- Welcome Message and select excerpts of our first year blog
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- Tid bits-travel advice from our readers in 100 words or less
- Autistic Travels' Golden Rules
- Guidelines for travel agents
- Autisticals-a personal view of autistic travel
- US 10 best in
- The 10 best of Boston
- The best 10 of Hilton Head,South Carolina
- The 10 best of New York
- The 10 best of Alaska
- The 10 best of Texas-San Antonio and Galveston
- The 10 best of Santa Fe and the surroundings
- The 10 best of Arizone-Grand Canyon
- The 10 best of Colonial Williamsburg,Jamestown and surroundinds
- The 10 best of Washington D.C.
- The 10 best of Las Vegas
- The 10 best of Boston
- International 10 best
- Mini autisticals- the darnest travel stories you'll hear
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- Collector's Corner-How did these travel trinkets become a collection
- Recommended products
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- Monthly news roundup
- Interviews
- Q&A with Jackie Longino founder of Aspietravel
- Q&A with Tal managing director of ALUTEVA-autistic hotel in Israel
- Eva Bronstein-Greenwald-special needs travel agent and founder of We Belong
- Q&A with Trip it's
- Q&A with David Intercontinental Tel Aviv
- Keri Bowers- film producer of 'Normal people scare me'
- Jamie Grover-Autism on the seas
- Peter Shears
- Clive-guide dog extraordinaire
- John Brown of 'Devyn and Dad' -an inspirational adventure across the United States
- Rose Niehaus Olsen Morris inventor of the safety sleeper bed
- Annette White,counselor for Camp Autism
- Colin Brennan-Canada's new singing sensation
- Dennis Debbaudt-autism safety expert
- Gisela Sedlmayer- author of 'Talon'
- Q&A with Jackie Longino founder of Aspietravel
- Inspirational travel stories by our guest writers
- Danette Schott's-Revisiting family vacations
- Brian R. King-Meltdown at the airport
- Joy's visit to the Aquarium
- Denise Klipsic-An incredible encounter with Princess Tiana
- Tanya Savko- Hope on a river
- Tiffany Robison-Great Wolf Lodge
- Fiona Westner Ramsay -Making-room-for-autism-in-your-canoe
- Laura Shumacher-Traveling with autism: a true story
- Phyllis Fanzo Lombardi-s -Vacation Time with Joey
- Kristina Chew-18 Miles On the Bikes At the Beach
- Jeff Katz-Chicago
- Margaret Ann Franklin's visit to the Great Northern Carousel in Helena Montana
- Claire Sarcone-Chessington the aspie way
- Elaine Hall-Tips for summer vacation
- Steve LHeureux -Autism "Outings" need to be planned and appropriate
- Kelly Green-The Gardens of Gilroy
- Wolfie Blue-Tips I learnt by traveling with my family
- Gluten free Disney cruise experience
- Danette Schott's-Revisiting family vacations
- North,Central and South America-pictures,videos and AG's tips
- Arizona,The Grand Canyon
- Alaska Cruise-USA and Canada
- Florida,Orlando-Universal Studios-looking for Harry Potter
- Florida,Orlando-Macy's mini parade in Universal Studios
- Florida-Everglades Park ,Miami,Key West
- Hawaii's big island with a glimpse of Pearl Harbor
- Louisiana,New Orleans-French Quarter,Christmas Parade,Nanchez Steamboat
- Louisiana,New Orleans-in the footsteps of Katrina,Garden district
- Massachussetts-Boston ,New England Coastal towns of NH and Maine
- New York-NYC
- New Mexico-Santa Fe and Bandoliers National Park
- Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
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- Canada-Niagara Falls,Montreal,Quebec,Toronto
- Caribbean-Bahamas- the Atlantis resort
- Caribbean-Castaway Cay-Disney's bahamian paradise
- Caribbean-Roatan,Honduras>
- Caribbean-Grand Caymans-Hell,Turtles,Wild Hens and Stingrays>
- Mexico-Cabo San Lucas(Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Puerta Vallarta (Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Acapulco and Manzanillo
- Mexico-Mazatlan(Mex Riviera)
- Mexico-Playa del Carmen's Xcaret eco park>
