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Those of you who are on Twitter may wonder how you can find other “tweeple” who enjoy travel and like to tweet about it.   The “Find People” search function on Twitter is notoriously inaccurate,  so finding like-minded travel fans is not always a simple task.

A recent feature, Twitter Lists, makes it a lot easier to find all kinds of interesting folks on Twitter, grouped by topic area.

The right sidebar of your Twitter profile now shows the Lists that you’ve made, and which lists include your Twitter name.

To help sort the ever-growing List pile, take a look at Listorious, a searchable database of Twitter Lists. Here’s a whole page of travel Lists on Listorious.

For a few more ideas specific to this blog’s topic….

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from Family on Bikes

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from DeliciousBaby

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from Glennia at the Silent I

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from SoulTravelers3

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from Fodors Travel

***  The Family Travel Twitter List from UpTake

I’m sure I’ve missed some since these change by the minute, and there is some duplication across these Lists, but if there’s ever any doubt that people who blog about travel with kids are also active on Twitter, you just send ‘em right here!

Welcome to the November 18, 2009 edition of the Carnival of Cities, where we find out about goings-on in cities and towns across the world, all in a single blog post. Thanks very much to Glennia at the Silent I who hosted the previous edition.

I’m happy to consider hosts for upcoming Carnival editions in December, January and February.

If you’d like to host the Carnival on your blog, please email me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com.

Off we go….

Cities in Europe

Dingle, Ireland Shannon ODonnell presents A Little Subtlety…Dingle’s Quite Charm posted at a little adrift: a rtw travelogue, saying, “Fungie the dolphin and local bars with Irish charm are two top reasons to visit Dingle, Ireland.”

Stockholm, Sweden Jack Norell presents Gamla Stan, Stockholm posted at Eyeflare – Travel Articles and Tips, saying, “One of my favorite places in the world, Gamla Stan retains some medieval and renaissance charm in the middle of the very modern Stockholm.”

Madrid, Spain Travelrat presents Walking Around Madrid posted at Travelrat’s Travels.

Paris, France Catherine Forth presents Taking the kids to Paris without going broke posted at Have Kids Will Travel.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands Jaybot presents Give Me One Day and I’ll Give You Amsterdam, Part 1 posted at Jaybot7, saying, “This article is a humorous account of how many attractions and sites you can see in Amsterdam within 24 hours.”

Berlin, Germany Marcus Hochstadt presents Reflecting And Celebrating The Fall Of The Berlin Wall posted at The Germany Blog, saying, “The Berlin Wall left a major mark on German life. 20 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Germans gathered at the Brandenberg Gate to reflect on the impact and celebrate the collapse of the Wall.”

Cities in Asia

Taipei, Taiwan Sander presents Taipei 101 posted at Searider Zander, saying, “I’m writing about my own experience with the tallest building in the world here.”

Cities in the Americas

Lyons, New York, USA Seth C. Burgess presents Pumpkin Roll in Lyons posted at Wayne County Life, saying, “The Pumpkin Roll is a brand new fun and exciting event in Lyons, NY – an Erie Canal Community that is all about festivals.”

Washington, District of Columbia, USA Jon presents Celebrate the Annual Beaujolais Nouveau in DC posted at The PlanetEye Traveler – Washington DC, saying, “Other than Paris, can you think of a better place than the French Embassy in Washington, DC to celebrate the annual Beaujolais Nouveau festival?”

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Pam Mandel presents A Visit to Iolani Palace in Honolulu posted at Nerd’s Eye View, saying, “A visit to ‘Iolani Palace turns out to be all about the details.”

Flores, Guatemala Marina K. Villatoro presents Flores – The Colorful Island City by Tikal – Family Travel posted at The Travel Expert(a), saying, “Traveling with the family to Flores and Tikal in Guatemala.”

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA June Tree presents How One Homeless Person Lives: Coping With Homelessness posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Here’s a story of a homeless couple in Las Vegas and how they’ve coped with their plight.”

San Francisco, California, USA TSW presents H1N1 Flu Vaccine Shortage: All Flu Vaccines In Short Supply! Grrr. posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “The H1N1 flu vaccine is hardly available in the SF Bay Area, CA. Is the vaccine available where you live?”

Hamilton, Ohio, USA hall monitor presents 8th-grader suspended for wild Bengals haircut posted at DetentionSlip.org, saying, “A young Bengals fan must change his haircut to stay in school.”

San Francisco, California, USA Kristie presents The Cable Car Ride In San Fransisco posted at Norway – An American In Oslo.

Alva, Oklahoma, USA Sheila Scarborough presents Keeping small towns special: murals in Alva, Oklahoma posted at Perceptive Travel Blog, saying, “Rather a stretch to call it a city, but bear with me!”

