Family Fun and Celebrity Sighting at Rissers Beach, Nova Scotia

Our walk near Rissers Beach, Nova Scotia

Weather in Nova Scotia can be unpredictable, but this past weekend we lucked out!  We had planned a family trip to Rissers Beach area to stay in a family friend’s cottage.  It was a 3 bedroom, winterized cottage with views of the ocean and surrounded by farmland, walking trails (and this may sound creepy but…) a beautiful graveyard from the 1800’s.  We went with my husbands parents and his sister, her husband and their daughter.

In the evening before bed and early in the mornings, Nana and Papa took the girls for a walk to find deer and they spotted some each time.  They apples from the trees along the way and loved their time being wrapped up in blankets and carried on their little adventure.  Saturday was warm and sunny.  Warm enough that when we went to the beach, my little bug immediately wanted to get in the water.  She gleefully ran in and out of the waves as if she didn’t even notice that it was freezing cold water!  The first beach we went to was Crescent Beach with white sands that appear to go forever.  It is one of the few beaches in Nova Scotia that you are allowed to drive on.  A few cars were there, and a small plane flew by but didn’t land.  Later there were people horseback riding as well.  One of them looked exactly like Nicole Kidman, but I’ve googled this fact and can’t find any information that she may be visiting this weekend.

Not far down the road is Rissers Beach, with a campground that has sites right on the ocean.  Sites 21,22 are good ones, because they have trees for privacy but are also still on the ocean.  Washrooms are nearby.  In between beaches there are antique stores and a kayak adventure business.  Kayaking would be perfect for families with older children as there are many coves and islands nearby to explore.  A little futher down the road is Petite Riviere where we visited The Maritime Painted Saltbox which was a quaint barn housing paintings, folkart and furniture created by the owners of the property.  There is also a vineyard and a river for fishing in the area.  Green Bay is a road leading along the ocean again, with many cottages for rent.  It offers beautiful scenery and small sandy coves to sunbathe, swim and walk.  This is where we ran across local celebrities, ‘Ricki and Julien’ from the Trailor Park Boys television show and movies.  They were apparently there to celebrate a friends birthday that weekend, but this picturesque setting was far removed from the trailor park we see them in on T.V.!

Overall, I highly recommend this area of the province.  There is lots to do with the kids in nearby towns of Bridgewater and Lunenburg.  On the way home on Sunday, we took the Lahave Cable Ferry across the river and took the scenic lighthouse route back towards Lunenburg.  In October the leaves are brilliant colours of orange, yellow and red.  It is a great time of year if you enjoy hiking and outdoor activities.  Alternatively July and August would be great for a beach holiday.  If you want any more information about the area, feel free to post a comment!

Crescent Beach

Open Farm Day in Nova Scotia

This past weekend, the government of Nova Scotia, Canada, hosted an event called Open Farm Day.

photo courtesy of Nova Scotia Agriculture website.

There were 52 farms across the province participating featuring all different types of farming and various activities planned at each site.  We chose to visit this one.

Farm: Sunni Knoll Farm
Type: Dairy
Host: van de Riet family
Civic Address: 234 Mill Village Road., Shubenacadie
County: Halifax East Hants
Directions: Take exit 10 from highway 102, come to 3 stop signs and turn right at each. Drive approximately 1 km down Mill Village Road until you reach civic number 234

There were lots of activities for the kids at Sunni Knoll Farm! It was a beautiful afternoon, bright sunny and not too hot, not too cold.   As we rounded the bend on approach to the farm, we were overlooking bright green pastures as two horses came bounding along pulling a wagon of laughing kids and parents up and down the rolling hills.  We parked and got out to meet our friends who had been there a few minutes.  A fellow Mom was quick to inform me that she wasn’t sure about the llama, but the farmer taking her around to the kids was worth a second look, so we headed in that direction first!  My daughter wasn’t so sure about petting the llama, but she really enjoyed saying the word over and over again.

Next we went to visit with a goat that a young girl was showing off to the guests.  We thought it must have been pretty cool to have your own goat, and she told us that she actually had 6 goats of her own (and was quite proud of that fact).  I had to make a quick escape from the goat because my ‘little bug’ became fascinated with its rear end and started trying to stick her finger there.  The other adults pretending not to notice as I quickly pulled her away.  Luckily the next area had a bottle of hand sanitizer for public use.

