We have just received a new crop of Insight Travel Guides for locations as diverse as London and Guatemala. These books are highly visual guides featuring historical and cultural background, as well as practical information and expert recommendations for hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops. As well as the regular guidebooks, we have received their step by step guides for Paris and Ireland.

Lavishly illustrated in full color, Insight Paris Step by Step: The City's Best Walks and Tours features irresistible self-guided walks and tours, written by a local expert and packed with great insider tops. All walks and tours come with easy-to-follow full-color maps and handpicked places to eat and drink en route.

Ireland Step by Step: the Country's Best Walks and Tours features beautiful photography while offering 16 self-guided regional and urban tours. It is compact and easy-to-carry with maps and directions.

We also have these step by step guidebooks for many other locations such as New England, Venice, San Fransisco and Prague. These books are great companions to take if you are planning to go tripping. They are also a great read for the armchair traveller.

Looking for a great winter staycation. Why not visit Jasper in all its snowy glory?

I visited Jasper on the long weekend in September for the first time in many years and was blown away by the beautiful drive up the Icefields Parkway. It must be that much more beautiul now with the snow on the mountains.

Think about downhill skiing at the Marmot Ski Resort, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, ice skating on a frozen lake, winter hiking and even dog sledding. There's lots to see and do, including Maligne Canyon, beautiful in summer and winter.

To find out about visiting Jasper in the winter, visit Calgary Public Library and check out some of our great guidebook.

Frommer's British Columibia and the Canadian Rockies is also available as an eBook.

We also have a DVD, Jasper National Park: 360 Degrees of Inspiration which has beautiful footage of the park, its people and its spectacular landscapes.

The Maligne Canyon ice walk offers a chance to see frozen waterfalls and fanciful ice formations. The Jasper tourism site lists the tour companies which will guide you through this frozen wonderland.

Jasper in January is the annual winter festival, taking place from January 14 - 30, 2011. There are many fun activities, including the Annual Polar Bear Dip at Lake Edith.

Jasper, a winter paradise!!

Jolly Young England

Grandma, Mom and Simon, age 8, went to London, England in the springtime. Being a librarian’s child meant lots of reading beforehand for Simon! Here are some of our favourites which are all available at Calgary Public Library.

Frommer’s guides have sections for kids’ top attractions. In the case of London, they have a guidebook aimed at families, with attractions rated and suggested itineraries. Frommer’s London with Kidsby Rhonda Carrier helped us find a good place to stay.

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London by Betany Toht is a 60 page kids’ information book with excellent pictures. It gave us an historical timeline so Simon could understand the buildings he was seeing.

So many children’s’ books are set in London that it’s hard to pick a best novel. Perhaps you might reread a favourite from your childhood together. Simon picked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. There are London walking tours for the most devoted Rowling fans.

In the picture book section, you can find Will’s Quill, or How a Goose Saved Shakespeare by Don Freeman. The watercolour paintings show London in the 1500’s, and would be a good introduction if you planned on touring the rebuilt Globe Theatre.

Adults may want to watch the recent Sherlock Holmes DVD with Robert Downey Jr. Even if you don’t like the action-filled story, the London sets are incredible. (Sherlock Holmes (DVD)] Warner Home Video, 2009)

Simon’s favourite London activities:

· Listening to the kids’ audio tour at the British Museum. Mummies, Greek statues, Easter Island heads, strange little chess pieces, gold hoards, and a fake crystal skull!

· Visiting Hamleys - an entire department store of toys! Simon’s reaction? “I need a little alone time with Grandma!”

· Taking the train to Windsor for the day to visit Legoland.

· The Imperial War Museum has displays geared to kids, and a great bookshop. Simon bought The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tipsby Michael Morpurgo, and devoured the novel about a cat evacuated from his home on the south coast of England as preparations were made for the D-Day invasion.

· We saved the London Eye observation wheel for last so we could point out all the places we had been. Take a peek in the Queen’s backyard!

New York, New York

New York is a direct flight away in the warm months, so we went on a family trip with Grandma and Grandpa. To ease Simon through all the museums the adults wanted to visit, I put red dots on our New York City map with the location of all the toy stores. The carrot for this trip would be little boxes of single Playmobil soldiers!

