3 Kids and Us

Little-Known New York City Attractions You Need to Visit

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Have you been to New York City a few times on vacation? Are you looking for unique attractions that are a little off the beaten path? Taking in the beauty of this city on a Liberty Cruise in Downtown, NYC or visiting local shops and eateries is a great way to have a one of a kind experience.

While popular tourist destinations can be fun, many travelers want to experience the Big Apple like a local. Here are some little-known New York City attractions you need to visit on your next trip.

BLDG 92

This museum, which pays homage to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is located in what used to be a military residence in this shipbuilding center. At its peak during the Second World War, the Brooklyn Navy Yard employed nearly 70,000 people. This museum features exhibits of famous ships like the USS Monitor and the USS Arizona.

Both of these ships were constructed in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, along with countless others. As you journey through this museum, you will hear little-known stories about how many people of color helped during the building and repair of these ships.

The Panorama of the City of New York

Are you interested in seeing a nearly 10,000 square-foot model of New York City? If so, then a visit to the Panorama of the City of New York is in order. This model allows visitors to examine every inch of the four Boroughs like never before. There is a large balcony in this museum that allows visitors to get a bird’s eye view of this model.

The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum

The property known as the Bartow-Pell mansion dates back to the early 17th century. Its owner, Thomas Pell is famous for signing a treaty with Siwanoy Indians for the purchase of the Bronx borough. This residence is located in Pelham Bay Park and is surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful foliage.

In 1888, the City of New York purchased this property and began updating it. Taking a tour of this property will allow you to see the carriage house and the gorgeous formal gardens on the property.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center

This former home for retired sailors is one of the most popular attractions on Staten Island. The Snug Harbor Cultural Center is spread out across 83 acres of land. The center is surrounded by cobblestone streets, Victorian homes and a large botanical garden.

While there, be sure to visit the Chinese Scholar’s Garden. This garden features large rocks that resemble formations described by in writings by Confucian and Taoist monks. There is also a bamboo forest that has a large Koi-filled pond.

The Woolworth Building

The Woolworth Building is one of New York City’s tallest structures. When it was completed in 1913, it was actually the tallest building in the city. During the opening of this building, President Woodrow Wilson turned on the first light switch.

New York City is filled with interesting and entertaining attractions. Getting out and exploring while on vacation in this city is the best way to have a completely unique experience.

How To Guarantee A Fun Family Vacation

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There are no guarantees in life, not even when you’re going on vacation. That means it’s up to you to make sure everyone’s set to have an amazing time and minimize the risk of any issues. It’s all about what you do or don’t do prior to leaving and your attitude while you’re onsite.

Make time to arrange, organize and prepare well before your travel dates. Get all of your family members involved, so everyone knows what’s going on. Create a priority list to help you ensure you have the most important items covered first. See how to guarantee a fun family vacation.

Choose the Location Wisely

It’s a good idea to research your destination options and know what you’re getting into ahead of time. Reconsider automatically booking the vacation that’s the cheapest. Get input from the family to hear where each person would like to travel to and why. Weigh a variety of factors before committing to one location. The better fit your selection is for the entire group, the more fun and less friction you’ll encounter once you’re on your trip.

Get the Right Luggage

Secure the right luggage for the destination and each person. Determine if it’s doable to take carry-ons along or if you’ll be needing more space in your suitcase. Pick out designs and patterns that you can easily spot once you’re in the airport gathering your luggage. Having the proper bags will make your travels that much more enjoyable. It’s worth investing in a set that’s going to last you a while and get you to where you’re going in style.

Shop Ahead of Time

The fun part of going on a trip is the new clothes you get to buy for the vacation. Help yourself out by shopping online at a store like Vingino. The Dutch fashion company convinces with creative children’s fashion, which thrills parents and children alike. To give the kids a lot of freedom of movement, the store relies on simple cuts and casual silhouettes. Your children will love the clothing, and it will make them that much more excited to leave for your trip. Shop together and agree to items you both can get behind.

Have A Family Meeting before Departure

It’s important to all be on the same page before you take off. Have a family meeting to go over the trip details and rules for when you’re on vacation. Allow everyone to discuss concerns and ask questions. Share the details you have planned out, so the entire family feels included and knows not to expect any surprises. You can even go as far as to print out an itinerary and review each day as a group. You’re more likely to have fun and experience fewer issues when you take time to lay it all out on the table for everyone.

