hours: Tue-Sat 10 am-5pm; Sun noon-5pm

California State Capitol Museum
Capitol Building, 10th & L Streets
916.324.0333 916.324.0333
Hours: Daily 9am 5pm • Free Admission

California State Indian Museum
2618 K Street
916.324.0971 916.324.0971
Hours: Daily 10am–5pm

California State Military Museum.
1119 2nd Street
916.854.1900 916.854.1900
Hours: Tues–Sun 10am–5pm

California State Railroad Museum
2nd and I Streets
916.445.6645 916.445.6645
Hours: Daily 10am–5pm

Crocker Art Museum
216 O Street
916.808.7000 916.808.7000
Hours: Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; 1st & 3rd Thurs 10am–9pm; Free Every Sunday 10am-1pm courtesy of Bank of America.

Discovery Museum Science & Space Center
3615 Auburn Boulevard
916.575.3942 916.575.3942
Hours: Tues–Fri noon–4:30pm; Sat–Sun 10am–4:30pm

The Don & June Salvatori California Pharmacy Museum
4030 Lennane Drive
916.779.1410 916.779.1410
Hours: Mon–Fri by appointment • Free Admission

Explorit Science Center
2801 2nd Street
530.756.0191 530.756.0191
Hours: Tues 10am-5pm, Wed-Fri 2-5pm,
Sat-Sun 11am-5pm

Fairytale Town
3901 Land Park Drive at Sutterville Road
916.808.7462 916.808.7462
Hours: Daily 9am–4pm; Nov–Feb Thurs–Sun 10am–4pm (weather permitting)

Folsom History Museum
823 Sutter Street • Folsom
916.985.2707 916.985.2707
Hours: Tues–Sun 11am–4pm

Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park
16th and H Streets
916.323.3047 916.323.3047
Hours: Call for hours

Heidrick Ag History Center
1962 Hays Lane • Woodland
530.666.9700 530.666.9700
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-6pm,
Sun 10am-4pm

Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
800 N Street
916.324.0575 916.324.0575
Hours: Call for hours

Museum of Medical History
5380 Elvas Avenue
916.456.3152 916.456.3152
Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–4pm • Free Admission

Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum
1200 Front Street
916.483.8818 916.483.8818
Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–4pm; Sun 1–4pm • Free Admission

Old Sacramento State Historic Park
Front and I Streets • Old Sacramento
916.445.6645 916.445.6645
Hours: Daily 10am–5pm • Free Admission

Sacramento Historic City Cemetery
Enter on Broadway at 10th Street
916.448.0811 916.448.0811
Hours: Call for hours

Sacramento History Museum
101 I Street • Old Sacramento
916.808.7059 916.808.7059
Hours: Call for hours

Sacramento Zoo
Land Park Drive at Sutterville Road
916.808.5888 916.808.5888
Hours: Daily 9am–4pm; Nov–Jan Daily 10am–4pm

Sojourner Truth Multicultural Arts Museum
2251 Florin Road
916.320.9573 916.320.9573
Hours: Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; Sat–Sun 10am–5:30pm
(by appointment)

Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park
2701 L Street
916.445.4422 916.445.4422
Hours: Daily 10am–5pm

Wells Fargo History Museum – Downtown
400 Capitol Mall
916.440.4161 916.440.4161
Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–5pm • Free Admission
Not open that day

Wells Fargo History Museum - Old Sacramento
1000 2nd Street
916.440.4263 916.440.4263
Hours: Daily 10am–5pm • Free Admission

Things To Do

Best crêperies in Paris

2010-02-02T09:04:55-08:00

First, here is a cool website to find crêperies in Paris: www.paris-crepes.fr

In a crêperie, you can eat galettes, they are salty crêpes filled with your choice of salmon, goat cheese, lardons, cheese etc. You pick.They are made out of buckwheat. For dessert, you will have the regular yellow-brown crêpe filled with sugar, nutella, ice cream, chantilly etc.

