I was so impressed after reading Fodor’s Family: New York City with Kids that I set up an interview with the book’s author, Meryl Pearlstein. This mom, food critic, traveler, and New York aficionado gave me her picks for her all-time favorite child-friendly sites, activities, and restaurants in the Big Apple. Read on to learn how to win one of nine copies of the Fodor’s guidebooks!

The Brooklyn Bridge with a view of the Manhattan Skyline

Best Museum for Children of All Ages
About the American Museum of Natural History, Meryl said, “What kid doesn’t love dinosaurs? The girls go crazy for the Hall of Gems and all of the diamonds. And there are the kitschy dioramas of animals from when the museum first opened. It’s a museum that every single kid loves!”

Most Child-Friendly Live Entertainment
The New Victory Theatre specializes in performances for families with children such as plays, puppet shows, dance performances, musicals, and juggling acts.

The Conservatory Garden, located in Central Park

Hidden Gem for Families
Central Park’s Conservatory Garden is a free botanical garden that provides an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are three formal gardens with flora, fauna, and fountains that Meryl promises all ages will find interesting.

New York’s Most Interesting Public Space
The Highline was an old rusted-out railroad track that has been transformed into what Meryl called, “an experience unto itself.” While it is not appropriate for the stroller set, teens and tweens love exploring this long, narrow elevated park from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street in the Meat Packing District. You can people watch, grab some tasty food, and watch boats on the river.

New York City’s Central Park

Favorite Free Activities in New York
A visit to Central Park costs nothing and gives visitors a real feel for the city. Plus, it’s a great place for kids to run off steam. There are street performers to watch, rocks to climb, and ball games to join. It’s also free to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to take in double breathtaking views: one of the New York skyline and one of Brooklyn. Meryl said, “There’s nothing like the Brooklyn Bridge experience!”

Best Attraction for Babies and Toddlers
Children’s Museum of Manhattan has areas specifically created for little ones to explore. An area called Play Works is an educational play area designed as a mini-city especially for toddlers. Kids also enjoy the museum’s art projects, sing-alongs, storytelling sessions, and a do-it-yourself puppet theatre.

Preferred Places for Preschoolers
Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Zoo is perfect for preschoolers because its exhibits and educational programs encourage hands-on learning about animals. Its smaller size makes it a manageable activity to tackle with young children. Coney Island’s New York Aquarium entertains children with fish and sea creatures galore as well as popular sea lion shows.

Coolest Site for Grade School Kids
Hayden Planetarium, located in the American Natural History Museum, is a favorite destination for grade school field trips, and for good reason. Kids love to come here to learn about planets, stars, and the moon. Plus, according to Fodor’s Family: New York City with Kids, “Movies projected on the IMAX screen offer a perfect way to rest tired feet.”

A tree-lined street in Greenwich Village

Best Activity for Tweens & Teens
As the mom of two teenage boys, Meryl knows this age group is happiest when exploring New York’s neighborhoods. She suggests checking out St. Mark’s Place in the East Village or Bleecker Street in the West Village. Visiting a few hip stores is always a hit – like Hollister, the NBA Store, and H&M. An afternoon stop for a scrumptious dessert is a must. Meryl recommends Max Brenner’s world-renowned chocolate shop or Serendipity3, which is famous for its frozen hot chocolate.

Fantastic Family-Friendly Restaurants
As a foodie, it was difficult for Meryl to narrow down all of New York’s restaurants to name her three favorites for families. She recommends Tony’s diNapoli for Italian food served family-style on big platters for everyone to share; Virgil’s Real Barbecue for succulent barbecued chicken wings, hot links, pulled pork, hot dogs and more; and Ruby Foo’s for Asian fusion cuisine served on Lazy Susans in the center of the tables.

Meryl (a Red Sox fan) is pictured above
with her husband, Jim (a Yankees fan)

For more tips on what to see, what to do, and where to eat, buy a Fodor’s Family: New York City with Kids or enter to win one below. From reading the book and talking with Meryl, it is clear that she is passionate about New York and that she loves helping others enjoy her adopted hometown. Meryl has been writing Fodor’s New York City guides since 2005. She writes restaurant reviews for Gayot.com and has written for New York Magazine and the Boston Herald. She is the mother of two boys, ages 15 and 19. Read her blog Meryl Pearlstein’s Travel and Food Notes for travel and food observations from around the world and everything New York City.

Enter to win one of nine copies of Fodor’s Family: New York City with Kids. Fodor’s provided the giveaway copies as well as one copy that was sent to me to review. Travel Mamas is picking up the tab for shipping the prizes. Winners will be selected at random using RANDOM.org. Five guides will be awarded this week and another four will be awarded next week. Check back on November 23 to find out who won, how to re-enter, and to learn about traveling during the holidays in New York City with kids. You may enter up to three times, using each method of entry listed below once, by November 21, 2009. THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

1) Add a comment about which New York attraction or restaurant recommended above you would most like to visit and why.

