5 Asian cities I simply must visit

I had so much fun writing last week's Travel Tuesday post (5 European cities I simply must visit) that I decided to write out my top 5 list for Asia.  I'm Filipina born and bred, but I'm ashamed to say that I've been to fewer Asian cities (not counting cities in the Philippines) than European cities.  So far, I've been to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, and Seoul.  That's it.  Even Alfie has been to more Asian cities than me!  I definitely have to rectify this error, and here are the first 5 places I would visit:

Birthday bash at Buca di Beppo

We've lived less than a mile from Bucca di Beppo for almost 20 years, but Alfie and I were always too intimidated by the large crowd (and implied long wait times) to bother taking the kids there. We finally took the plunge and booked a table six months ago, and we had such a great time that I knew I wanted to go back to Buca di Beppo for my birthday dinner.  I've had such a crazy week that it ended up being my day-after-my-birthday dinner, but I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 42nd and start the Memorial Day Weekend.

5 European cities I simply must visit

Whenever we visit Alfie's parents, we stay for at least 3 weeks.  Alfie's family is small, and there's only so much visiting of relatives you can do for 3 weeks, so we like to use Marlborough as a jumping point for smaller trips. We've done day trips to London, Stonehenge, Birmingham, Maidstone, and many other places around the UK.  We've also gone on longer trips to Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

There's no shortage of wonderful places to visit, so it's always tough to decide where we want to go next! I could easily list 100 cities I'd love to travel to in Europe -- but as always, time and money are limiting factors, so I've narrowed my list down to five.  Here are 5 cities that I'd really love to visit on a family trip in the near future:

A day trip to Damme

If I had to pick a favorite day out of the seven we spent in Belgium, I would probably pick the day we visited Damme.  Damme is a tiny medieval (13th century) town near the medieval city of Bruges and a few miles from the Belgian coast.  If you're staying in Bruges, Damme is a great place for a day (or half-day) trip; it's also a great place to stay if you plan to visit Bruges but want somewhere a bit more quiet (and inexpensive) to come "home" to at the end of your day!

A Mother's Day poem

You are the best mom in the world,

So you are the queen.

If I did not have you as a mom,

I don't know what I could have been!

You are so awesome, you have two jobs,

One job you give us toys and the other makes little kids not sob!

Every day you walk me to school,

All of this is why your (sic) so cool!

Happy Mother's Day!

                                                  -- a poem by Jammy

It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Lawrence Hall of Science

It's still spring break in many school districts around the US, so I thought I'd spend Travel Tuesday reminiscing about one of the cool places we visited over Spring Break.  The Lawrence Hall of Science is a hands-on science museum on the UC Berkeley campus that draws kids from all over the Bay Area.

New job, new direction

Today I started a new chapter in my life and started work as Student Activities Director for 3PO and Jammy's elementary school.  That's a fancy way of saying I come in at lunchtime to plan, organize, and lead student enrichment activities.  Okay, that was probably just as fancy a description!  How about:  I do Chalk Art Mondays, Tournament Tuesdays, Game Cart Wednesdays, Walking Club Thursdays, Dance Party Fridays, and just about anything else I think the kids might enjoy.

Getting my kicks on Route 66: running through the Disneyland Resort

photo credit: Josh Hallett @hyku

Of all the magical events in store for the attendees of Disney's Social Media Moms Conference, the one I was most looking forward to was the 2 mile fun run.  I've always wanted to do a runDisney race, and although this wasn't an official race, it's the next best thing.  I can't think of any fun run more fun than this one (shades of Dr. Seuss there): what could be grander than running through the Disneyland Resort?

A prize that money can't buy: meeting LeVar Burton

photo credit: Josh Hallett

One of the many perks of being invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration is the chance to win some fabulous prizes.  Up for grabs were goodies like Disney gift baskets, runDisney gift baskets, Coppertone gift baskets, a year's supply of GoGoSqueez, Dooney & Burke bags, runDisney New Balance shoes, HP printers, and a Nikon camera.  Each time a raffle ticket was drawn, I crossed my fingers and prayed that my name would be drawn.

Lo and behold, my name was drawn.  I was one of five bloggers selected for an exclusive meet and greet experience after Saturday's Disney Junior character breakfast.

Jelly Belly Factory Tour

We've done the Jelly Belly Factory tour in Fairfield many times, but knowing practically every twist and turn of the tour doesn't stop us from visiting once a year or two.  It's fun, it's free, and it's less than a 90 minute drive from where we live.  Plus, they give out free jelly beans!  What's not to love?