A crêperie is the ideal restaurant to take children when you are in France,they can pick the simplest combination if they are not too hungry or are picky eaters: ham and cheese is one of the children favorite combination. My children LOVE crêpes and for them going to a crêperie is always a nice treat.

Galette au chevre chaud (goat cheese) et lardons for Mom and Galette au fromage (cheese) for Missy.

American are more used to the dessert crêpes, the yellow/slightly brown crêpes that are eating sitting down or on the go. The crêpes are filled with different toppings and in France, they are not filled to explode like I have seen in the US.

Crêpes are easy to make, you can read more about the tradition behind the crêpes and find my favorite crêpes recipe on my other post.

They are hundreds of crêperies in Paris, some only make crêpes to go, others are sitting restaurants. It is hard to find bad crêpes but to help you out, I have put together a list of the top Parisian crêperies:

Breizh Café
109, rue Vieille du Temple, 3^rd arrondissement

Chez Nicos
44 rue Mouffetard, 5th arrondissement

Oroyana
36 Rue Mouffetard 5^th arrondissement

The Petit Grec
68 Rue Mouffetard, 5^th arrondissement

West Country Girl
6, passage St. Ambroise, 11^th arrondissement

Crêperie Bretonne
67 rue de Charonne, 12th arrondissement,

Point Chaud Express
49 boulevard St-Germain, 5th arrondissement

Ti Jos
30 rue Delambre, 14th arrondissement

Josselin
67, rue du Montparnasse, 14th arrondissement

Crêperie de Josselin
67 rue du Montparnasse, 14th arrondissement

Ty Breiz
52 boulevard Vaugirard, 15th arrondissement

Crêpes to go by Notre Dame

Things To Do

The Chandeleur: French Crêpes Day and my favorite Crêpes Recipe

2010-02-01T09:56:14-08:00

What is the Chandeleur?

The Chandeleur is also called the Celebration of the Candles. It is celebrated 40 days after Christmas to honor the presentation of Baby Jesus to the temple as well as the purification of Mary. It is always celebrated on February 2nd.

With Chandeleur, the period of Carnavals also starts and will finish on Fat Tuesday. I was raised in the South of France and Carnaval is a big tradition for us. On week-ends, we go to villages where they have carnavals and dress up in our favorite costumes, in the same spirit as Halloween for the Americans.

On February 2nd, we traditionally eat crêpes so let me share with you my recipe! Become French for the day and cook some yummy crêpes for the family.

Crepe recipe from the Ginette Mathiot book.
That book was offered to me by my Parisian co-workers when I moved to the US. The English version is I Know How To Cook, a MUST HAVE cooking book for anybody who wants to learn traditional French cuisine.

Ingredients
For 4 persons
500 g flour (4 cups and two extra tablespoons)
1 liter milk (1 quart)
4 eggs
2 tablespoon of canola oil
2 pinches of salt
For flavor: vanilla, fleur d’oranger, rum etc, your pick

Directions

- Pass the flour through a sieve and put in a mixing bowl
- Create a little hole in the flour and break the eggs in that hole
- Add the oil, the salt, and a little bit of milk
- Whisk together
- Gradually add in the milk,stirring to combine.
- Add the flavor you picked.

- Put it away for one hour, the batter needs to rest. I like to sieve the batter to make it even smoother.
- Before cooking, add a little bit of milk to the batter and whisk it gently

- Heat a crêpe pan over medium heat
- Add some butter or oil to the pan. Have some melter butter or oil ready in a bowl for the next crepes. We usually cut a potato, plant it on a fork and dip it in the butter/oil and use it to grease the pan.
- Pour or scoop a little bit of the the batter onto the pan.
- Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
- Cook each crêpe until the bottom is light brown and flip it or turn it to cook it on the other side.

Eat the crêpes cold with whipping cream, nutella, jam, sugar, agave nectar etc. Your choice!