- Mexico-Tulum and XelHa Eco Park
- Yucatan,Mexico- Chichen Itza,Cozumel's Paradise Beach
- Arizona,The Grand Canyon
- Europe,Asia,Australia and New Zealand,Cruise ships-pictures,videos and AG's tips
- Australia-Sydney and Melbourne
- Austria-Salzburg
- Belgium-Antwerp ,Brussels
- Canary Islands-Lazarote
- Croatia-the walled town of Dubrovnik
- Denmark-Copenhagen
- France-Normandy's D day beaches>
- France- Cannes,Nice,Eze
- France-Paris
- Finland,Helsinki
- Germany-Munich,Dachau
- Germany-Romantic Road
- Ireland-Dublin
- Ireland -Cork,Blarney,Kinsale>
- N. Ireland-Belfast>
- N. Ireland's Giant Causeway
- N.Ireland-Carrick -a -Rede-rope bridge>
- Italy-Venice,Pompeii,Rome
- Italy-Florence,Messina and Taoramina
- Israel-Jerusalem>
- Israel-Masada and the Dead Sea>
- Israel-Tel Aviv>
- Morocco-Casablanca
- New Zealand-Rotarua
- New Zealand-Fjord Park,Dunedin,Christchurch
- New Zealand - Auckland and sheep farm
- The Netherlands-Amsterdam,Delft,The Hague,Rotterdam,Madurodam
- Sweden-Stockholm and the Archipelago
- Russia-St Petersburg's Palaces
- Scotland-Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh
- Scotland-Edinburgh>
- Scotland-Inverness>
- Scotland-Loch Lommond,Luss,Sottish sheep show>
- Spain-Barcelona
- Spain-Cadiz and Seville
- Spain-The Alhambra Palace,view of Malaga
- Tasmania-Hobart
- UK-Liverpool and the Beatles>
- UK-London>
- UK-Stonehenge,Bath,Warwick Castle,Stratford on Avon,Oxford
- UK-Guernsey>
- Carnival -Legend
- Aboard the Carnival Legend
- Carnival -Ecstasy
- Carnival- Fascination
- Carnival Spirit
- Celebrity-Century
- Crown Princess>
- Sapphire Princess
- Royal Caribbean-Brilliance of the Seas
- Royal Caribbean-Mariner of the Seas (parades)
- Royal Caribbean- Mariner of the Seas
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- Monthly guest's -Travel videos and pictures
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Dining at Maze,London
One of our family's favorite things to do when traveling around the world is discovering and sampling new foods and locales. Over the years we have created our own mini list of 'the best ', as well as less pleasant lists of the worst of and never again counterparts .However, what started as an educational attempt on our part to expose our kids to cultural diversity took a life of its own in today's world bombarded by chef reality TV and demonstration cooking shows. As the boys grew older, they started insisting on compiling their own restaurant bucket list; like Paula Deene's Lady and Sons in Savannah or Emeril's in NOLA, because as Jeff eloquently put it if they have a TV show they must have cooked something good in their lifetime.
Thank goodness he did draw the line at following Andrew Zimmern!.
So, it seemed quite natural, on our latest visit of London, to focus on 'Hell's kitchen's maestro himself, Gordon Ramsey. We chose to stay at the centrally located converted Victorian townhouse, Grovesnor Square Marriott, not for its well appointed and quiet family rooms, but because of the hotel's Ramsey owned restaurants, the Michelin-starred Maze started in 2005, and the more relaxed Maze Grill launched in 2008.
After sampling and thoroughly enjoying the Maze Grill’s different steaks along with freshly made salads and pastas , we decided it was time to upgrade and dine in the hotel's main restaurant Maze .We made a reservation for a laid back late Sunday afternoon lunch, when we were told there would be less patrons present .Upon arrival ,we were allocated ample time to admire the modern looking leather and wood decor as the restaurant had effectively lost our reservation even after I showed the manager, the hostess’ hand written confirmation card , clearly stating our reservation date and time. With that finally sorted out ,I still had to have a lengthy unpleasant 'chat' with him to reiterate multiple times the medical reasons why my special needs son could not abide by the restaurant's required attire.
