Picture this: Paris, summer, happiness, much good food, reading (all those bookstores!), and…city crowds? If you’re a bit tired of the city (and even with Paris, this is possible) and you’ve already visited Versailles, Normandy, and Giverny, there are several unusual and adventurous one day excursions from Paris – easily doable, within a short drive, and full of fun.

Wondering about that headline? Well, I can sum it up in two words: This Book.

In the many times I’ve visited Walt Disney World, I had never once been to a water park – until my most recent trips. Although a few half-day visits hardly make me an expert, I thought I’d share some of my first impressions of the Disney water park experience, and perhaps offer some useful tidbits to Disney travelers new, like myself, to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.

While preparing for a trip abroad with children, you must be not only very responsible choosing the direction of travel, but also the place where you are going to stay too. If the primary goal is to change the family environment, rest from the routine and you are planning to spend most of the time at the hotel, the choice where to stay becomes even more necessary.

Have kids who love art? We do, and we're always scoping out art experiences for her when we travel - from art museums to galleries to classes. We can't get enough - and often schedule our travel plans around art events and classes.

The latest craze to hit the world is Pokemon Go. This augmented reality game utilizes your smart phone via GPS and camera to find pokemon in the real world. Once you start, you can't stop - it's so much fun to explore and play and catch pokemon.

You know those guidebooks that are so creative and full of genius that you immediately start planning a trip? I have one such book to share with you (you’ll love it!). 100 Tips for Traveling with Kids in Europe, written by our friends at Family on the Loose, E.

Some books come into your life and stay with you. For whatever reason, they strike a chord and fit right in. And while this is rare, it does happen. One book that is forever lodged in my heart is Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks, by Mark Woods. It's a personal look at natural spaces, at family and friends, at moving and doing, at being in nature. It's a thoughtful record of exploration and listening and thinking, of love, of essence of place.

It was a gorgeous August day - the kind you hope for when planning a trip, smile at your good luck with the weather during, and remember fondly for years afterward.