A Chandeleur ritual

To have prosperity all year, when you cook your first crêpe, hold the pan with your right hand and hold a coin in your left hand.

Related posts:
Best crêperies in Paris

San Francisco: free days at the Museums on February 2010 and free day at the Sacramento Museums

2010-02-01T08:30:00-08:00

Museum of Modern Art
Free on Tuesday February 2nd
Closed on Wednesdays

De Young Museum
Free on Tuesday February 2nd
Closed on Mondays
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition Review

Museum of Legion of Honor
Free on Tuesday February 2nd
Closed on Mondays

Asian Art Museum
Free on Sunday February 7th. Year of the Tiger Celebration from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm with Chinese classical dance and music and ending with a Lion dance.
Closed on Mondays

Academy of Sciences
Free on Wednesday February 17th

Exploratorium
Free on Wednesday February 17th
Closed on Mondays

Conservatory of Flowers
Free on Tuesday February 2nd
Closed on Mondays
Review of the Golden Gate Express Garden Railway exhibition

Cartoon Art Museum
Tuesday February 2nd is ‘pay what you wish day’
Closed on Mondays

On Saturday February 6th, 25 Sacramento Museums will be open free of charge. See the list here. I will do a special post closer to the date.

Things To Do
San Francisco

Paris: free days at the Museums in February 2010

2010-01-31T18:30:00-08:00

Le Louvre
Free on Sunday February 7th
Closed on Tuesdays

Musee de l’Orangerie
Free on Sunday February 7th
Closed on Tuesdays

Musee d’Orsay
Free on Sunday February 7th
Closed on Thursdays
Part of their Art collections will be exhibited at the DeYoung Museum in 2010.

Musee Rodin
Free on Sunday February 7th
Closed on Mondays

Centre Pompidou
Free on Sunday February 7th
Closed on Tuesdays

Musee Picasso
Closed for renovations till February 2012

Things To Do

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition Review

2010-01-27T10:06:05-08:00

I have seen the King Tut Exhibition in July 2008 while visiting London. I found it to be a marvelous exhibition and I was longing to see it again. Lucky me, it stopped in San Francisco at deYoung Museum and I visited it again with my oldest daughter Olivia and her 6th grade core class. Olivia did not come with me to London so it was a first for her.

Unfortunately, many pieces are missing from the London exhibition, I felt disappointed and my daughter, even though she liked the exhibition, felt the exhibition was too short. And to be honest, if you have toured the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris and other major museums that have good Egyptian exhibitions, no need to rush to that particular one. If you have been to Egypt, lucky you, you know the answer.

However if your children have never seen any major Egyptian museum or if you need to see anything Egyptian related (like me), this may be for you. But check out at the end of the blog how you can get less expensive tickets (full price is $27.50 per adult and $16.50 per child).

Mirror Case

Before you go, make sure that you tell your children

- Who was King Tuthankamun and the story of its life. He became King at the age of 9 and passed away at 19. The exhibition will not teach you anything, it is about appreciation so make sure that your children have some history background before they go. I rented a DVD and we watched it together before going. You can also browse the Tut Exhibition website, it is very resourceful.

- The story of the discovery of its tomb. It is fascinating and that helped Tutankhamun be a mainstream name compared to other Pharaohs. When you are going to enter the gallery showing King Tut’s belongings, you will see a sculpture of the bust of the young Pharaoh. This particular piece is gorgeous.

- The Death Mask and the mummy will not be showcased even though the Mask is on every advertisement or poster about the exhibition. I found that to be very misleading. The Mask will not leave Egypt anymore as the government found it too fragile to travel. Your chance to see it will be to travel to Cairo (Egypt).

You need to know:

- Crowd control: it was long to get in so calling them beforehand to check what the less crowded times are is your best bet.

- The galleries are dark so if you go with young children, make sure that they will not be impressed. But I would not advise to go with toddlers, a place like the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose will be more appropriate. As I said before, you have to be mature enough to appreciate what’s in front of you to really enjoy that exhibition.

