Report from L.A. (part one)

My wife would love to bring our boys, ages 11 months and 3 years, to Europe. That is, until I remind her of how difficult the trip would be. The flight, of course, could be a nightmare. We're normally pretty exhausted chasing the kids around, and jet lag could push everybody over the edge. And then when we got to Spain or Italy or wherever, it would be tough for all of us to stay in a reasonably priced hotel room and actually get some sleep. Figuring out hotels that would be child-friendly is difficult in the U.S., let alone overseas. Until now, that is. A couple of interesting new websites focus on family-friendly hotels and resorts in Europe. CiaoBambino.com specializes in Italy, and also has some recommended properties in France and England. The site, run by a couple in California, lists everything that a mom would want to know -- not only if the place has cribs and highchairs, but also how level the grounds are around the hotel (if it's on a big hill, you'll never be able to put your toddler down), not only if there is a pool, but if there is a gate and a fence for the pool, and how high the fence is. The site also details activities in the area from horseback riding to cooking schools, and what ages the activities are right for. BabyFriendlyBoltHoles.co.uk lists resorts, hotels, and ... ...self-catering cottages, mostly in the U.K., and with a handful of properties in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Just about every property has kitchens and extra-big rooms that are perfect for families, and with one click parents will be able to find out if the property offers babysitting, tricycles, sandboxes, trampolines, and more. Of course, you'd be able to find all of these details by hunting on your own (and perhaps e-mailing the owners with your questions), but it sure is nice to have someone else do the homework for you. And while I can't exactly say I'm ready to bring our two sons to Europe just yet, I'm certainly closer than I was before checking out these sites. If you know of similar family-friendly resources for Europe or anywhere else, let us know.--Brad Tuttle, Senior Editor of Budget Travel.

Over at Gridskipper.com you'll find an interesting item about JetBlue. It says that the airline "has stopped taking customer calls -- if you ring JetBlue's toll-free number, an apologetic lady greeter says that they're not accepting new contacts due to high volume..." Read the whole post at Gridskipper. Curious, I called JetBlue just now. I got through to a reservations agent within about eight minutes, which isn't too bad when compared with the hotlines run by other airlines. Perhaps the poor customer service earlier this morning was only a hiccup. Tell us about your customer service experiences with various airlines during this storm and its aftereffects by posting a comment below. One possible lingering problem: JetBlue's website is posting the following message: "Due to an unusually high email volume, you may not receive a reply for 5 - 7 business days." Wow! JetBlue's reservations agents are famous because they work out of their homes instead of call centers. Perhaps the airline's roughly 1,000 agents aren't enough to handle a crisis?

Want a chance to be a travel blogger? Post your best travel entry in the comments field below by April 30, 2007. We'll pick the 4 entries that Budget Travel's editors think are best, based on writing quality and "informativeness." Then we'll post them on our blog. The person whose entry receives the most comments during that week will be a guest travel blogger on our site for a week, plus win a $500 gift certificate. In the event of a tie, the editors will decide the winner based on which entry, in their judgment, received more positively compelling comments. All entrants are fully responsible for the content of the entry that they submit. Entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be ineligible to win. We reserve the right to edit the entry for length and clarity. And once you send it in to us, it becomes our property--intellectual and otherwise. All entries, plus any comments they engender that are posted on our site, must adhere to our discussions guidelines. You should not submit comments on your own entry, and any comments submitted by you that relate to your entry will be disqualified. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or, in our view, other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. The contest winner has an opportunity to post entries to our blog, yet all of the rules detailed above that pertain to contest entries also pertain to blog postings by the winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 to enter. Open to residents of the 50 United States and its territories, except Arizona. Void where prohibited. Only one prize will be awarded, and your chances of winning depend on how may entries we receive, whether yours is the best, and how many related comments are posted. If you or a relative of yours works at Budget Travel or any of its affiliates, you're ineligible. Any taxes are the responsibility of the winner, and the winner may be asked to sign an affidavit of eligibility and release. For a list of winner(s) , please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Suzanne McElfresh, Managing Editor, BudgetTravelOnline.com, 530 Seventh Ave., 2nd Flr., New York NY 10018.

If you've ever braved the lengthy lines to enter the Vatican Museums, you will be disappointed to hear that thanks to newly reduced hours, the wait to get to the ticket booth has grown even longer. Until last month, the ticket booth for the Vatican Museums opened at 8:45 A.M., meaning early-birds were often in line well before 7 A.M. Those who were part of an organized tour or with reservations could skirt the line and waltz in through a separate entrance. Now, those who are not part of a group or who do not hold a reservation have to wait until 10 A.M. And, to make matters worse, the ticket booth now closes at 12:30 A.M. in low-season and 3:30 P.M. in high-season--over an hour earlier than in the past. By compressing the time to get in and visit via the stand-and-wait method, the Vatican Museums hope to "train the tourists" to use its newly revamped reservation system, which requires an advance purchase that's at least one business-day in advance and a written request that's faxed directly to the Vatican Museums. (For instructions, see the Vatican Museums website by clicking here.) Less patient travelers can try one of Rome's many booking agents, who slap on hefty fees for the booking service. It's all part of a play by museum officials to phase in reservation-only entrance by January 2008. This reservations-system will be good for budget-conscious travelers in the long run, however, because it will also serve to control the flow within the museum, meaning visitors will get to view the artworks and chapels in a less-chaotic manner. Unfortunately, to make up for lost revenue due to the reduced number of visitors, the entrance ticket has increased to $18 (or 13 euro). --Barbie Latza Nadeau, a Rome-based reporter for Newsweek for the past decade as well as a contributor to BudgetTravel.com. CORRECTION 3/10/2007, 3pm ET: This post initially linked to stories by Barbie Nadeau, which are no longer available on the Newsweek website. We regret the confusion.