Finding accommodation that suits both adults and children isn't always easy. Leonie Glass suggests 10 hotels that everyone will enjoy in five of France's most family-friendly regions.

If you’re keen to avoid the drudgery of self-catering family holidays, but are fed up with frosty greetings when checking into hotels with your children, you need to find somewhere to stay where you will all feel comfortable.

Not a snooty place, where staff or other guests shush your children if they run down a corridor, or somewhere full of precious objects that invite disaster. And not a hotel where the accommodation is so basic that all of you have to squeeze into a tiny airless box. Here are some genuinely family-friendly places that parents and children can both enjoy.

A city-state is an apt way of describing a country with an area of just 704 square kilometers. But when it comes to the economy and tourist attractions, it is at par with many bigger nations in the world. Singapore is a cosmopolitan city in true sense and when you are in the city you can find a lot of places to visit in Singapore.

Though the city does not have a good number of historical sites to attract tourists, you can find a lot of recreational places to visit in Singapore and which is why a good number of people come to the city to see and enjoy Singapore attractions. You can visit Jurong Bird Park, Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, can enjoy night safari and can also visit Underwater World that showcases the awe-inspiring beauty of the world under sea. One of the biggest Singapore attractions is that it is a shopper’s paradise and that’s one of the prime reasons for tourists to visit the city.
The other places to visit in Singapore include Sentosa Island. It is one of the most beautiful of all the Singapore attractions and attracts about 5 million tourists every year. Its main attractions include two kilometer long sheltered beach, two golf courses and Fort Siloso.

There are a number of other places to visit in Singapore also and when you are in the city-state, you will never be short of activities to do.

Latvian authorities are preparing to evacuate nearly 1,000 people from a cruise ship stuck on a sandbank.

Tugs have been trying to free the Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa, which ran aground off Latvia on Sunday.

There is no immediate risk to the passengers, most of whom are German, coastguard officials say.

The Mona Lisa, which is German-owned, was sailing from the Polish port of Gdansk to the Latvian capital Riga when it hit a sandbank.

A total of 984 people are aboard the ship, 747 of them passengers.

NYLO Hotels LLC will build its fifth hotel, and first property in the Midwest, in Overland Park, Kan.

The Atlanta-based hotel chain plans to break ground on the hotel in mid 2008 with opening slated for mid-2009. The five-story, 160-room NYLO hotel will be within Corbin Park, a 96-acre mixed-use community now under construction. The community will house 1.1 million square feet of office, retail and hotel space.

The heart of NYLO Overland Park will be a custom-designed common area called "The Loft." On the main floor next to the lobby, the gathering spot will have a stylish 24-7 restaurant and bar, complimentary wireless Internet access, 24-hour business center, comfortable library, plush sofas, boutique shop and original artwork by local artists.

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Its exterior is uninspiring but the Luna Baglioni is top of our list because of the good reviews it receives from past guests. It's very close to the Grand Canal, St. Mark's, Harry's Bar and some of Venice's most expensive designer clothes stores. Ideal for a smart break in the tourist heart of Venice; the hotel can be your luxurious retreat from the hubbub of the lanes and waterways. The hotel has a private jetty for arrivals by water taxi; it's also very close to the Vallaresso (San Marco) waterbus stop.

Today, Shanghai no longer has the mystic atmosphere of the 1920s, when it used to be the Asian country of the millionaires and gangsters, casinos and brothels. However it is twice as fascinating through its almost unreal appearance: on one side old Art Deco buildings and on the other breathtaking skyscrapers.

Its airport resembles the filming studio of a sci-fi movie and the magnetic levitation train (MAGLEV) taking the tourists to the modern side of the city, levitates with the astounding speed of 429km/h. In Pudong, on the eastern bank of Huangpu river, where 11-12 years ago used to be a marsh, emerges the prooud vertical Shanghai, made of steel and glass. Dominated by the Oriental Pearl Tower, the 468 meters high television tower, Pudong comprises about 2000 skyscrapers.

