Bucks County Area Road Trip

(photos Jack Coble)

It's been four years now since we did this trip for Cookie. We spent four days going all day, writing, photographing, researching...and now when I look back at all we did in those four days, I think we must have been on crack. I swear, those road trips could have been 2 week trips--we packed them so full, and we really did every single thing that we recommended. So, I've gone back and edited down my original copy, and am going to divide it into different days, since they are all such different areas, and if you are considering doing any of these over a weekend, or a long full day trip, this is how you would actually use them. I'm not rewriting everything, but since I haven't revisited these places, if you have updates about a place that I might have gone to, please let me know.

Easton and Ringing Rocks Park

Easton, PA is a charming small town just a few miles off Interstate 78.  We stopped there for the Crayola Factory, and it was a hit. I’m not sure how much a kid over 5 or 6 would be into it though, as it’s a bit young. For lunch, we stopped at the River Grille and between us had a very good thin-crust pizza, sandwich, and I remember it having a healthy kids' menu. We also picked up a ton of healthy snacks at Nature's Way Market.

Heading south, we took Route 611 to Route 32, a scenic road that runs alongside the Delaware River, with plenty of stone houses and post-and-beam barns along the way. One of the most magical places we’ve ever been, Ringing Rocks Park, is off of Narrows Hill Road. You park the car and walk to the big pile of boulders, which sound like bells when struck with hard objects—a natural phenomenon that still mystifies scientists.

 

Frenchtown and Lumberville

Drive a few miles farther on Route 32 South and cross the bridge to Frenchtown, New Jersey. There are some nice antique stores, but the big draw for us are the homemade glazed doughnuts from Bridge Market Café. Tinicum Park is just back over the border into PA and a bit south on Route 32. Younger kids will love the wide fields and swing sets, while older ones can visit the park's Erwin Stover House (215-489-5133), a Revolutionary-era homestead.

Near Lumberville—definitely walk over the footbridge on Route 32, and check out the Lumberville General Store, which dates back to 1770.  If you hit this area mid-day, you should definitely get the burger with special sauce at Dilly's Corner, in Center Bridge on Route 32. It’s pretty epic, and a total local hangout.

 

New Hope and Lambertville 

I’m not a New Hope fan. It’s the kind of town that has the worst of the hippie movement with lots of lame bed and breakfasts, at least that was my impression. However, we loved going to the Nakashima Studio (open house on Saturdays only, 1 to 4:30 p.m.) and exploring the workspace of furniture designer and artist George Nakashima. Clara loved the lovely koi pond out back. In New Hope, we did like Farley's Bookstore for its well-stocked kids' and travel sections, and the novelty items at Uncle Charlie's General Store were cool. We didn’t take a ride on a mule-drawn barge at the New Hope Canal Boat Company (canal open May to October), but we would definitely do this next time. These canals exist because before railroads made canals obsolete, there were 1,000 miles of them in Pennsylvania alone. A trip upriver allows you to experience what life was like 150 years ago. Just over the bridge and into New Jersey, is

Lambertville. The pie at Capa Pizza (77 North Union St., 609-397-7737),  looked great, and we imagined on a future trip that we would play in the shady playground across the street while waiting for it. Instead, we had to hustle to get to the Howell Living History Farm. This 250-year-old farm, run by the state park system, features sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, and horses.

Postcard from Vienna

Our dear friend Ariel was just in Vienna for a quick weekend with her husband Paul and daughter Daphne, visiting their friends who live there. They went to this restaurant called Wetter, and loved it. "Great restaurant that is delicious food and very child friendly in Vienna." 

London: St John Bread and Wine

I already mentioned that we are not only meat-eaters in our family, but my husband has fantasies about opening up his own butcher shop and restaurant. So it makes sense that one of the most exciting restaurants for Matt to go to, is St John, owned by Fergus Henderson. Fergus has a couple of books out, the most popular being Nose to Tail Eating, and while Matt only makes the madeleines out of it, we all appreciate the philosophy behind the book (don't let any part of the animal go to waste). We went to his main restaurant the last trip, and weren't in love with it, but primarily because it was too much of a destination vibe, and had staff that didn't seem to know the menu or the wine list--and if you are going to a proper restaurant, you expect a bit more. St John Bread and Wine is more informal--you can just pop in and buy bread, granola, wine...or you can sit down to a lovely lunch. It's not very expensive (six of us ate and had a bottle of wine and bottled water for 96 pounds), and we got a booking the day before. It's also right across the street from the Spitalfields Market, which we didn't go through, but had it been a rainy day, or had we not been in a crowded market the day before, we would have. Instead, we checkout a cute shop on the perimeter of the market called Albam (men's clothing), and got a nice coffee at Market Coffee House. Oh, and I almost forgot, we had a nice star sighting at St John--Maggie Smith. 