The cows were pretty exciting for all of the kids.  They fed them grass and moo’d back and forth.  The baby calves were also very sweet.  At 4pm they started to milk the cows and you could go in to watch the process.

The cows

I loved this whole experience but was a little disappointed with this because I thought we’d see a demonstration by hand.  I guess that is rarely done these days.  It was all done by machine.  I think the highlight for the kids was the display of antique tractors.  They got to sit on them and pretend to drive and none of them wanted to get off.  There were also chickens to visit and a really neat version of a sand box.  Instead of sand, the box was filled with dried corn (feed) and it had plenty of tractors and farm toys to use to dig around and play.There was some art for sale including traditional hooked rugs and painting exhibits and a BBQ provided by the local Shu-Mil 4-H Club as well.  The trails and the fields made for a beautiful place to take a stroll with some peace and quiet.

All and all it was one of the best afternoons we’ve had in a while.  I will definitely be taking our family to visit some more farms at next year’s event!  It has also inspired me to look into some more fall activities in Nova Scotia and I found a great website for U-pick farms and associated activites.  It lists farms in U.S., Canada and several other countries.  Check it out and let me know if you have any other suggestions for fun fall family outings!

Serious tractor driving going on!

The farm version of a sand box.

Educational Family Travel

There seems to be a new trend in Family Travel and I love it!  It’s Education!  Parents of this generation see travel as an opportunity to provide their children with an education they can’t get in school.  I am excited about the topic of Educational Family Travel because I believe that the insight and education we can acquire from travel is meaningful and enduring in the minds of our children.

I have a number of tips for engaging your children while visiting your destination:

1.  Before your visit, search the local library database, for fiction books that take place at your destination, either past or present.  Tales of adventures in a foreign destination will spark the imagination of your child and create interest in the location.

2.  Involve your children in your family travel planning choices.  I would recommend picking 3 or 4 destinations of choice and collecting some information about each one.  Let your children take a look and tell you what they think looks interesting about each one.  You can even let them have the final pick on which one you go to.  Once they’ve traveled a few times, and done ‘educational trips’ they will likely be more enthusiastic about future trips.

3.  If your child has specific interests, try to combine them with the activity.  For example, if he loves food,  get him excited about the traditional food available at your destination.  If she loves Soccer, bring along a ball to play with in the park after the visit and invite some local children to join in.

4.  Make time for play and creativity during the visit.  If they like to draw, bring crayons and a small art supply kit along, so that they can draw what they see.  For younger children, you can bring play-doh and they can sculpt.

5.  Music makes the world go round!  If you plan to rent a car, find international music, appropriate for your destination on itunes and bring along a CD or i-pod adaptor for the car.  Older children and teens can choose their own music for the personal stereos or MP3 players.

And most importantly!

6.  Make a game out of it.  Make the trip a scavenger hunt!  I have created a the ‘Amazing Family Race‘ for My Little Travel Bug.  Once you know your destination, you can add some more specific challenges to the list.  They can be designed so that your children will need to research, learn and observe while they are away, to be able to complete the list.

I hope these tips are helpful!  If you have specific destinations in mind which you would like me to provide advice on activities etc, I’d be happy to help.

Hit by a Motorcycle, Kicked by a Horse, Attacked by a Monkey

Have you ever watched, ‘Christmas Vacation’ with Chevy Chase? There’s a great line by cousin Ed, that goes something like ” Kicked by a mule, eyes go crossed. Fall down a well, eyes go un-crossed.” There was a day in November 2002, Siem Reap, Cambodia, where my husband and I repeated this over and over, laughing hysterically because that was basically how the day had gone!

Early in the day, we were in a taxi in the city of Siem Reap, when a motorcycle came out of nowhere and ran into the car we were in. The driver of the motorcycle went flew off the bike which skidded across the street. Shocked we started to jump out to see if he was ok, but he just got up, ran to the bike and off he went again. The driver of our taxi seemed indifferent to the event and muttered something like ‘idiot’ and off we went again, on our way to spend the day at the ancient ruins of Angkor.