Some claim that all Shanghai numbers about 5000 such buildings. But who’s counting! What matters is that it won easily the competition with New York, which has only about 1000 skyscrapers.

Sinai, which was occupied by Israel from 1967 to 1982, remains close to the hearts of many Israelis, who still frequent the many tranquil huts-on-the-beach campsites and scuba diving hot spots along the western Sinai coast. Depending on how a customer looks, shop owners in Sinai resort towns like Dahab will occasionally bust out some Hebrew, especially during peak Israeli vacation times like this.

The Israeli fondness for Sinai has withstood not only generally hostile feelings toward them on the part of many Egyptians but a series of terrorist attacks in Sinai towns like Sharm El Sheikh and Taba. Even when all the American and European tourists were scared away from Egypt for months at a time, a certain percentage of the Israelis kept on coming.

Which is why the current crop of Sinai  attack warnings probably won't derail many Israelis' Sinai vacation plans. Egyptian officials say they are searching for several carloads of armed militants seeking to attack tourists, and Israel issued a travel advisory warning of an "imminent" attack threat on Sinai tourists. Knowing that many people simply won't heed the warnings, some Israeli politicians have even suggested simply sealing the Taba border crossing into  Egypt. 

Since been confirmed as president Raul Castro has allowed Cubans with foreign cash to buy computers, DVD players, plasma televisions and in the coming days cell phones, consumer goods only companies and foreigners were previously permitted to buy.

However the latest surprise, allowing ordinary citizens into luxury hotels and resort beaches long reserved for rich foreigners, is a particularly symbolic victory for Cuba's everyman.

Nevertheless the measure is largely symbolic since tourist hotels in Cuba can cost anywhere from 60 to more than 200 US dollars a night, well out of reach for most Cubans who on average earn 20 dollars a month.

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The geographic vastness of the American West makes pinpointing excellent family vacation spots slightly challenging. The horizons are broad and the adventure authentic. Follow the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s; visit the ghost town of Bannock in Montana; try fly-fishing with your kids; dig for dinosaurs in Wyoming. Variety is at you finger tips. 

Idaho: Harrison, Horseback Riding, Boating and Biking the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. A little more than 250 miles east of Seattle and only about 30 minutes from Spokane the small resort town of Harrison nestled along the eastern shore of South Lake Coeur d'Alene at the mouth of the Coeur d'Alene River history and natural beauty. For many boaters this is the ideal place to launch on the clear waters of more than 12 lakes. Bonus points: The Harrison Marina Trailhead provides easy access to the 72-mile long Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. The smooth paved path was made for bicyclists, hikers, roller-bladers or anyone who wishes to enjoy the natural beauty of the American West. The Trail offers views of the lake, river and surrounding mountains and wetlands. Pillow spot: Tucked away in a tranquil valley an hour's drive south of beautiful Coeur d'Alene is Red Horse Mountain Guest Ranch. The guest ranch offers the perfect, all-inclusive family vacation with plenty of western flair. Stay in beautifully crafted and authentically furnished log cabins and enjoy ranch life with your kids. The list of outdoor adventures include horseback riding, kayaking, challenge course, fly fishing lessons and excursions, whitewater rafting, sporting clays, mountain biking, fishing ponds, 3D archery trails, enjoy wholesome meals and nightly entertainment. They have a variety of riding trails, all of which leave the valley floor and climb into the surrounding hillsides. Enjoy riding through open pastures, along wide trails, on open hillsides and through narrow, wooded paths. (Red Horse Mountain 11077 East Blue Lake Road Harrison,

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Walking in Berlin brings you back in the past, when the world was "simple" and binary : East vs West. Old times, from an another century and... from my childhood too !

In Berlin, contrats are erverywhere and of any kind : East vs West, XIX vs XX, XX vs XXI, modern vs old, reach vs poor... A real heady whirlwind.

To enhance this, here with the Berliner Dom and the Fernsehturm, I post-processed a little with a sepia filter, trying to create an "old times" effect on an old building, with a "modern" tower in the foreground.