Love the simplicity of this.

There's no kids menu here, so you need to ask alot of questions to figure out what to order for them. We initially ordered the duck egg with potato, but it turned out to have too much horseradish in it. They loved this Middle White Faggot & White Beans (faggot is a meatball that is made with offal).

The duck egg that was unsuccessful for them, but very successful for us.

Celery Hearts and Crozier Blue. Delicious.

Foie Gras and Duck Liver Toast

Spitalfields Market

Albam the men's shop

Christ Church from 1729, across from Spitalfields.

Inside the Market Coffee House, which looked like they had nice pub food and desserts, but the wait for the coffee was forever. It's good to build wait time into your expectations when you are out and about on the weekend.

Sweden Week: Day 5

Since it's my last day posting about Stockholm (yes, I will post about a couple of other places in Sweden, so it isn't "Stockholm Week"), I need to put in some of my favorites that just didn't make it into the other posts.

Favorite restaurant in the world.  P.A.&Co.  Yes, it really is my favorite.  I think I could eat here every night.  I'm not sure why it's so magical, but it is.  In fact, I randomly met a woman at a party who said that she had gone to P.A. with her family (two small kids!), after reading about it in Cookie, and it really made their whole trip.  There's just something about the staff, who are cool, but also super warm...the space is cozy, but not too much...and the food is exactly what I want to eat, no matter what mood I'm in.  There is no set menu, but they have a chalkboard up every night, with what's being served that night, and it's always inspired by what is in season, with influences from Sweden, Asia, the Mediterranean, and the U.S., and others. We had a nettle soup there once that was so good, but I also remember having an outrageous cheeseburger. We always went there with Clara, and the staff was really sweet with her, and she loved whatever we ordered.

Favorite area to walk around: Gamla Stan.  I love the old town. It's pretty small, and we would just meander for hours, in and out of little shops, antique stores, and cafes. Check out the Stockholms Stadsmission, which is their version of the Salvation Army--but they have fantastic Swedish finds, for pretty close to nothing. My husband is going to kill me for telling you that. We ate at this lovely restaurant, Den Gyldene Freden, which is apparently the oldest restaurant in the town, dating back to 1722.

Best shopping for Mom and Dad: Filippa K. I loved this store so much, but maybe now that there's Uniqlo, I wouldn't love it as much. It's very basic, cool, minimal, and chic. Mostly black, grey, navy, and khaki colors. I just read that they've opened a Second Hand store...so that might be worth visiting.

Best shopping for kids: I love Polarn O. Pyret, which I always think is called POP, but it certainly isn't, when you're trying to Google it. I see they now have their line available on a U.S. website, but I still think that going to their shops is great.  They have kid play areas, and they even have stroller ramps in the store. The best thing to get there is their raingear. The Swedes know raingear--get the rainpants, and the raincoat, and get them extra big, so your kids will have it for a long time. I also like their socks. Most of the socks have the little rubber dots on the bottom, so they don't skid. (It's on Hamngaten Rd.)

On My Wish List: Raffles Canouan

I so want to be here right now-- at the Raffles Canouan.  I have friends who have gone twice (with their child), so they must really like it (and have a bigger bank account than I do).  This place is off Barbados, which is a nonstop flight, and then you have to connect to Canouan Island. It has a great kids club (for kids 4-14), a 12,000 square foot pool, and just look at that water.  I imagined it would be so outrageously priced--but I just checked it out (winter and spring breaks are no deal--I was finding rates around $1400 per night including breakfast), and if you go in a less travelled month, like in May (if you don't have school-age kids) , or in the summer, it isn't totally out of reach.  It also helps if you only have one kid like us.  Rates listed for 2 adults and 1 kid were listed starting at $495 including breakfast, but jumped up to $920 for 2 adults with 2 kids.  I am sure you could call if you were really interested, discuss with the manager how the rooms are configured, and work something out that works for you.  Or, you can just look and dream a little dream.

