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Miramare Castle was build from 1856 to 1860 for an Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and Charlotte of Belgium. Besides the Castle you can visit the lush gardens and a seashore park which feature tropical species of trees and flowers. If you are coming from the north on the coastal road you have to stop at one of the viewpoints – you can already see the castle rising up and the town of Trieste at the back.
Before coming to Singapore, I read it´s ONE OF THE MOST KID FRIENDLY BIG CITIES, there seemed to be so much to see and do with you children. Being a rising metropolis with many expats living there, I could imagine this was true, but despite everything read prior to our departure we were still surprised once we were there. There are so many GREEN AREAS, ADVENTURE PARKS, BEACH, SAFARIS, GARDENS and PLAYGROUNDS that you probably cannot see them all in a week. From our experience – this really is one of the few big cities in the world where your children might have more fun than you. And since it´s a great starting point for exploring other parts of Asia, it´s a perfect place to stop for a couple of days with your kids.
Singaporean cuisine is a mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian, Thai and even European. Everything what we had was of good taste and the choice is endless. In food courts you can eat for a good price, and it´s not time consuming. The most common dish would be probably chicken and rice and if you head to the Maxwell food centre you will find a long queue in front of the famous chicken&rice stand, which is usually the sign that the food is good, but can also be just a result of having a good reputation and being mentioned in guidebooks. Other than that, we loved the fresh seafood and Indian specialities.
It´s big, it´s clean, it´s green, its has some AMAZING ARCHITECTURE, great RESTAURANTS and (from what we heard) NIGHTLIFE. And if you feel too claustrophobic between all the big SKYSCRAPERS you can easily escape to one of the BEACHES or PARKS nearby. I was in Singapore when I was 14 years old and everything looked soooo big back then – it still looked big today, so that hasn´t changed. The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that it did not seem overcrowded at all. And they moved the Merlion. I remembered exactly where it was standing back in 1998. We only stayed 4 days, but it was enough to get some impressions.
We were really looking forward to INDONESIAN CUISINE, especially because we were never in Indonesia before and have never eaten in a proper Indonesian restaurant where we live. We ate something similar in Malaysia, Thailand and the rest of SE Asia, but you know, it´s never the same. Balinese cuisine does have some of its own specialities, which demonstrate indigenous traditions.
Bali is VERY WELL DEVELOPED and there are so MANY FAMILIES TRAVELLING AROUND that one might think this is the best place in the world for family travel. Well, the truth is not far from that. It´s very SAFE , the kids will love the BEACHES and the MONKEYS, it is very easy to get nice hotels with pools and all kinds of FOOD is available in restaurants. Infrastructure is good and there are no HEALTH dangers such as malaria for instance. It is very EASY TO TRAVEL around and the distances are not too big, so everything is really comfortable – it´s a good destination for those who are looking for a FIRST LONGER TRIP WITH KIDS. There will be something for everybody and the locals will love your kids. The hardest part for us Europeans is the long way getting there, especially if you do not have the best flight connection. This can affect your children sleeping times, so try to get night flights or plan the trip so that you take it easy THE FIRST FEW DAYS. Many choose to stay in one of the big RESORTS in the south of the island and then explore the rest by making DAY TRIPS, but we always prefer to move around more.
Take 5 cups of white sandy beaches, a pinch of coral reefs and 3 litres of rice terraces. Add some yoga, nightlife and shopping. Mix it with 7 grams of diving, 3 cups of water rafting, 2 tablespoons of volcano trekking and 50 mL of surfing. Top it with watching sunsets, drinking cold beer, relaxing in the pools, jumping in the waves and eating delicious food. Put it in the oven for 14 days on 37°C! Sounds like a great recipe for a perfect holiday, right?
Last summer we decided together with 2 GIRL FRIENDS to catch some last warm days and sun rays IN AUTUMN before the winter comes. And because each of us 3 lived in a different country we basically chose our destination based on the plane connections. So we were off, to MADEIRA for 6 days. We were based in Funchal and discovered the rest of the island from there – and although small, there is much to see and do.
This summer we spent 10 days on the Dalmatian island Vis, THE FARTHEST ISLAND from Croatia´s mainland. As the island was once a military zone and therefore inaccessible to all foreigners it has retained its CHARM and can truly be called “the Mediterranean as it once was”. We like Vis because of its uncrowded BEACHES, little stone house VILLAGES and the small islands around where you can amongst other swim in CAVES.
We saw quite A LOT OF FAMILIES TRAVELLING WITH KIDS of different age and we can understand why. It is EASY TO TRAVEL, your kids will be treated like celebrities, HYGIENE and SAFETY are not a problem, the DESSERT IS LIKE A HUGE SANDBOX, the FOOD is delicious and there are many nice BEACHES to choose from. So if you are searching for your next destination, Morocco might just be the one.
