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Andy

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Here’s to Parenting on the Road

I’m one happy dad right now — because both my kids called me today from Europe. Andy FaceTimed me from the Cinque Terre, and I got to wave to 25 happy travelers on the Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour he is leading. The group was all smiles, tanned, rested, and ready for their Italian seafood feast. Andy’s little sister Jackie is leading a tour of her own — a couple of girlfriends — in Greece and Croatia. Jackie texted me photos that captured one of my favorite moments in Europe: sunset on Hydra at the funky little harborside bar in Kamini. And there savoring it, ouzo in hand, was my daughter and her friends.

Of course, it takes money and a shift in priorities, but we made a point to take our kids to Europe lots — even taking them out of school for a couple of weeks each April. Today, they are young adults and — with the help of parents who have been intent on giving them a global perspective — our children are comfortable with the world. Unburdened by fear and ethnocentrism, they are enjoying our planet as their playground.

When blessed with a traveler’s upbringing, young people are more likely to understand that the world is safe and accessible, a festival of diversity, and filled with good people and love. A few years ago, we celebrated New Year’s Eve together — not at some fancy ski resort, but in Cuba. Andy has chosen to live in Medellin, Colombia (and loves it). And Jackie has found her calling as a schoolteacher, working with kids in tough neighborhoods in Washington DC and Chicago, and now bringing her global perspective into a Los Angeles classroom.

Every time I see a family traveling together, I get almost teary-eyed as I recognize the importance of the parenting going on. The hard work and love of parents on the road is key to raising caring, bold, and confident Americans with a global perspective.

This is just a stream-of-consciousness post to say, “Yes! Our kids are global citizens. The world is their playground. And that makes me a happy dad.” I love you, Andy and Jackie.

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Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget

cover of Andy Steves' book

I couldn’t be prouder of my son, Andy Steves. The second edition of his guidebook, Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget, just hit the shelves. The book is packed with more than a dozen three-day itineraries and lots of practical tips for budget travelers. You can take a peek at a few of the insights he shares — from finding the best craft beer and street food to avoiding tourist traps — in this month’s edition of Travel News.

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Check Out The Andy Steves Travel Podcast

Sharing a Cinque Terre hotel room with my son, it was quiet except for the high-energy tap tap taps on our dueling laptop keyboards. While tourists were busy on the nearby trails and beaches, a fun thought struck me: Here in this room, it was Steves and son…grinding firsthand Riviera experiences into our digital worlds — shuttling that writing to our respective staffs to then amplify to our traveling public.

Many dads dream of the “father & son” thing. My dad imported pianos from Germany and dreamed of the day I would join him — and his piano shop becoming “Steves & Son.”

I’m very aware of the pressure of this when meeting the newest generation of longtime family businesses in Europe — whether aristocratic mansions, venerable family-run piano factories, beloved restaurants, or hotels. And, while I am a sucker for “sixth generation” wineries, I also know (firsthand) that the pressure to “keep the family business in the family” can be challenging.

And so, while helping raise my son Andy, I was careful not to share my enthusiasm for him to follow in my footsteps in a way that might pressure him. We dragged Andy to Europe for 18 years in a row until he was in college. I never realized he was paying attention. But now I see he certainly was.

(As a parenting tip, I’d say it’s important to remember this: Your kids do pay attention — even when it seems they are shutting something out. My kids quote me 15 or 18 years after I’ve said something that I just assumed had glanced off the anti-parenting-wisdom defenses their scowls indicated were in the raised and locked positions. I love that. And I wish I realized how worthwhile some of that sometimes-frustrated parenting was, way back then.)

Rick Steves and baby son Andy

2-year-old Andy and me in the Swiss Alps, 1989.

Several years ago, Andy started his own European travel business — inspired by the love of travel and love of teaching travel that (I like to think) he picked up on all those forced family vacations. Andy recently turned 30, and his company is going strong.

When I’m speaking at a bookstore that stocks Andy’s first guidebook (Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget), I always bring a copy to the podium and give it a big in-person plug (and it always sells out). When I’m in Europe doing my guidebook research and I cross paths with Andy leading one of his Weekend Student Adventures tours, I love to become his impromptu assistant guide. (He’s an amazing guide with 20 foreign-study Americans in tow experiencing Europe’s greatest cities.)

Andy’s latest is his impressive new podcast. He’s producing fascinating weekly conversations with the many travel insiders he knows and works with literally all over the world. For a chance to eavesdrop on a high-powered and fun huddle between millennial travelers on a range of timely topics (from the best tapas in Barcelona, to “flashpacking” tips, to making a career out of a life on the road), check out the Andy Steves Travel Podcast.

Andy’s more independent than your typical “father & son” next-gen businessman; his business is his own, with no formal association with Rick Steves’ Europe. But, of course, I’m really proud of the work he’s doing to share his love of travel with his growing public in his own way. Check him out!

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In Search of a Cure for Jet Lag

Many years ago, my son Andy got a particularly bad case of jet lag — and ended up asleep in his spaghetti.

andy steves

Jet lag hates bright light, exercise, and fresh air. To beat it, I sleep on the flight and then, once I arrive in Europe, I make it a point to be active, staying out and about until an early bedtime. Psychologically, it’s important to shift your mindset to European time when you shift the hour hand on your wristwatch. I admit, I love my Ambien. I take half a tablet to get 3 hours of sleep on the plane. At my hotel, I conk out easy at bedtime. But I wake up wired at about 4 a.m., so I take the rest of the tablet. That way I can sleep until breakfast, as I muscle myself onto a European schedule.

What are your best tips for minimizing jet lag?

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Top Eureka Moments

Even after decades of visits, Europe still surprises me. Here are a few of my favorite “aha!” moments from my last trip.

Couple

A couple out for a romantic evening proved that in a place as dreamy as Venice, a few €1 boxes of red wine and a shrink-wrapped portion of prosciutto are all you need for a memorable canalside dinner.

Rick Steves and Ibn Battuta

I was having a quiet lunch at my hotel in Romania when I found myself on the restaurant’s wallpaper. And I met Ibn Battuta, who, 700 years ago, was “the Rick Steves of his days, roaming the world to tell everyone what they were missing.”

Boot knife

At a new exhibit in Normandy, I found a knife just like the one I treasured as a kid — sheath and all — strapped to the leg of a paratrooper ready to jump behind German lines the night before D-Day.

Rick Steves and Andy Steves

photo: The Travelphile

Coming home to find my son’s first guidebook, “Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget,” on my desk. (You can get your own copy of City-Hopping on a Budget on my website.)

Table with prosciutto and cheese

I never thought I could have too much fine prosciutto and pecorino cheese in Tuscany. But when the gentleman pig farmer laid out a table like this for the fifth day in a row, he confessed, “What I really dream of is a nice filet of fish.” And after yet another meal of so much pork and cheese, I thought, “Hmmm…fish does sound nice.”