Our first stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We did our homework, focusing on finding artifacts that would appeal to a 7 year old boy. A chariot, William the Egyptian hippo, paintings of martyred saints, a temporary exhibition of Jeff Koons balloon animal sculptures, and a visit to the restaurant eased us through two visits. Simon’s favourite part was the rooftop sculpture garden with its views over Central Park. He took art photos of the pigeons while we drank lemonade.

Girls might want to read From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg before they visit. Claudia and her younger brother run away from home and live in the Met Museum while they solve a mystery. Simon read many picture books before we visited. Can you find it?by Judith Cressy and Can you hear it? : listen and look, more than 40 details in 26 works of art & musicby William Lach are both full of Metropolitan art that will help prepare for the visit.

Central Park Serenadeby Laura Godwin is a lovely picture book about visiting the popular park. The paintings are full of light and colour, and got us excited about visiting. Wow! City! by Robert Neubecker is a large picture book with exuberant illustrations. A little girl travels to New York with her dad and is amazed by all the people. 0786809515

The hilarious Penguins of Madagascar cartoon DVD stars four madcap penguins that live in the Central Park Zoo.

Simon’s favourite activities:

· The American Museum of Natural History with rooms for every possible interest. Watch the DVD Night at the Museum first!

· Taking the Staten Island ferry past the Statue of Liberty

· Street vendors- hot dogs, pretzels, even classic shaved ice

· Toys stores, of course. FAO Schwartz at the bottom of Central Park, and the Toys R Us in Times Square.

Kari

OK, I’ll admit it: I’m a snob. Why would I want to visit a replica of the Eiffel tower when I’ve been to the real one?

Vegas is full of replicas! Everything is fake – from the Sphinx to the Coliseum, to the Elvis(es) that troll the strip. But, having accepted this tacky truth, I was ready to go and have fun. And I sure did!

Is Vegas my favourite travel destination? Alas, no. But it’s hot, uninhibited, and only 2 and a half hours from Calgary. Best of all: Vegas has something for all ages and preferences. There’s so much more than Blackjack!

Here are some of my “crib” notes. Enjoy!

Accommodations:

I stayed at the Luxor. Although it’s not quite as far north on Las Vegas Blvd as I would have liked, it was still easy to walk to the other hotels and spots of interest on the famed “strip”. With restaurants, night clubs, a casino, pools and a spa all under one (giant, black, pyramid-shaped) roof, there was hardly any reason for me to leave the hotel. I stayed from Sunday to Friday, and was able to get a stellar rate - $39 per night! However, if I had stayed on a Friday or Saturday night, the rate would have increased at least three-fold.

Entertainment:

Rollercoaster! I rode the rollercoaster at New York New York, and I have to say that it’s really not as scary as it looks. In fact, my sister, an avid rollercoaster rider, used the term “lame” to describe it. While I wouldn’t go that far, I would say that with only one upside-down loop, its fear factor is somewhere between the "Mindbender" at West Edmonton Mall, and an actual cab ride in NYC.

Zumanity! I’d never seen a Cirque Du Soleil show before, and now I’m a huge, huge fan. Zumanity is marketed as the “sensual side of Cirque”, but it was that and much more. I whole-heartedly recommend it for both singles and couples. Guaranteed to spice up your trip! There’s no need to buy tickets in advance. Save money by buying them (sale priced!) on the strip. I bought my ticket a few hours before the show and was able to get a fabulous seat.

Shopping! Skip the Miracle Mile. I checked it out, and found that most of the stores there are also at my local mall, here in Calgary. Instead, head to the outlets. There are great brands, and really great prices. However, if you’re not planning on leaving the strip, then check out Ross. Imagine a Winners store, but with better brands and lower prices. 5 new pairs of shoes is my testament to the fact that the sales are tremendous (ask me about my teal Ralph Lauren loafers)!

Stripper 101! The upside: an authentic Vegas stripper – er, uh, “entertainer” – told me that I had a great swagger. The downside: I spent the remainder of my vacation with bruises lining my knees, inner thighs, and forearms. The verdict: yes, spend the $40 for an hour of instruction, but go easy! Pole dancing (as I’ve discovered) actually is hard work.

Vegas truly does have something for everyone. If you’d like to know more about Vegas or any other travel destination, visit your local library branch. We’ve got guidebooks, maps, DVDs and more!

Katherine