The entrance to Angkor Wat

The day before, we had a guided tour, so this day was going to be to ourselves to wander around and explore. My husband, Sean, loves animals. I like animals, but have an underlying mistrust for animals, I don’t know. As we walked the path towards Angkor Wat, we admired a horse tied to a stone, in the middle of a grassy field. There didn’t seem to be anybody around with the horse. Sean wandered over and gave the horse a pat. He kept trying to coax me over, to say hello to the horse as well. I said, ‘No thanks-I’ll just watch from here’. He kept insisting that I come, so finally I gave in and headed towards the horse. As soon as I was within 6 feet of the horse, he started to turn around so that his back was to me. Before we knew it, he was winding up for a kick. Sean, was between me and the horse, and our camera bag, was slung across his shoulder and sitting at his waist. The horse connected with the camera and therefore his hip which then slammed him into me and I went flying. We quickly retreated and luckily he was tied. The horse must have sensed that I was uncomfortable. In the end, we were a bit sore but no worse for wear and we continued to explore. Our camera, however did not survive and we had to take the rest of our photos with a disposable camera. (The camera was insured, and I’m sure ‘kicked by a horse’ must have been pretty funny to an insurance adjuster somewhere!).

The horse!

Later in the day, we came across a tribe of monkeys, hanging out on the side of the road. The looked friendly enough and interacted with people at a distance. There was a roadside foodstand not too far away, and my husband spotted some bananas. Jackpot! We bought some bananas to give to the monkeys. Again, I was a bit nervous so I kept my distance. Sean was about 20 feet away, and he squatted down and pulled out the bananas to give to them. I wish I could have captured this on videotape. Probably the most terrified I’ve ever seen him look. One of the friendly monkeys, suddenly beared his fangs (who knew they had fangs?!) and started running at him full speed. Sean jumped up, tossed the bananas and ran for his life! Once a safe distance away the monkey gave up and went back for the bananas.

What a day! Lots of drama, many lessons learned, but not a scratch to show for it. It’s one we won’t forget.

O-O-Mexico!

This James Taylor theme song, keeps playing over and over in my head this week.  All this talk of Mexico and the ’swine flu’ is really only making me reminisce about the lazy pre-parent week we spent on the Mayan Riviera.  It was the end of January 2007 and we were exhausted.  We usually pack our vacations with adventure and sight-seeing but this time all we wanted to do was lay on our beach bed and relax.  We went to the El Dorado Seaside Suites and loved every minute of it.  Our suite had a jacuzzi tub right in the room and our patio stepped out to a soaker pool that was sort of like a moat around the resort.  We were the second row in from the beach but could still see it from our patio.  It was only a 1 minute walk to the beachfront, 3 restaurants, bar and entertainment area and the resort had a very small and cozy appeal to it.  We loved the beach beds.  They were queen size mattresses that swung beneath a thatched roof that you could lounge on while watching the sun set.  Every nook and cranny had one of these beds, even in the bar area.  We watched the evening entertainment while laying back with a glass of wine one evening.  The food on the resort was excellent and you could order all meals a la carte if you wished.  They weren’t the slushy, high sugar drinks that you get at most all-inclusive resorts but the real thing, made for you personally by the bar tenders.  We developed a love of mojitos on this trip and the champagne and orange juice was served all day!  We walked the beach and explored some of the other mammoth resorts, but were always happy we’d chosen our smaller more intimate atmosphere.  We’d also got a great deal on this last minute trip using Selloffvacations.com so that didn’t hurt either.

