Herb Lester Maps and Guides

How to Find Old LA

Herb Lester, I think I love you.  At least, I am head over heels for your fabulous maps and guides.  While not strictly for parents or children, these charming little guides highlight particular shades of each city that can work for all ages - for example, the Los Angeles guide is titled "How to Find Old LA"and directs you to "glittering 1920s movie palaces, down-and-dirty bars, ballrooms, diners and pizza joints." Now, you really should avoid taking your child to a "down-and-dirty bar" - but a 1920s movie palace and old-school diner might be just the ticket.

Paris for Pleasure Seekers

Another guide - "It's Nice to Be Alone in Paris" - is certainly directed at the solo traveler rather than the traveller with offspring in tow.  But don't despair - there is also "Paris for Pleasure Seekers" - this one sounds rather adult but includes spots like "belle epoque restaurants, opulent cinemas, and beatnik bookshops", as well as where to find macaroons.  All useful information for the imaginative parent.

With the Madrid map as our guide, "from the relative safety of cable car we gaze down at the vast expanse of the Casa de Campo, explore shops selling gloves, campling gear, old postcards and espadrilles, visit an abandoned station and one with its own forest." I'm not sure whether it's a station or a shop with it's own forest; either one sounds intriguing.

Herb Lester's European Vacation and American Vacation

Coast to Coast Christmas Gift Set

An East London Companion

There is an emphasis on London and New York City maps, but there are maps for Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin. You can even subscribe to the series - Herb Lester will mail you each new map as it is published.  I can't think of a more perfect gift for the sophisticated traveller in your life (perhaps this person is you!).

Summer Museum Exhibits

My son’s tolerance for museums varies.  He can spend hours and hours at a place with hand-on components – especially if they involve water.  He has almost no interest in rooms filled with paintings, although sometimes I try to prolong our stroll with a little game of I Spy – he gets a little exposure to the art and I get a few extra minutes to gaze.  I would love to take him to the following exhibits, happening this summer around the world – I think he’d enjoy them for a reasonable amount of time, and I would too!

The Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris is hosting an exhibit on that personable elephant beloved by children the world over, Babar.  The exhibit will feature original artwork as well as artifacts and runs through September 2, 2012.

In California, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is showcasing this amazing sculpture:

 Metropolis II by Chris Burden

Created by the artist Chris Burden, Metropolis II is an exquisitely planned jumble of miniature roads and railways, with actual tiny vehicles zipping along.  We’ve seen plenty of model railroads in our day, but nothing like this.  While you’re there, you can’t miss the La Brea Tar Pits, located at the Page Museum right next door.  This amazing museum features over a million Ice Age fossils, with an active on-site dig recovering more fossils all the time.  Children can watch paleontologists at work and explore the Pleistocene garden – a landscape that recreates the Los Angeles of 10,000 – 40,000 years ago.

Yayoi Kusama isn’t exactly a children’s artist, but her work often has an undeniably child-like appeal.  I’d love to take my son to her upcoming retrospective at the Tate Modern in London and see what he thinks.  You’ll have to act fast on this one – the exhibit runs only though June 5, 2012. 

The Passing Winter by Yayoi Kusama

At the Queensland Art Gallery in Australia in 2011, Kusama installed the "The Obliteration Room," a domestic scene painted entirely white.  Over the course of two weeks, nearly every surface was covered by colored dot stickers, given to children to place where they wished.  Amazing!

The Obliteration Room By Yayoi Kusama

Another exhibit happening this summer at the Queensland Art Gallery really invites the participation of kids.  Artist Fiona Hall’s project “Fly Away Home” deals with the worlds of humans and birds, as well as issues of migration and the environment.  Children can contribute by making a bird and nest of their own from paper money designed by Hall.  The exhibit runs through September 16, 2012.

I've never planned a trip solely around a museum exhibit - but I can see doing so for the right exhibit.  I'm still sorry I missed the Alexander McQueen show at the Met last year!  I may try to catch the show on Jean-Paul Gaultier at San Francisco's De Young Museum this summer - I think my son would go for it, and when we're done, we can stroll over to one of his favorite playgrounds right there in Golden Gate Park.  Everybody wins!