Plan Activities in Advance

Don’t be afraid to plan activities before your arrival. This way you know exactly what you’re doing on which days. It also promises you spots or tickets for specific excursions and activities, saving you from disappointment. Once again, ask for input from the family before you start booking reservations. While it’s nice to have plans some of the days, it’s probably best to leave some free time during your trip. Part of having a fun family vacation is getting time to unwind and being granted personal time to yourself outside of the house. It’s all about balancing out your time together and giving each individual a voice.

Unplug

As the parent, it’s a smart idea to be a good example for your kids and unplug the majority of your time on vacation. Work ahead at the office and only bring with you what you must attend to while at your destination. It’s also a good idea that everyone makes it a habit to check phones and computers once a day and not be constantly glued to them. You’ll all have a much more enjoyable and relaxed time when you’re not always staring at your devices. Observe the nature, sights, smells and sounds around you and soak up the beautiful scenery. It’s likely you’ll all regret spending too much time connected and not enough of your trip being in the moment.

Have Meals Together

Use vacation as a chance to have meals together, especially if you’re usually too busy to at home. Make it fun and allow each person to pick a restaurant or food group to try while you’re away. Mix it up and go casual one night and dress up another evening. Come ready with conversation and to discuss what each person believes to be the highlight of the trip so far. Everyone should look forward to a nice meal together after having some alone time during the day. This is also a good chance to discuss any other activities the group wants to participate in or adventures that you’ve become aware of since arriving.

Document your Favorite Memories

One way to have a little fun is to take pictures of your family members enjoying themselves on the trip. Get a mix of action shots and posed pictures and return with a lot of great images to share and keep. Make an album or create a video when you get home and be glad you have these memories that you can cherish forever. Pictures are an excellent way to remember all the fun you had and be able to look back on your trip after you get home and time passes.

Conclusion

Your family vacation won’t be same if you decide not to plan and prepare. Get organized and excited about all of the enjoyment that’s to come. Remind everyone that traveling is about bonding as a family, having new experiences together and allowing yourself to relax. Of course, there may be situations that arise and obstacles to overcome, but don’t let that stop you from having a nice time. This is how to guarantee a fun family vacation.

Three Tips for Planning a U.S. Road Trip with Your Kids

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Taking a road trip through the U.S. with your children in tow might seem like a daunting task, however, when planned properly, it can easily turn into the adventure of a lifetime. If you’re hoping to do as much exploring as possible as a family for your next trip and want to stay at home in the U.S., then a road trip could be the perfect alternative to traveling abroad. With so many different sights to see and things to do in every state, the hardest part is going to be getting your itinerary right! We’ve put together some top tips to help you plan the best family road trip ever.

Tip #1. Include the Kids from the Beginning:

Even the youngest of children can have some of a say in the type of things that they’d like to see and do on your family road trip (within reason, of course!). Giving your little ones the chance to speak up and offer their ideas for your trip will make it more of an all-inclusive family experience, and of course makes it easier down the line by ensuring that everyone gets a chance to do the things that they’d like. When your children are involved in the planning process, they’ll probably be also more likely to be excited about helping and being a little more cooperative since they’ll be more invested. One good idea is to offer them suggestions that are already parent-approved, to avoid deviating too much from your own plans.

Tip #2. Start Saving Up:

Chances are, you won’t actually be taking the trip for some time – it takes a while to plan and ensure that everything is ready to go before you can set off. So, it’s a good idea to open a designated savings account and start putting aside some money for the sole purpose of your trip. Even if you’ve already booked accommodation at hotels in Kingman, AZ such as the Best Western Kingman and have all your other expenses taken care of early on, it’s a good idea to have some money aside for emergency expenses as you never know when you might have to dip into your wallet for an extra cost that couldn’t have been predicted.

Tip #3. Start Planning:

Whilst taking a road trip with family, it’s important to have a structured plan in place so that everybody knows where is next on the list. Get the whole family together and look at your various options for travel destinations, stops along the way, and activities that you can take part in, then discuss which ones you’d like to do and which ones can be missed out. This will help you to put together an awesome travel itinerary that everybody agrees on and is happy with because it includes all members of your family. Then, create a list – or even a spreadsheet – that maps out exactly where you’re going and what you’re going to do and when.

Did you enjoy these tips? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

The Top 4 Architectural Wonders of Barcelona

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Barcelona is a city known throughout the world for its unique buildings and architecture. From the incomplete Sagrada Familia to hidden architectural icons. The city has made (and is still making) a global impact on architecture.

