Quivertree Family Expeditions October 2012 Newsletter

Dear fellow traveling families,
October's featured destination is fabulous Puglia in Southern Italy!

Incredible towns on the Adriatic

There's no better time than the present to visit fabulous Puglia in Southern Italy! This is a wonderful region for family trips and our trips include biking along country roads and through whitewashed medieval villages, walking, cooking classes (our favorite is a family pizza making class in a real Italian mama's kitchen) and visits to some of the area's beautiful towns. This is one of those untapped areas of the world, a totally authentic part of Italy unlike the big tourist centers of the North. And the weather is excellent all year round!!

In this month's newsletter we have a report from a family trip to Morocco, Philip's Puglian trip reflections and some more of our popular signs seen around the globe.

Philip's family trip to Puglia - a few reflections

Perfect little alleys to get lost in

Puglia, in the heel of Southern Italy's boot, is a classic family destination, a real gem. I spent 4 days there a couple of weeks ago but it so easily could have been weeks. Puglia has a dramatic, beautiful coastline and excellent biking, walking and hiking opportunities. I cycled and explored the biking routes used by our Quivertree families, through olive groves and gorgeous towns, taking in village life on the piazzas while of course enjoying a few cappuccinos along the way. The food itself is a real adventure. Between amazing gelato, to die for focaccia, and an incredible array of pizzas and pastas (the wine's not bad either), the problem is only when to stop eating! This completely authentic Italian region has the most sparkling white towns, either perched high on hilltops or on the sea with great medieval walls enclosing their oldest areas. These towns are mazes of winding alleys which are a joy to get lost in. And Puglia is an excellent value for money destination. Right now, I cannot think of a better place to take your family for your next trip. In fact, I'm planning to take my own family in the next few months!

Gelato really is as good as they say

I took a cycling break on a country road

A Quivertree family just back Morocco reports

In the amazing Djema el Fna, Marrakech

Sarah, Todd and their kids Tess, Adam and Laine recently returned from a Quivertree trip to Morocco. Here is their report:

Quivertree Family Expeditions put together an incredible itinerary for us as we undertook an epic tour across Morocco this spring with our kids aged 8, 10 & 11. The kids wanted to see camels and the adults wanted to see the architecture and we managed to see it all, and then some! We were in such good hands with our guide Mustafa and our driver Mohammed. Morocco was a truly magical experience for our family - from the lovely hotels, to the beautiful natural wonders to the yummy food. The definite highlight of the trip was the camel trek in the Erg Chebbi dunes and the night we spent out in the desert in the deluxe tent. Not even the raging sandstorm that was happening around us could detract from the beauty of this place and the amazing tent experience that we shared.

Incredible camel trek in the desert

Other highlights were Ait Ben Haddou where our guide introduced us to an old woman who lived in this UNESCO protected fortified village and showed us how she and her family lived, and our night at the foot of Mount Toubkal in the High Atlas Mountains where we stayed in a restored Berber fortress and hiked accompanied by our very own mule in case the kids got tired! There's something for everyone in Morocco and since the time zone is the same as London, England, getting there is easy - just leaving was hard as we wanted to stay longer!

Moroccan sandstorm - an unforgettable experience!

Notes, tips and observations

We're now offering family trips to China. See our website for details!

http://quivertreeworld.com/china.php

We're all guilty of buying souvenirs at some stage while traveling. Here's a gallery of some really bad ones!

http://www.gadling.com/photos/crap-souvenirs-0/5352646/#5352646

While we're traveling with our kids, we're always on the lookout for that special treat. Here's National Geographic's Top 10 places to eat ice cream worldwide.

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/ice-cream-parlors/

For our Top Ten Travel Tips, click on the link:

http://quivertreeworld.com/pdf/Quivertree-Top10-TravelTips.pdf

And finally a few photos that represent the surprises and joys of traveling. First, we know they love their motorbikes in Vietnam but this is getting ridiculous.

motorbike