to stroll or not to stroll

My verdict on using a stroller when traveling is a little mixed. I had a five hour lay over in London and couldn't have made it without a stroller. Holding my daughter in the back pack or letting her walk around the entire time would not have been welcome. That said with two to three hours in an airport I would have prefered not to have a stroller. I found it cumbersome even though my stroller is small. My bag was a little too big to fit easily under the stroller and when I hung it on the handels the stroller would tip without my daughters weight holding it down. I love my Ergo baby carrier and still think this is the best travel gear around. On the way home I found the stroller to be more trouble than it was worth, it is almost impossible to wheel a stroller and a suitcase through an airport. If you can do curb side check in and have a small carry on bag then a stroller is okay but the baby back pack is still easier to manuver through security, ticket lines, air planes, etc..

Spain

Spain is a very child friendly country, and would be a great place to go on a family vacation. Everywhere we went people would give my daughter attention. They would say hola, que bonita, preciosia, etc... My daughter was given snacks, toys to play with, and picked up like one of the family. In restaurants the Spainards let their kids run around, part of this is high chairs are a few and far between. Many of the kids will pack together and play games while the adults sit and eat and enjoy their meals. In the US people would freak out by the children running free, but as a mother I wish kids could run free here at home.

At one hotel in Sevilla we started to check in and the clerk said "wait, first things first" and went and said hello to my daughter and tickeled her foot and made her laugh, then he helped us check in to the hotel.

In Southern Spain their are a lot of animals around. My daughter loved seeing the burros in Mijas, the horses in Monda and Terrifa, monkeys on Gibralter, and cats, dogs and goats everywhere we went. My daughter loved being able to pet the horses and burros. She would have loved to touch the monkeys on Gibralter but I wouldn't let her near them as I find them rather disgusting and scary.

The one problem I had in spain was with the car seat. We borrowed a car seat from a rental car company and we could never get the seat belt to lock and secure the car seat. I am not sure if there are different safety standards in Europe for car seats, but I found the car seat a little unstable and even if I had brought my car seat from home I would have had the same problem securing the seat to the car.

Baby changing tables and high chairs are not available in most public places but I think it is more acceptable to change your baby in ther stroller or on a park bench than it is in the US. Many roads in Spain are made of individual stones and this is hard on a stroller, so I would recommend a cheap stroller you plan to throw out or a good stroller that will hold up to the punnishment it will undergo.

I would also check out a department store to look at the baby goods. European design is amazing and a lot of that carries over to their infant goods some of which are very interesting. The clothes for children are amazing and sometimes very expensive, although we found some very cute dresses at an open market and at some small shops.

airlines

A few weeks ago I took my 15 month old daughter to Spain. We flew British Air from the US to London then from London to Malaga, Spain. British Air was a pain to deal with in terms of reservations and service. They also charge you $20 to talk to an agent because they want you to use their online service, but their online service does not work for all needs. That said once we arrived at the airport, British Air was great. They let families with children pre-board. They had a bassinet that was more like a carseat so I could secure my daughter. The carseat/bassinett fits children up to two years old, most airline basinetts only fit young children. The staff on BA was very friendly and helpful.

When we arrived in London we had a five hour lay over. We got off the plane and the Heathrow staff were also very nice. When I went through security the staff saw that I had a baby and they let me go through a short line. When I transfered from Terminal 4 for intercontinental flights to terminal one various people pointed me to elevators and helped me find my way. In terminal one there is a play area for children. The play area is a little grungy but it is somewhat contained so you can keep track of wondering children. There was a fish tank, snack bar, and baby changing restroom very close to the play area. Throughout Heathrow there were bathrooms with baby changing/nursing rooms. These were great we could roll our stroller into the restroom, change diapers, wash hands, etc. and not have to deal with the chaos of a regular airport restroom. They also had chairs and some private rooms for mothers who are nursing.

Overall I think Heathrow is a very nice airport if you have to spend some time with a child.