Sarah Engler, Associate Editor

I recently went on a behind-the-scenes tour with the creative director of Disney Cruise Lines and a handful of other journalists to see what's in store for families next summer. One new port city will be St. Petersburg, and along with the glitzy onion-domed palaces and ballet, we had lots of Russian cuisine on our agenda.

My favorite dish was this Herring Under Fur Coat (yes, the name alone scored points) that we had at Sadko during our last lunch. Made up of layers of beets, potatoes, herring, egg, and onions, it's like the slightly healthier transatlantic cousin of 7-layer dip. And I have to say, it was surprisingly delicious. Find out how to make it here, and be sure to keep an eye out for more about Disney Cruise's new ports in our December/January 2010 issue.

Sarah Engler, Associate Editor

We just heard about a fantastic way to get a free trip this summer. If you upload a video explaining why you love Charleston by July 9, you could win one of five family vacation packages. To find out why we love the city, check out our guide.

Sativa Peterson, contributor

When I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I booked a two-week trip to Italy (Rome and Tuscany) several months ahead of time, so that by the time we actually traveled, our baby five months old. How daring and naive that we weren't even parents yet and there we were planning our first "family" vacation. Who knew what it would be like to travel with an infant? Not us, that's for sure.

The weeks prior to the trip--long after the baby had arrived--we had an inkling as to the chaos we were in for, and we were filled with apprehension. You can imagine our delight, then, when we discovered that a carrying around a cute little baby in Italy is like having a special hall pass; you can tour the country as no regular tourist can.

Elizabeth Lepine, Totntow

Jeff (my husband) and I just got back from celebrating our anniversary in the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania.  Wanting to flee the city clamor and immerse ourselves in nature and adventure, we chose to stay at the 1280-acre historical estate called the Lodge at Glendorn.  This luxury adventure resort proved to be a perfect hideaway.  

Glendorn's forest grounds are exquisite. The wild landscape is wild enough to feel like you're truly in nature, but tame enough to navigate the trails, streams and lakes (that are chock-full of rainbow and brown trout).  On our many meandering walks throughout the vast resort, we felt like we were the only ones on the grounds. And there was an enchanting sense, in large part due to the retro decor of cabins, that we were in another time entirely.

During the day, we kept busy, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, canoeing, and lying like cats by the lake.  We didn't sit long enough to get a massage or facial or hit the game room with its billiards and board games. but we did eagerly await the freshly baked cookies that were replenished every night in the jar by our bed. Those and the monogrammed sheets were incredibly soothing at the end of our adventurous days.

Yolanda Edwards, Travel & Lifestyle Editor 

We have a place in a teeny tiny hamlet (by definition that means it's a village that is so small it doesn't even have a church) in Sullivan County, and just over in the next 'town', Fremont Center, they have possibly the cutest Memorial Day Parade ever. It was actually its 125th anniversary this year!  All the locals and weekenders come out for it, lining up their chairs along the route, which ends at the ball field.  Of course there is a local band, lots of hot dogs, and super friendly people...and the parade?  Its just so sweet.  There are military, firemen, school bands, hot rods, you name it, they all come out.  It's so worth a weekend up there, and if you do go, I like to recommend staying at the The Golden Guernsey to people.

Abby Fetter, Contributor
Even though the adventure-filled city is geographically spread out, it’s easy to navigate and get around. The cabs are clean, fairly inexpensive and lined up at stations around the city. Also low-cost is the Bus Tursitic. It’s veeeeery slow, which could be good (if you want to people watch and take in the candid action on the street) or not-so-good (if you have to be somewhere). We hopped on and off a few times to give our wobbly legs a break and catch some sights from the top deck. Here are three must-dos with children in the thriving Catalonian city...

Tibadabo:
The quaint funfair on the Tibadabo mountaintop (featured in Vicky Christina Barcelona) offers a host of kiddie rides (a kitschy wild-wild-west mini-train, spinning pots of slime, a Ferris wheel, and, the crowd-favorite, a carrousel). There are also stunning view of the city below, which Mom and Dad ate up. Perched on the edge, the merry-go-round gave the effect that your horse could fly out over the city if it magically came to life.

There are two ways to get to Tibadabo - by cab (our choice) or by a combination of funicular blue trams that’ve been operating since the 19th century. We took the funicular down and then walked down the steep incline along the tram tracks. (Note: We went on a weekday that was early in the season, so there were no crowds.)

Abby Fetter, Contributor
After taking our daughters (ages 6 and 2) to Barcelona over spring break, we would tell any family with younger kids (or older ones, for that matter) to go in a heartbeat. We found numerous sights that struck the rare balance that's so key when traveling with children: entertaining enough to consume them AND culturally stimulating for Mom and Dad.

We spent Easter Sunday in Barri Gòtic, Barcelona's medieval city center. After watching rings of people dance the saldana in the square outside of the cathedral, we wandered the cobblestone nooks and crannies. Our next stop was the Museu d'Historia de la Cuitat, where the awesome subterranean ruins of the Roman city Barça are. As we meandered through the dark and dank spaces, we saw vats that once stored the a fermented fish paste that was famous throughout the ancient world as well as mosaic floors that predated Modernisme's trencadis by nineteen hundred years. Because the elevator to the basement ruins started with a 2009 digital readout that ticked through the decades to reached 11 A.D., our six-year-old thought we had truly traveled back in time. She couldn't believe her good fortune. And neither could we!

When we emerged from the museum back onto the, er, present day (April 12th), we watched performers in traditional costumes take turns dancing the dances of their Spani

sh regions in the courtyard.

The Basque region dancers looked pretty hot in their fur vests with enormous cowbells hanging off their backs.

Yolanda Edwards, Travel & Lifestyle Editor

If you have a trip planned out west, check out this food blog which has a really helpful kid friendly restaurant section...she also links to a lot of other L.A. Sites, that will help you in mapping out your trip.