2) Sign up to Become a Travel Mama to receive the Travel Mamas bimonthly e-newsletter. Be sure to mention the Fodor’s Family:New York City with Kids giveaway in the questions or comments field on the electronic form. If you have already subscribed to our newsletter, instead post a second comment below about what you like best about TravelMamas.com.

3) Tweet about this contest on Twitter by copying and pasting the entire phrase below. After tweeting, you must post another comment with a link to your tweet!
I love NY! Visit @TravelMamas to win 1 of 9 Fodor’s Family: New York City with Kids http://bit.ly/1p1XGt

For more information on this topic see:

• New York City Holiday Travel Tips for Families

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I love poring over hotel review websites, destination guidebooks, and travel chat boards to plan out every detail of upcoming vacations. This time, however, I would have to wing it.

My son’s bout of chicken pox delayed our trip and forced me to revise the itinerary. Instead of a trip to Atlanta and Hilton Head Island this spring, our family of four flew to San Francisco at the last minute. Type-A traveler that I am, I worried that a getaway without structure would result in cranky kids and grumpy grown-ups rather than rest and relaxation.

Day 1
Not having time to scour the web for the very best deal on a hotel with a kitchenette and a heated pool, I booked a room at the Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf through Priceline using their Name Your Own Price option. I snagged the room at $125 per night, whereas the official price would have been $149. The room was small and sans fridge, but acceptable and the location was convenient.

After settling in, we took a 15-minute walk from our hotel to Pier 39, a mecca of shopping, dining, and entertainment perched over the bay. The plan was to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. because our children’s screeching would go unnoticed in the theme restaurant. However, there was a line out the door of other families thinking the same thing. Instead, we went to Pier Market, a seafood restaurant with a view of the boats bobbing in the harbor. The most memorable part of the meal was the warm sour dough bread – tangy, crispy, and chewy in all the right ways. I had the grilled swordfish with lemon garlic butter, which was adequate but bland ($18.95). My husband got a crab melt ($12.95) – I’m still not sure what pocessed him to order such a thing but it was good if you dig creamy, cheesy, messy sandwiches. Standard kids’ meals went for $4.95 each.

Day 2
The next day we headed back to Pier 39. We regarded the sea lions barking and flopping about for a while. Then we happened upon a juggling show, which I was “volunteered” to join. You would think my preschooler would find it cool to see Mommy on stage, but noooo, she cried the whole time. Apparently, she was jealous that I was picked instead of her. After that we took the kids for a spin on the double-decker carousel.

My children are good on-the-go sleepers so at naptime the baby dozed on his daddy’s shoulder while Karissa curled up in the stroller. When Leo woke before his big sister, I took him to the Aquarium of the Bay. I have seen my fair share of aquariums and for the price, this one can be skipped. The moving walkways were broken, the exhibits were not well lit, and while there certainly were fish, I didn’t see anything spectacular. If you must go, look for employees in the center of the pier handing out coupons for $2 off for adult tickets and $1 off children’s prices. Regular price admission is $15.95 for adults, $8 for children ages three to 11, and free for kids under three.

If you need a stroller in a pinch, check out Perrykids, a clothing store at Pier 39 that sells adorable handmade sweaters from Peru and rents strollers for $10/half day and $20/full day.

Late in the afternoon we texted San Francisco friends for recommendations on good Chinatown eats. Two families pointed us to the same restaurant: House of Nanking. The Sizzling Rice Soup, with its lemon-scented broth filled with vegetables and crispy rice, was worth the 40-minute walk from the pier. The lightly tempura-battered Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Mushrooms was divine, but the Famous Nanking Sesame Chicken was fatty and not worthy of its name. We all got a kick out my Hot Blossoming Flower Tea. What started as an innocuous green ball of leaves opened into a lovely pink bouquet floating in my glass. There is no kids’ menu but you can order thick round chow mein noodles without sauce, vegetables or meat for picky eaters. Dishes cost about $9-$14.

After our early dinner we meandered through Chinatown on our way back to the hotel. Karissa loved the exotic shops filled with plastic golden cats and dragons carved of jade. I bought Karissa a pair of red embroidered satin shoes for just $4.00. She still adores her “fancy” shoes, which she delights in pointing out to friends and strangers alike. I also treated myself to a Japanese puzzle box to add to my box collection from my travels.

Day 3
Traveling with children is a bit like child birth, in time all you remember is the joy, not the pain. That must be why my husband and I always convince ourselves that booking a single standard room will be fine. Why would we need a suite or connecting rooms? Sleepless nights, a screaming baby waking the four-year-old, and a lack of sleep for all. Oh yeah, that’s why.