It is unfortunate that the travel industry in Mexico is taking such a hit with the onset of the H1N1 flu virus.  Canadian and U.S. governments are now advising against any non-essential travel to Mexico and there are reports of cruises and flights being cancelled and many attractions and tourist destinations are closing.  Having said that, would I go to Mexico right now?  Probably not.  Now that I am a parent, I will be following advice and taking the travel advisories seriously.  Let’s hope that the international spread of the virus, will be slowed by this downturn in tourism and that those affected will have a speedy recovery.  In the meantime, everybody should be taking precautions to prevent the spread of infection by using good handwashing techniques, avoidance of coughing and being within 1 meter of those coughing in public and where known cases are occuring, those individuals will stay in isolation.  For those that are traveling through major international gateways, you will need to follow these guidelines carefully and some are even considering wearing N95 masks in these situations.  Individuals that are at high risk, such as young children, elderly and immunocomprimised individuals should avoid situations that could expose them to the virus.  More information can be found on the Canadian Government Website.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? A Book by Thomas Kohnstamm

This title caught my eye when I was perusing the travel section at our local Chapters store.  It is the story of Thomas Kohnstamm, a fellow travel addict that struggles with trying to settle down to a stable job, while the lure of the open road keeps pulling him back out.  He decides that he can’t fight this addiction any longer and makes the transformation to professional travel writer, in order to try and sustain his bohemian lifestyle.  Thomas lands a job as a Lonely Planet Guidebook writer in Brazil and takes the reader on the hilarious journey that results in the kind of Guidebook that you read each time you head off to a new destination.

The cover of the book describes it as ‘A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics & Professional Hedonism’.  If that doesn’t make you want to read on, what would?  If you have ever wondered what it would be like to work for a major travel guidebook company or thought that  it would be a dream come true to have a job that required you to travel and research exotic destinations, then you have to read this book.  As long as you are not offended by the frequent f-bombs, tales of promiscuity and drunken debauchery, it is a really interesting read.  You learn a bit about Brazil while reading about the process of writing a guidebook.  I’ve always been curious about what that would really be like.  Whenever I travel, I always wish that I would meet a guidebook writer so that I could ask some questions.  How much do you get paid?  If the restaurants, bars and hotels don’t know you are a writer, how do you get such detailed information?  Wouldn’t that tip them off?  Do you travel alone all that time?  Is this the best job in the world?  The author answers all of these questions and more.  I would be interested to read a similar tale from a female perspective.  I wonder if all travel writers have the same experience?

I’m not giving the ending away by telling you that he claims that the writers don’t really visit all of the sites listed in the book, nor do they really follow the policy that says they cannot accept anything for free.  Lonely Planet doesn’t actually claim that they don’t take anything for free, they claim the writers don’t accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage.  So…. really they can accept freebies.  I don’t really see anything wrong with this, as long as they really are objective.  I think it would be better to identify yourself as a LP writer because more doors would open up for you and therefore, more doors are opened for its readers.  I would still continue to buy the books, because, even if all the details aren’t exactly right, it gives you a place to start.  I read guidebooks just to decide if the place is the destination I’m looking for and what things I want to try to see and do once I’m there.  I rarely use the restaurant sections because there are always so many to choose from, that there is no need to go searching out the one that millions of other readers have also been to.  Having said that, there will always be a place for a guidebook in my backpack despite the claims of questionable ethics, I’ve always found them to be invaluable.

Argentina: A Themed Staycation

A staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home.

As there are many families going through tough economic times right now, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Staycations.  Even if you can’t afford to go far during your vacation time this year, you can still take the opportunity to make it a fun time for your kids and add a little culture while you’re at it.  Recently, we hosted an Argentinian Wine Tasting Party and I thought why not extend this fun to the whole family and make a week out of it.  I love a theme, so I’ve come up with some ideas so that you can pretend you are visiting Argentina for the week.

Most important thing you need is food. Argentinians love their beef and barbecued meats so stock up.  This recipe for ‘Best Chimichurri Sauce’ was found in House and Home Magazine in August’08.  Chimichurri Sauce is an Argentinian condiment.  I served it with beef tenderloin, barbecued and then thinly sliced, placed on top of fresh bread slices and topped with this garlic and parsley condiment.  It was delicious and easy to make!

For best results, use a mini food processor to turn the aromatics into a paste.

3 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves ( or 1/2 dried)
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
several grindings of black pepper
pinch sugar
2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves ( gently pressed into measuring cup)
1/2 cup olive oil

1. Combine first 10 ingredients in mini food processor and puree to a paste.  Scrape into bowl.
2. Finely chop parsley in food processor.  Add to garlic mixture.
3. Stir in olive oil.  Chill at least one hour (or overnight) before serving with barbecued meats.