- Make sure that you do not rush, you can not return to previous galleries so let your child enjoy the pieces. What I liked the most was very different from Olivia’s favorite piece. She was fascinated by the little coffins holding the fetuses from what we assume are King Tut’s children.

- Do NOT take the audio tour, I did in London and I was disappointed. It was not informative at all.

- It is a timed entry exhibition, they advise that buy your tickets in advance. In my case, in London, I just showed up and got tickets right away, it was July but the exhibition had been going for a while so the rush was gone. But you can never know, especially towards the end of March.

How to get less expensive tickets

- FriscoKids has the best tip: through January 29, 2010, buy one adult admission ticket, get one free! Tickets are valid through March 15, 2010. Use promo code: TUTBOGO
- Your deYoung membership will give you access to a reduced price,
- Friday evening reservations are less expensive
- Borders cards holder: if you buy your tickets at www.ticketmaster.com/kingtut and are a Borders Rewards Member, you will save 20% with code TUTBB. IF you are not a member, you can still save 10% with the code TUTBOOKS.
- Costco sells some tickets in their stores.
- Peet's coffee customers get a 20% discount on adult admission tickets. Offer and tickets valid through March 15, 2010. Use promo code: TUTPEETS (thanks FriscoKids)

Information:
DeYoung Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco
T: 415.750.3600

Tutankhamun and the golden age of the Pharaohs
Till March 28,2010
Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m. daily (last ticket at 5 p.m.);
Fridays until 8:45 p.m. (last ticket at 7:30 pm).
Mondays reserved for school group visits, 9 am–2 pm,

Things To Do
San Francisco

10 places to take the kids on a rainy day in the San Francisco Bay Area

2010-01-21T10:41:14-08:00

If I’d be visiting San Francisco and the Bay Area under the rain with my children, this is where I would take them:

Do not forget to read my post on not letting the rain sabotage your vacation.

1 Haas-Lilienthal House, San Francisco
This is definitely the kind of outing that we postponed for years. It was never a good timing or it never popped her mind. We finally visited it last year and it was very interesting and a beautiful place to spend a raining day!
The house is only open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for limited hours. Guided tours.

Girls listening to the guide

2 USS Pampanito, San Francisco
I have never visited the USS Pampanito (or any submarine) but I bet that visiting it on a rainy day should be lots of fun! Not for claustrophobics.

3 Musee Mecanique at the Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco
We prefer the old location, it was way smaller and felt more special. This one is way bigger and let’s look at the positive aspect, you have more space to roam around and play old mechanical games. Our family really enjoyed hanging out there so bring lots of quarters and enjoy the fun.

4 Cable Car Museum, San Francisco
An overlooked museum but such an interesting place to visit. And it is free so do not miss it. Keep in mind that parking is not easy.

5 Disney Museum, San Francisco
Now would be the time to do it! But not with children under 8. It is a fascinating museum that our family enjoyed discovering. Read my review here.

6 Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek
Same as the Haas-Lilienthal House, we knew about it but never managed to visit it for the longest time. Once we did, we realized what a treasure this museum is, saving animals and educating the young generation on preservation and the Bay Area wild life.

7 Cantor Museum and Stanford University
You know that I just love this museum, it is free and it is a beautiful place to explore the arts. Take your umbrella and wander in the University admiring the Rodin sculptures.

8 Brushstrokes studio, Berkeley
Enjoy making some pottery or mosaic in a warm studio! The owner, Jessica, is really friendly and you will feel right at home (and you have to love the warmth inside the studio!).

9 The Monterrey Bay Aquarium
You can spend your whole day there and never get tired of everything there is to discover. With all the glass windows, the rain dropping on them makes the place a safe harbor.

10 The Winchester Mystery House
I have never been but that’s a place that would be on my to do list for a raining day. Check out their website: the music makes the story even more intriguing….The fee is on the high side by the way….

Things To Do
San Francisco