After a couple nights with everyone crammed into one room, Phil inquired about booking a second room when I came down with strep throat. (I never said traveling was easy!) The manager on duty was a bit snarky about the fact that we had booked through Priceline, but eventually we were granted the second room, at a higher rate.

Since Leo was still napping twice a day at this point, we took a long drive to induce his morning nap. We drove around for some time searching for Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. After two jaunts down the winding road we stopped for lunch at Mel’s Drive-In. The food was mediocre; I didn’t even finish my watery vanilla shake (a sin for a dessert lover like me!). However, the kids enjoyed the free balloons and jukebox stocked with doo-wop songs. Karissa was impressed when her chicken nuggets drove onto the table in yellow car made of paper. Kids’ meals served in a Mel’s car cost about $5-$7, including a drink.

Next we headed to the Golden Gate Park. Covering over 1,000 acres, it is even bigger than New York’s Central Park. In fact, it may be too big. There are numerous attractions, like the Academy of Sciences natural history museum, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Buffalo Paddock where you can view American Bison. However, everything is so far spread that you can only plan to hit one, maybe two sites in a single day. The park lacked sufficient signage so I purchased a map for a couple of bucks from a little hut that sold post cards and the like. We were stopped frequently by other visitors who wanted to take a peek at the map so they could figure out where the heck they were in the massive park.

After a long walk from the underground parking garage, we finally caught a glimpse of the Children’s Playground. Karissa shouted, “Mommy! That’s the biggest playground I ever saw in my whole life!” She took off running and joined up with the other children working industriously together on an assembly line of fun in a stream of water that ran through the sand. Young children played on standard slides, swings, and climbing structures while older kids slid on torn pieces of cardboard down a two-story cement slide built into a hill.

Again we texted San Fran acquaintances, this time to inquire about Italian food. We took their advice and headed to Mona Lisa in Little Italy. It was a fabulous spot for families: busy, noisy, with lots of colorful eye candy. It’s the kind of place where waiters coo, “Bello bambino!” at your toddler, and the tables are squished together creating forced camaraderie with neighboring diners.

Day 4
On our last morning we walked along the harbor to Ghirardelli Square, named for the chocolate factory that was once located on the site. Today there is a Ghirardelli’s Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, which doles out free chocolate samples at the door. You can indulge in gooey sundaes or stock up on cable-car-shaped tins filled with treats as souvenirs. You can also view a few original machines stirring up vats of chocolate and read the signs about how chocolate is made aloud to your kids, if they’ll listen.

My husband noticed Karissa and I gazing longingly at the darling, pinkety-pink Crown & Crumpet Tea Salon. Phil suggested she and I have a mommy-daughter tea while he and Leo grabbed lunch at the diner also located in the square. Karissa was served the Nursery Tea, which came with three tea sandwiches (cucumber, PB&J, and egg salad), a scrumptious scone with clotted cream and jam, and four mini sweets as well as hot or cold tea ($14, for children 12 and under). I opted for a slice of quiche Lorraine served with a green salad ($12). Karissa spent the meal fishing the colored heart and star sugar shapes out of the sugar bowl with which to overload her cup of fruity tea. It was a lovely, sweet ending to our long weekend away.

I always say planning is half the fun (and the battle!) of any trip. But not having set plans forced us to experience San Francisco as it unfolded before us and led to fun surprises and impromptu experiences we may have otherwise missed. I wouldn’t change a thing. (Well, except for the strep throat!)

Do you have any San Francisco activities, sites, restaurants, or hotels that you would like to recommend to other Travel Mamas? Leave a comment below!

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• Why We Travel with Children

Is it a good idea, or even possible, to turn sin-city into kid-city? I pondered this question during a five-hour road trip to Las Vegas last month. I knew the city’s usual activities – the gambling, the shows, and the bar-hopping – would not be the focus of a trip with a four-year-old and a one-year-old. I did not realize, however, the “child-friendly” entertainment on the Strip was geared almost entirely toward older kids and teens.

My preschooler, Karissa, was thrilled when we pulled into our new “home” – the blue and red turreted castle, Excalibur. The magic ended there. Since Excalibur is one of the older hotel casinos, the air filtration system seemed woefully less efficient than that of other casinos. The scantily-clad female dancers gyrating on a low stage near the front entrance forced us to take the long route through the cigarette-smoke-filled casino to our room each night, which worsened toddler Leo’s asthma.

There are kids’ carnival games located one floor below the casino, but our visit to the Fantasy Faire Midway was brief due to the carcinogenic smoke wafting down the stairs. Visiting Krispy Kreme each morning at the Castle Walk was the highlight of our Excalibur stay. My daughter enjoyed witnessing the circles of freshly-fried dough being doused with glaze even more than eating the donuts.