Next the family needs to learn to Tango! You can watch instructional videos on youtube such as this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMZDCk6dT6c&playnext_from=PL&feature=PlayList&p=072C38A00E96724B&playnext=1&index=18

Get some roses (real or plastic) for the kids to use as they tango around the room.  You can also find tango music to play on itunes by listening to the Latino radio stations or find music to purchase by typing Argentina tango in the search box.

Greet your kids each morning with ‘Ola Buenos dias’ and say ‘Gracias’ at every opportunity.  Encourage your kids to learn some new Spanish words.  You can find free Spanish lessons on-line at:

www.learnspanishtoday.com/

www.studyspanish.com/

Plan activities that you would normally do on vacation, but near your own home such as hiking, swimming or kayaking.  Before you go, you can watch some videos on Argentina so that you can imagine the scenery while you are there.

Youtube videos:

Ushuaia, Argentina- penguins-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk-FIi0kSKY&feature=related

Buenos aries- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYirXGk9ysI&feature=related

Patagonia- Argentina- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jlOF7Bci8

Iquazu waterfalls-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jlOF7Bci8

Other ideas:

• organize a soccer game with friends and family

• rent some movies based in or about Argentina.  See this list for ideas  http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/11RHHX0TVZUK2

• buy or borrow from the library some children’s books on Argentina http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=Argentina&rh=n%3A4%2Ck%3AArgentina&page=1

• For young children give them a snorkel and mask in the bathtub to find the penguins and seals

• Make craft time all about penguins.  Try some of these ideas! http://familycrafts.about.com/od/penguins/Penguin_Projects.htm

• the adults can sample Argentinian wines all week or host a wine tasting party  (http://www.argentinawineguide.com/), I recommend Don Nicanor blend or Malbec

Do you have any other ideas?  Post a comment and share!

Webinar: The Variety of South Africa

Last week I attended an on-line seminar entitled the Variety of South Africa through GoWay Travel.  It is a destination that I’d love to travel to with my children in the future, so I thought it would be good to find out a bit about the country and options available.  It sounds like it would be a good place to take kids as long as they can handle the long plane ride from North America (17.5 hours from New York) .  I couldn’t imagine doing this with a young child but older children could probably handle it.  Currently South African Airways flies from NY and Washington via Senegal to Johanesburg.  Other alternatives are via London then Johannesburg or flying Emirates to Dubai ( 12.5 hours) and then another 8.5 to Cape Town. 

Once you’ve arrived, there are several game parks to choose from.  The Kruger National Park is the most popular, however you must take anti-malarial medication if you choose this one.   A safari in many of the large game parks, would be thrilling for children of any age but many only accept children over the age of six such as  Manyatta Rock Camp that offers elephant back safaris.   You will see, lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, hippos, zebras,  as well as many bird species.  Some of the parks located near the Eastern Cape and Madikwe region are in a malaria free zone and therefore do not require that you take anti-malarial medication.  Some parks in the Eastern Cape will only accept children age 6 and over but  the lodges and safaris in the Madikwe area are very family friendly, such as Jaci’s Tree Lodge.  Some lodges have packages where the first child stays free. 

In Capetown, Table Mountain stands over the city and can be visited by a revolving cable car.  There are penguins to visit at Cape Point, beaches nearby and lots to see in the city itself.  The Garden route is an area with beautiful countryside and lots of physical activities to do.  There is whale watching, Oudsthorn has ostridges that you can ride and Cango Caves to visit.  St. Lucia Wetlands, further up the coast are a breeding ground for turtles, so if you plan your trip right you may be able to witness this event.

 Overall, this seminar was informative, although ofcourse they were discussing primarily the accomodations which they sell on their site.  The information about the country was good and it was a quick and easy way to get an overview and talk directly to people who’ve been there before.  I’ve booked through this company before as they often have really good deals on long haul flights.  Recently they advertised Buy 1 Get 1 Free tickets from NY to South Africa at $1099 for 2 tickets! ( plus many taxes and surcharges) Still a really good deal.

