Totem Travel Blog

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One of my favorite cities is London; I was actually born there so I may be a bit partial! London is the largest of the cities in the UK and so full of things to see and do that you can go over and over and always have new experiences.

Let’s start with the obvious like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, Big Ben, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge.  From there you can visit such sites as the London Bridge, London Aquarium, the London Eye and the London Dungeons. There are monuments everywhere but don’t miss the Marble Arch or Nelsons Column in Trafalgar square.

Why not take a stroll in Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, St. James Park, Kensington Gardens or Kew Gardens. You can people watch everywhere in London but at Piccadilly Circus it’s a swirl of people, traffic and lights and non-stop action day or night. How about shopping? There’s Oxford Street, Fleet Street, Regent Street, the Strand, Harrods and the list goes on.

There are too many museums and galleries to mention, but a few are the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Gallery, National Gallery and the Natural History Museum. And you can’t forget cathedrals such as St. Paul’s, Westminster and Southwark Cathedral. There’s Covent Garden and the Theater district, Trocadero, the up and coming Docklands area and again the list goes on and on.

The Tube, London’s underground is one of the best I’ve been on and will get you anywhere and everywhere easily so don’t be shy about using it. So my message, make sure you have time when you’re in London, there is so much to see and if possible go again and again to see new things each time.

A visit to Washington D. C. makes a fun and educational family vacation but to get the most from your visit you’ll need to plan ahead… in fact way ahead! Most of the major sights are open to the public and completely free. However they are extremely popular and crowded during any school break, so visitors without reservations often miss out. 

If you’d like to include a White House tour, see Congress in action or visit the Bureau of Engraving, you’ll need to write one of your Senators 6-9 months before your planned arrival. In Washington State both Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have email forms online so it’s pretty easy and it doesn’t hurt to contact both. Our family did and we got confirmations for the tours we requested plus the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center which offers free concerts every evening. Score! 

You’ll also need reservations for the National Holocaust Museum, Washington Monument and an IMAX show or two. You’ll pay a few bucks in service fees but save literally hours standing in line (At 6:00 am) plus you can organize your sightseeing to avoid unnecessary backtracking and worn out feet.

Speaking of feet, D.C. has an excellent subway system but visitors will still spend a lot of time walking and standing. You’ll want comfortable walking shoes and an itinerary that incorporates rest breaks every few hours. A centrally located hotel such as the moderately priced Holiday Inn Capitol or more upscale Loews Enfant will also reduce wear and tear and make dining at night much easier. 

The weather is most pleasant in the spring or fall while the summer months can be hot and winter quite cold. Our visit was timed for mid April and the Cherry Blossom Festival but nature was a bit contrary. 80 degree temperatures brought out the flowers but an unusually late snow storm knocked most of the blooms to the ground just days before the festival. Oh well!

If possible, I would plan 5-7 days in the city itself. Our family ranked the Museum of Space and Flight, Mt Vernon, the Holocaust Museum, the Monuments, Supreme Court and the Library of Congress as must do’s. The highlight of our vacation was observing a Senate debate and vote in Congress. (Both are much more interesting then they sound.) But that was a stroke of exceptional travel karma and not everyone will have that privilege! Interestingly enough, we were under whelmed by our specially arranged White House tour…

In a generous ½ day you can tour the major monuments by foot or by hop on hop off trolley. Start at the Washington Monument (You’ll need a reservation to go up to the top) and work your way around the loop to the WWII, Jefferson, FDR, Korean War, Lincoln, and Vietnam Memorials. 

The Museum of Space and Flight can easily take a full day to explore.   I suggest you arrive early and take a free docent tour. These guys really know their stuff and you’ll still have lots of free time on your own. There is a good size food court and several excellent IMAX films when you need a break from Apollo rockets and the Wright Brother’s planes.

While the Museum of American History is closed for renovation (Until summer 2008) some of its most popular exhibits have been moved to the Air and Space Museum. This is where you’ll find Dorothy’s red slippers from the Wizard of OZ, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and a gown worn by Jackie Kennedy.

Assuming you’ve planned ahead you need a full day for Capitol Hill. This will include a tour of Congress (ask if the Senate or House is in session and go if they are), the Library of Congress (D.C.’s most beautiful building) the Supreme Court (don’t miss the video interview of our current justices) and anything else you can fit in.

Although it wasn’t a highlight for us, you can’t leave Washington without seeing the White House. The structure and grounds are impressive but we were disappointed that even our “specially arranged congressional tour” was essentially self guided. With all the history and stories that should be shared they have really missed their mark here!

Mt. Vernon on the other hand is fabulous and needs another ½ day or longer. George Washington’s plantation home is interesting but the live interaction with “Martha” was outstanding as was the tour of the slave quarters. The museum on site deserves a few hours all by itself and there are several films we were unable to see. Don’t skimp on time!

The Museum of Natural History has dinosaurs, the Hope diamond, a walk through the ice age and formation of the seas, meteors, a recreated mining cave and more. Although it is a wonderful museum, several exhibits including the hall of dinosaurs are dwarfed by NYC’s museum of the same name.

If time permits you can tour the National Archives, Arlington Cemetery, Kennedy Center (don’t miss the free concerts), the Spy Museum, the Navy Yard, DAR Museum and another ½ dozen Smithsonian Museums including art museums, African History, Native American History and more.

All in all D.C. makes an excellent, fun and educational vacation for adults and children alike. An outstanding family vacation!

What is freestyle cruising and what was the Norwegian Star like?

We arrived at the pier in Seattle around 1:30pm and by 2:30 we had checked our bags, registered and received our key cards, been through security, boarded the ship and were checking out our stateroom, all to say that the embarkation process ran very smoothly with no hitches.

The ship is beautiful, fully equipped with all the bells and whistles; spa, fitness center, movie theater, casino, teen club, kids club, 2 water slides in the outdoor pools as well as an indoor lap pool in the spa area.

The freestyle kicks in here since it’s mostly about eating when you want and where you want rather then having set times and dining rooms. So to give you lots of options, there was pan-Asian, Sushi, French, Italian, Tex-Mex and a Steak-house open for dinners as well as the pool bar and grill, the international buffet and the 2 large dining rooms that were open for all 3 meals per day.

We had our pick of lounges with different entertainment singers or groups as well as the evening entertainment. And then of course there are the Newlywed games, Karaoke, shopping seminars, Bingo and just generally things to see and do onboard.

Our cruise stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway before heading south with a quick stop in Prince Rupert before we we’re home in Seattle. I loved Alaska’s beauty and serenity. Ketchikan is was a fun stop, we spent the morning at Totem Pole State Park and the Eagle Preserve and the afternoon was for shopping and I’m sure we spent enough to feed someone for the winter! In Juneau we saw the Mendenhall Glacier and did a whale watching boat tour where we saw a lot of whales as well as sea lions and seals. In Skagway we shopping in the morning but spent the afternoon on the Yukon-White Pass railway, again beautiful scenery and interesting history.

All in all we had a great time on the Norwegian Star, an Alaskan cruise is a good way to get a glimpse of our last frontier state… Alaska. If you’d like to know more about my cruise e-mail me or give me a ring at 800-321-7907.

Thanks,

Jennefer.