Once seated, it took another half hour to place the orders, and when one of us asked about a certain ingredient in a specific dish, the server just muttered she'll be back soon and vanished for an unspecified period of time. Matters did not improve any during the course of our meal, as orders were confused, served out of sync and the staff did a poor job verbally presenting the dishes that did arrive at our table.
Luckily we were seated in close proximity to the large glass enclosed kitchen, and managed to entertain ourselves by watching the kitchen staff turn the different miniature plates into detailed edible works of art. The dishes we sampled, four each were adequately prepared, with the exception of my duck dish that felt like it had drowned in a bucket of salt. By the time I did managed to flag down our elusive server and complain, my family members had already completed their dessert and left .A redone duck was eventually brought back to my table with no attempt at an apology for the lack of quality or extra wait. Obviously the staff's rude behavior affected and impacted our meal, but whether that was connected or not in any way to my pre-lunch encounter with the manager, we’ll never know.
Maze is clearly not the place to come hungry and leave happy with their bite size portions and sporadic service, but more of a see and be seen type of hyped place. Nevertheless Jeff, when asked, was glad to have been able to scratch it off his bucket list. His only noteworthy comment about the experience was’ Ramsey must have needed staff hired fast for this restaurant and did not train them as well as he does to his subordinates on TV’, a thought I definitely concur with. His recommendation as well as mine, for a good meal do try Maze's more unassuming sibling -The Maze Grill.
Thank goodness he did draw the line at following Andrew Zimmern!.
So, it seemed quite natural, on our latest visit of London, to focus on 'Hell's kitchen's maestro himself, Gordon Ramsey. We chose to stay at the centrally located converted Victorian townhouse, Grovesnor Square Marriott, not for its well appointed and quiet family rooms, but because of the hotel's Ramsey owned restaurants, the Michelin-starred Maze started in 2005, and the more relaxed Maze Grill launched in 2008.
After sampling and thoroughly enjoying the Maze Grill’s different steaks along with freshly made salads and pastas , we decided it was time to upgrade and dine in the hotel's main restaurant Maze .We made a reservation for a laid back late Sunday afternoon lunch, when we were told there would be less patrons present .Upon arrival ,we were allocated ample time to admire the modern looking leather and wood decor as the restaurant had effectively lost our reservation even after I showed the manager, the hostess’ hand written confirmation card , clearly stating our reservation date and time. With that finally sorted out ,I still had to have a lengthy unpleasant 'chat' with him to reiterate multiple times the medical reasons why my special needs son could not abide by the restaurant's required attire.
Once seated, it took another half hour to place the orders, and when one of us asked about a certain ingredient in a specific dish, the server just muttered she'll be back soon and vanished for an unspecified period of time. Matters did not improve any during the course of our meal, as orders were confused, served out of sync and the staff did a poor job verbally presenting the dishes that did arrive at our table.
Luckily we were seated in close proximity to the large glass enclosed kitchen, and managed to entertain ourselves by watching the kitchen staff turn the different miniature plates into detailed edible works of art. The dishes we sampled, four each were adequately prepared, with the exception of my duck dish that felt like it had drowned in a bucket of salt. By the time I did managed to flag down our elusive server and complain, my family members had already completed their dessert and left .A redone duck was eventually brought back to my table with no attempt at an apology for the lack of quality or extra wait. Obviously the staff's rude behavior affected and impacted our meal, but whether that was connected or not in any way to my pre-lunch encounter with the manager, we’ll never know.
Maze is clearly not the place to come hungry and leave happy with their bite size portions and sporadic service, but more of a see and be seen type of hyped place. Nevertheless Jeff, when asked, was glad to have been able to scratch it off his bucket list. His only noteworthy comment about the experience was’ Ramsey must have needed staff hired fast for this restaurant and did not train them as well as he does to his subordinates on TV’, a thought I definitely concur with. His recommendation as well as mine, for a good meal do try Maze's more unassuming sibling -The Maze Grill.