Our first night’s dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at MGM Grand was fun but a wee bit scary for my young kids. The indoor waterfalls and animatronic elephants provide a happy diversion for the kiddies while parents nibble on coconut crusted shrimp or spicy pastalaya, a cajun-style pasta dish. Beware of make-believe tropical storms, which boom and flash menacingly throughout the restaurant from time to time. Entrees range $11.99-$31.99. Kids’ menu items are $9.99-$10.99, including a drink.

The next day we followed our guidebook’s recommendation for kid-friendly activities and drove to Circus Circus. Of course, the guidebook also recommended Excalibur for children, so we should’ve known better. We wound our way through throngs of people to the Adventuredome, an indoor amusement park that charges $4-$5 per ride. I admit my daughter loved the carousel and mini Ferris wheel, but I found their selection of rides for children under 42 inches meager and ho-hum. As a Disneyland Annual Passholder, perhaps my expectations were a tad high.

If carnival games are imperative for your family, preschooler-friendly attractions are available at a more affordable price in a smoke-free environment at Chuck-E-Cheese in three Las Vegas locations. Visit their website to join the Chuck E-Club for discounts on food and tokens before you go.

After hotel room naps, we toured the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes. My daughter delighted in placing a dollar at the foot of one of the “living statue” street performers. The gondolas and their often-singing gondoliers fascinated my children. The live opera performance in St. Mark’s Square enchanted the kids. My one-year-old laughed and clapped as he watched the performers sing and juggle. He shook his head vehemently saying, “Nay, nay, nay!” (his version of, “no”) when it was time to leave. Live performances are free. Tickets for gondola rides are $16 per person, with children two and younger riding for free.

That night we dined at Celebrity Chef Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco, the less expensive of Batali’s two Italian restaurants at the Venetian. To start, my husband and I split a salad of mixed greens served with pomegranate seeds, shaved parmesan, and prosciutto. It was just a salad, but wow, what a salad! Then I gobbled up my entire plate of spaghetti carbonara, a creamy pasta dish made with eggs and pancetta that I discovered during my travels through Europe as a foreign exchange college student. I can rarely find prepared properly stateside. No wonder Mr. Batali is an Iron Chef! Salads are $14; dinner entrees are $16-$30. While there is no children’s menu, Enoteca will happily prepare a small plate of pasta with butter or marinara sauce for your little one. However, with a pricetag of $15 you may want to pack a sandwich or feed the kids elsewhere beforehand.

We asked our friend, Frank Seidman, a Las Vegas resident and father of four children, where to go for off-Strip affordable family fun. Per his instructions we steered clear of the Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park, about which he said, “Only go if you want to see a handful of half-dead animals in tiny cages.” No thanks!

Instead, we followed Frank’s advice to drive the 15 minutes to Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden in nearby Henderson. During a brief walk-through tour we witnessed workers swirling apples in tubs of caramel and boxing up chocolates. Then we indulged in a few sweets from their chocolate shop. Don’t miss the PB & J-filled milk chocolate, Ethel M’s tasty bestseller. Roaming the four acres of neatly manicured cacti and succulents that surround the factory was a welcome breath of fresh air after the artificial, indoor activities of the Strip – literally! Entrance to the factory and garden is free. Individual chocolates start at $1.50.

Afterwards we stopped by another Seidman family favorite, Silverton Casino, just a few minutes from the Strip. Silverton’s aquarium of colorful fish, stingrays, and sunken pirate treasure mesmerized the kids. Attached to the casino is Bass Pro Shop, a huge sporting goods and outdoor recreation store featuring an indoor waterfall and live ducks. The aquarium and shop provide a pleasant, free diversion for all ages.

That night we drove to Caesar’s Palace for more shopping and food. A giant fountain in the style of Rome’s Trevi Fountain impressed my children, if briefly. For dinner we chose another restaurant owned by a celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. Our German waiter was a delight, chatting up my daughter and providing multiple spoons for my son’s entertainment. Adult entrée salads and pizzas start at $12, with more fancy-schmancy items going for up to $52. Mickey-Mouse-shaped pizza and other kid favorites are available for $7. Noisy families (like ours) may feel more comfortable seated on the patio than in the upscale dining room.

After dinner we visited FAO Schwartz, one of Caesar’s Forum Shops. A two-story wooden Trojan horse juts forth from the store’s entrance. An array of toys, including a nursery of adoptable lifelike baby dolls, provides entertainment for the kiddies at no cost, if you can resist making a purchase.

I have visited Las Vegas numerous times, and while I enjoy the city of a million lights, I am always ready to head home after a few days. Not so for Karissa, who cried the morning of our departure, “I don’t wanna leave Las Vegas!”

Apparently, Las Vegas is for children after all.

What are your favorite attractions, restaurants, and accommodations when traveling with children in Las Vegas? Leave a comment below!

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