This industry is inhumane. Please consider this before you ride them. Horses have died and pedestrians and drivers have been injured. The horses are treated as cars and not living beings that feel pain. Please look at their eyes and do the right thing by them. Contact Mayor Bloomberg and inform him how wrong this industry is to exist in NYC traffic.
All over the city and around Central Park
The Promenade des Bastions runs from the old city down to Place Neuve (the main square of Geneva) and goes past the Mur des Reformateurs - check out the chess boards with giant-sized chess pieces for the public to use for Sunday afternoon games.
There are also numerous cheap cafés.
The Promenade des Bastions is a 30 min walk from Cornavin train station and 20 mins from St Peters Cathedral in the old city
If you go to Ile Rousseau to see the bird sanctuary or to have a drink at the café, wait until after 9am when the waiters of the café have gotten rid of the homeless people and tramps who inhabit the benches of Ile Rousseau.
A campsite/hostel for nature lovers. Perfect place to start nature walks all over the Tayrona park and its surroundings.
2 km from the main entrance you find a sign Castilletes on your right-hand side. After 200 metres you get to the beach where the campsite is located. On request they supply good information on the park and its surroundings through email.
See their website: www.campingtayrona.com
The often crowded but peaceful Jardin d'Europe and Champs de Mars look out over lake Annecy and provide stupendous views of the Alps and photo ops. It's a great place for a family picnic as there is a children's park and ducks on the lake. A must do is to walk by Lake Annecy from the Hotel de ville down to the port.
Jardin d'Europe and Champs de Mars are just a 5 min walk from the town hall and from the old city
Finkley is, well, a farm and a park! There are lots of animals that you can feed, like llamas, ducks, geese, goats and, if you dare, bulls. Then there are the large play areas: a pedal cart track, old tractors to climb all over, a bunch of trampolines, a very large slide, a climbing fort or two and an infants' play area.
At regular times through the day there are feedings and handling sessions, for example, to sit and hold bunnies, and to groom the horses. There is a large collection of gypsy wagons to see, too.
There is a cafe on site with both indoor and outdoor seating. Just watch out for the roaming peacocks who like to steal your chips! Admission is reasonably priced for such a lot of things to do.
Photos and a description of our trips there can be found on our website: www.reeves-hall.net/kids-outings/finkley-down-farm-park/
This is where hundreds of Pakistani guys and Indonesian women hang out and flirt on their day off. It all seems very innocent and sweet until you sit and watch for at least an hour and notice some of the darker undertones.
Very, very interesting, quite sad and quite voyeurisitic. We felt like we were watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary.
Have a chat and make friends, everyone's very friendly.
The whole experience reminded us of the often miserable lives of immigrants, wherever they are.
It's an hilarious Dublin guide filled with serious tips.
This website is about the real Budapest, and gives very interesting background details about the history, culture and architecture of this beautiful capital which is slowly losing some of its unique features (old presszo bars, neon signs, dingy borozos) as it changes into a modern European metropolis. Written by a Hungarian speaker, the articles featured go behind the facade and into much more detail than a guide book could manage.
It has a wealth of information for people who really love Budapest and want to know the city better.
Check out the recent story on the Trabants - really interesting!
It is a high quality, excellent restaurant, one of the best within the National Park.
in the village square of Broughton-in-Furness,
www.beswicks.co.uk/
Stay almost anywhere in Cornwall, buy a group saver ticket to St Ives. Park and ride to St Ives, changing at St Erth, where you will be treated to spectacular views of Carbis bay and have a wonderful day out at one of Cornwall's prettiest resorts. It's green, cheap and if the shuttle is delayed you can enjoy a cup of coffee at St Erth station buffet.
Any manned railway station on the Plymouth to Penzance line
Just an hour outside Berlin by car lies a real hidden gem. The Woerlitzer Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is one of the most dazzling examples of landscape gardening in continental Europe. Having been inspired by a trip to England, Prince Leopold III started work on the 122 hectare public garden in 1764. Now it stands – a stunning series of labyrinthine paths, winding rivers and ponds – as an oasis of calm, and a true work of art.
For directions see
www.woerlitz-information.de/woerlitz-en/ko/anfahrt.php
A classic city centre park. Trees and paths take you from the park to the shops and general vibrancy of Gloucester Rd. Great all year round. And now with added coffee courtesy of some entrepreneurial soul - complete with table cloths and yummy snacks. A great place to while away an hour or two. Or the whole day.
Off Effingham Rd
tinyurl.com/28cxmj
Nearest station: Montpelier
The real hub of the East End; lots of great bargains to be had; a great atmosphere on a Saturday afternoon.
Victoria Park just down the road to sit and unwind in!
just off Parnell road; Bow; E3
Los Feliz is a great little neighborhood in north-east Los Angeles, near Griffith Park (I'm a little biased since I live there...). Anytime but mid-July through August are the best times to go - it can get pretty hot some days during those months. Check out Hillhurst north of Franklin, and Vermont north of Hollywood. Lots of great restaurants, bars and hang-outs (Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Hillhurst has a great patio with firepit). Griffith Park is also nearby, with plenty of great hiking trails, pony rides for the kids, picnic areas, etc.
East of Western, north of Franklin, West of Riverside drive, south of Griffith Park. Get there from the west side by taking the 10 east, 110 North, 5 North, get off at Los Feliz Blvd and head west. Griffith Park will be to your right as you drive down Los Feliz Blvd.
Paris is perfect for those with kids, and especially the park at La Villette. On the Canal de l'Ourq there is the awesome dragon slide (almost two stories high), playgrounds designed for specific age groups, a submarine my five-year-old nephew wants to return to with his big brother and cat (!) (3€ each). Just by the park bikes can be hired that take the whole family along the traffic-free canalside to the forest of Sevran, where coffee and ice cream can be had in the old poudrerie, where Nobel of the Nobel prize worked - well worth a visit. And if it rains, back at La Villette there is always the Cite des Sciences - again with exhibits tailored to tots and to slightly older kids. Further afield, there's Paris Plage for sunbathing, sandcastles, misters, boules, rock-climbing (5 years old and upwards), the fountains and concerts at Parc Andre Citroen, the fireworks on July 14, or the swimming pool on a barge by the Francois Mitterand Bibliotheque, or the fantastic mini Paris Plage at Canal St Martin where another five-year-old loved her tot-sized pedalo and the tea dances and water fountains. Paris is perfect for families, especially in the summer, and since almost everything referred to above is free or cheap, it won't break the bank. Plus - no hours spent travelling to, or queueing at, airports.
Just get on Eurostar and you are within 15-20 minutes walk of most of the above.
The crown jewel of Austin. Check out this spring-fed pool that is 68F all year round.
In Zilker Park off Lamar in South Austin.
Les Tuileries is the most central park in Paris. It stretches its 'à la Française' alleys and lawns along the Seine river from the Louvre museum to the Concorde square. There is a large round central fountain where an ancient Parisian hires out beautiful yachts made by himself - the boats sail across the fountain and the kids are armed with long canes to push them into another direction. We grabbed a coffee and sat around the fountain watching Paris go by and the kids were entertained by the boats for an hour - what more could you ask for 15 euros!
Use les tuileries metro station on line 1
It is a sprawling park area with amazing outdoor play facilities and a huge children's museum and science museum. You could easily spend 2-3 days just exploring this area. There are theatres and restaurants as well.
Lydiard Park is a 260 acre parkland with a historic house and church, extensive park and grounds, lake, children's play area, and refreshments. Because it's only a few minutes' drive from J16 of the M4, I'm recommending it as an ideal stop for motorists.
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