Road Trip Switzerland Part 1

For a completely charming winter wonderland, that will please skiers and non-skiers alike, check out the Waldhaus Sils Maria.  Sils Maria is a small little town that is probably 15 minutes drive from St. Moritz, but the people who go there, most likely never go there.  The Waldhaus is a grand old family hotel, that's been in the same family for 100 years, and gets the same families there for generations.  When we went there, we saw babies with parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.  It's totally family oriented--when we checked in, they were having an early evening party for the kids, with the largest red balloons I have ever seen, floating around the lobby.  There's a lovely indoor pool, and a ski school.  But our favorite part was the horse and carriage ride.  You get picked up right in front of the hotel, and are seated in a carriage that is covered with sheepskins, and then you are covered with huge sheepskin blankets, and whisked away up into the mountains, to a sweet little village, where you sit down for a lovely tea or hot chocolate, or lunch.  We had the most perfect "rosti", which is basically like a perfectly formed circle of hash browns, with an egg on top.  Afterwards, we walked back down the hills, to the hotel, working off lunch. From here I will send you towards Thermalbad Vals, one of the sexiest, yet family friendly, mineral spring hotels.  More later.

Escape From NY-Whiteface Lodge, Adirondacks

This summer we went to the Adirondacks, our first time. It's such a huge area, that I will do several posts about our time there, but for those of you looking for a getaway that might involve skiing, definitely some snow activities, and a perfectly done lodge, I have the place.  Whiteface Lodge is in Lake Placid, which is pretty much in the middle of the Adirondack State Park, which is 6 million acres, and, according to Wikipedia, that's the size of Vermont.  So it's huge. To get to Lake Placid, home of the Winter Olympics of 1980, you should plan about 5 hours--it's 288 miles.  It's straight up the Thruway, which they call the Northway once you hit the Adirondacks.  It's really like you're in a different state, and one that's very far away.  No mini malls.  Lots of businesses that have been family run since the 40s.  No bad developments.  But back to the Whiteface: an Olympic skier who became an entrepreneur, concepted the place, wanting to have a lodge that harked back to the great camps that were so prevalent in the 19th century. It's totally grand in its huge beams and high ceilings, but also very cozy with lots of wood and fireplaces. The rooms are nicely appointed, the beds comfortable, and a family of four could easily fit into a  one bedroom suite, the smallest room, as it has a queen size bed, and a queen size pullout couch.  I just looked online, and they have a winter special, that has a winter rate of $395 per night over the weekend, and that includes breakfast, and all of the amenities they offer.  Now usually, I don't get too excited about those, but listen up: movie theater, game room, indoor and outdoor pool,bowling, ice rink, kids club, complimentary shuttle into town (which has no parking so you will actually use this), free valet...and the best part? They have a washer/dryer in the common area, with complimentary laundry detergent!  I couldn't believe it.  The food at Whiteface is excellent--we loved the breakfasts--granola, eggs, pancakes, waffles, organic yogurts, juices...etc...it isn't a skimpy free breakfast.  We didn't eat lunch there, but dinner was great.  They have a bar area where they have some live entertainment (it was a great singer/guitar player one night, and the next it was a little hokey), and we just got drinks, and a pizza for Clara, from their wood burning oven.  They have a nice menu for kids, which is a step above average--good quality version of the classics.  The wine list was great. And it's in the middle of everything--which you'll read about on the next couple of posts.

Doing The Nutcracker

I love Christmas, and took Clara to see the Nutcracker for the first time last year.  One of the big challenges though, is to figure out the meal situation before you go.  First, remember that the performance is 2 hours and 15 minutes, then plan accordingly. We had a 1pm performance, so we had a fast and delicious chicken soup (with dumplings) at Bouchon Bakery, on the third floor of the Time Warner Center. If you have a 5pm showtime, and you don't have to rush back for bedtime, a really good spot is Landmarc, also in the Time Warner Center.  They have a very extensive kids menu, much of it organic.