Palau de la Musica Catalana – The Palau is a UNESCO world heritage site and has been labelled by many as a masterpiece of Modernisme. It’s one of the most iconic buildings of Barcelona and a great place to see the unique architectures of the city.  The building is only accessible via a guided tour, you can discover the wonders of Palau de Música by BGB guided tour. You can get tours in various European languages, so don’t worry if you aren’t a fluent English speaker.

Sagrada Familia – Still incomplete, this masterpiece is set to be completed in 2040 at the current rate of construction. Once completed it will have taken longer to construct this church than the great Pyramid of Giza. This church is known the world over for its otherworldly looks but is actually a working building, holding catholic services. It’s open regularly for visitors and holds regular worship on a Sunday, which visitors to the city can join.

Park Guell – Gaudi has left his mark on the city and one of the most iconic pieces of Catalan modernism can be seen at Park Guell, originally designed as a private park this park later became a municipal park. At the park you can find the Gaudi House Museum which is listed as a historical artistic monument of national interest and is well worth visiting. The park is world famous for it’s iconic mosaics and viaduct within the hillside.

Església de Santa Maria del Mar – Barcelona is not only famous for modernist work, this is a unique medieval building built in a Gothic style but with a unique Catalan twist. The church is renowned for its purity and unity within the design.

Barcelona is a great city to visit but no visit is complete without visiting some of the architectural wonders that the city has to offer. There is a huge amount to see and it will leave you feeling amazed and inspired. Barcelona isn’t just a hotbed for modernist buildings but there are a huge amount of fantastic architectural wonders from earlier times too. Barcelona has always been a world leader when it comes to building cutting edge buildings which push architectural limits of the time.

As Seen on TV: Have Family Fun Searching-Out Iconic Images in NYC

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New York City needs no introduction. It’s one of the most star-studded places on the planet. It’s the reason countless television series and movies are shot there. A tourist is sure to come upon places that are popular with locals but recognizable to many around the world. Here’s a rundown of popular places from movies and TV you’ll want to seek out in NYC.

Katz’s Delicatessen

Head to Houston Street and walk in Katz’s deli. You don’t have to ask many people to hear about the pastrami. It’s famous. But even more famous is the table where characters Harry and Sally met from When Harry Met Sally.

Joe’s Pizza

What family won’t make time for pizza? Actually, you’ll find a number of Joe’s Pizza shops around the city, yet one, in particular, served as Peter Parker’s aka Spider Man’s place of early employment. In the film, Peter Parker briefly works as a pizza delivery boy for the Carmine Street pizzeria.

Buddakan

Buddakan is one swanky place to have a meal. Fitted with chandeliers and world-class kitchen crew, it’s a treat for the eyes as well as the mouth. You may notice the glamorous interior from Sex and the City. It was the spot where Carrie and Mr. Big have their rehearsal dinner.

Bubby’s Pie Company

Many young people dream of working within NYC’s fashion district. The book made into a film, The Devil Wears Prada, features a doe-eyed young woman who wants to be a successful writer but settles to be a fashion giant’s assistant. Bubby’s is a local hangout and a place for the family to grab some snacks. You’ll probably want to order some pie.

Smith and Wollensky’s

In the mood for a steak? Walk out of your Marriott Fairfield Inn and take a cab to Smith and Wollensky’s. Another book made into a film, American Psycho, is a satire about the excess of 80s life. In the film, Patrick Bateman ironically orders his steak without hash browns. The establishment is popular with stuffy investment bankers as well as locals with a hunger for juicy steaks.

Cafe Lalo

The owners and staff at the cafe boast that theirs is the most famous in the city. Of course, that is up for debate yet you can’t deny the cafe hosted a scene in You’ve Got Mail, one of the famous romantic comedy movies from the 90s. Actually, the cafe is where Tom Hanks goes to meet Meg Ryan’s character for the first time.

Pershing Square

In the movie, Friends with Benefits, two friends decide to take things to the next level and kick things off at Central Cafe, which is Pershing Square renamed for the movie. The cafe is right across from Grand Central Station.

Russian Tea Room

A major music star, Madonna, worked at the city spot before making it big. It also stars in the movie, Tootsie, where a fading actor assumes the identity of a woman to salvage his career. If you’re more of a television viewer, you may recognize the Tea Room from Gossip Girl.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!