Do Snakes Eat People? A trip to Little Ray's Reptile Zoo

It’s always exciting when a zoo comes to you!  Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada but this weekend they were doing a show at Exhibition Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  So we gathered up the family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents) and headed out in the freezing rain to see some snakes and alligators.  Our little ‘bug’ and her cousin, who are 12 and 11 months, weren’t quite sure what to make of all of the people.  There were kids and strollers and a lot of comotion, but every once and a while, the crowd would clear and there would be a turtle slowly making his way across the floor.  The $6 entry fee was more than worth the delight we had watching the surprised looks on their faces when they realized that this strange looking creature was moving towards them.  When the turtle lifted his head, you could hear little gasps escaping their mouths and then they’d turn to look us in amazement. 

 The snakes were out and about as well, but it was harder for them to grasp that there was a beginning and an end to these rope like structures around the  zoo keepers neck.  The older kids, however were completely amazed by the  African Rock Python.  The adults learned some interesting facts about snakes.  Do snakes eat people?  Well, pythons can swallow the largest prey of any snakes, but there have only been eight documented cases in history of people bein eaten.  Most of them were farmers or fisherman and they smelled of the prey of the snake.  Another important fact is that snakes are deaf, so if you come across one, there is no use begging for your life.  The snake can’t hear you anyway.  Lastly we discovered that snakes do have a bum and it is called a vent.  So the next time you are looking for a polite way to tell your kids to sit down, you can say, ‘Down on your vent’ and they’ll think this is hilarious. 

Bug had a fun time petting the alligator and watching the ferrets run around their cage.  For some reason she was also drawn to the hawk.  I think it was because it had a lot of expression in its face.  Nana, was brave enough to let the tarantula crawl on her hands, but I luckily missed out on this opportunity.  My only concern with the show, was that they did not have much signage to tell you the facts about the animals.  If we go again next year, I’ll have to brush up on my reptile knowledge before hand so I can answer the many questions I’m sure she’ll be asking by the time she’s two!  Overall, it was  a great way to spend a Sunday with our family!

Small town Mom hits Fashion Week

If somebody else were writing a story about the fact that I attended an event at Fashion Week in New York City, I suspect that is the headline they would use. I have never been anything even close to a fashionista. I could barely stand reading ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ because I thought the main character was absolutely ridiculous and it would infuriate me every time she bought another outrageously priced scarf despite the fact that she was broke. It’s not that I don’t appreciate fine clothing and accessories, it’s just that I am by nature much too cheap to indulge in any piece of clothing more than $100. ( disclaimer: I would however be willing to pay airfare to Asia, to then shop for inexpensive clothing)
Despite, my unwillingness to purchase high end clothing, I was still really excited to attend the Ports 1961 show at Fashion Week in NYC last week.  It was a totally unexpected bonus to our last minute trip to the city.  We stayed with my sister and her boyfriend, Dion Roy to celebrate his 30th birthday.   My sister managed to get tickets to the Ports show from Bob Bland, designer of Brooklyn Royalty clothing.  Thanks Bob!

The first thing we had to do was figure out what to wear to the show.  I hadn’t brought anything dressy with me, so I opted for a pair of black Mexx dress pants, a silky black and white top and a pair of $60 high heels that I bought the night before.  My sister loaned me a vintage purse that belonged to my grandmother and off we went.  When we arrived there was a crowd gathered outside the tents at Bryant Park.  We walked up the steps past the on-lookers and told security we were headed for the Ports show.  Inside there were cameras flashing left, right and center.  People were even coming up and taking pictures of my cheap shoes.  There were people dressed in everything from jeans to purple feather boas.  When it was time to go in, we again were ushered past crowds of people and found our seats.  We watched the photographers granted access snap photos of Olivia Palermo, from ‘The City’ seated a few rows away and facing us from the other side of the runway.  Anna Wintour, the alleged inspiration for the Devil Wears Prada, was also present, wearing large dark sunglasses.  Her expression didn’t change throughout the show and you could not see her eyes, so it was difficult to tell what she thought.

The show itself was short, as models walked the runway to a live band.  The clothes were of course beautiful.  Afterwards we went backstage and watched people talking with the designer, however we really didn’t have much to say so we just wandered around.  All and all, it was an experience, I wouldn’t miss!