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA minnemom presents Family Day at Minneapolis Institute of Arts posted at Travels with Children.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Zhu presents Copacabana And Ipanema posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, “Rio de Janeiro is most famous for its picture-perfect beaches, mostly Copacabana and Ipanema.”

Beverly Hills, California, USA Dane Arthur presents Beverly Hills, CA posted at Beverly Hills Real Estate Group, saying, “The post is real estate-related but has tons of great information about Beverly Hills.”

Jacksonville, Florida, USA Apryl Chapman Thomas presents Discovering (and Enjoying) Jacksonville, Florida posted at Planet Eye Traveler Road Trips.

New York, New York, USA Dorian Wales presents A Temple Restaurant and a Clearing House for Tickets – Two Observations of New York City posted at The Personal Financier, saying, “New York City is my favorite destination in the world. Any opportunity to visit again, whether on business or pleasure is a joy. With each visit a new light is shed on some other aspect of the city. I’d like to share two such spotlights with you.”

Boston, Massachusetts, USA Martin Andrews presents Travel Guide Book Explores Boston Travel posted at Cheap Flights.

Newport Beach, California, USA Joanne presents Newport Beach Gondola Ride posted at Newport Beach Vacation.

Chelsea, Michigan, USA Dominique King presents Chelsea, Michigan, maintains small-town charm while developing as a Midwestern arts center posted at Midwest Guest, saying, “It’s not difficult to see why actor Jeff Daniels chose to return to his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan, to raise his family and establish the Purple Rose Theater. The professional theater helped spur Chelsea’s growth as an arts center, while the 175-year-old town retains much of its small-town character.”

Carmel, California, USA Beth Blair presents Romantic California Hotel: Highlands Inn of Carmel posted at The Vacation Gals.

That concludes this edition, and thanks very much for visiting.

Submit your (one, non-spammy) blog post about any aspect of ONE, single city (or fair-sized town) to the next edition (December 2, 2009) of the Carnival of Cities using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I took a 50 state series hiatus there for awhile, but we’re back!

Until we run out of states, I’ll be posting about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin, West Virginia,  Washington,  Virginia,  Vermont,  Utah, Texas,  Tennessee,  South Dakota,  South Carolina,  Rhode Island,  Pennsylvania,  Oregon, Oklahoma,  Ohio, North Dakota,  North Carolina, New York and now we’re moving on to….New Mexico!

Their state tourism organization is on Twitter at @NMTourism. I found a Facebook Fan Page for New Mexico but I’m not certain that it is controlled by the state’s tourism office (they should fill out the front page bio to confirm that.)  There’s a Flickr Group Pool for New Mexico, but no YouTube channel, although I did find Albuquerque tourism on YouTube.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for New Mexico

***  From Elmer Boutin via @rehor on Twitter:  I love Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, NM. Carlsbad Caverns is fun, too. Deming is a great little town, though not really a touristy place.

***  From Debbie Dubrow via @DeliciousBaby on Twitter: Explora Science Museum in Albuquerque has tons of hands-on fun. (More on ABQ and New Mexico on this page of her site and here is her Santa Fe info.)

***  From Donna L. Hull via @DonnaLHull on Twitter: You might consider El Morro National Monument for your New Mexico blog post.

***  From Betsy Drager via @BetsyDrager on Twitter: Christmas at Taos Pueblo is awesome; brings all peoples together.

*** From Rachel Farris via @MeanRachel on Twitter: White Sands, museum of the horse in Riudoso, hiking in the Lincoln National Forest, Casa de Patron B&B in Lincoln-Billy the Kid town!

*** From Kara S. Williams via @karasw on Twitter: Santa Fe Children’s Museum has loads of hands-on exhibits. Climbing into cliff dwellings at Bandelier Natl Monument – fun for kids.

Facebook Travel Tips for New Mexico

***  From Marilyn McCray on Facebook  –  New Mexico has so much for families. Start with the pueblos….

The 8 Northern Pueblos have a travel organization that helps plan visits and shares etiquette since these are living communities . The public dances are a look back in time. The Turtle Dance at San Juan and Taos are two of my favorites. A visit to Taos is amazing since people have lived there for over 1,000 years.

Santa Fe is also a great destination where all three cultures come together. The various museums in the Museum of New Mexico system are definitely worth visiting as is the plaza. The Santuario at Chimayo is another must see. It is one of the only churches that still has the original art work, not to mention the healing dirt. The small restaurant in the back parking lot is run by one of the most notables and has great tamales. I think her name is Leona. Rancho Chimayo is one of the best places for Northern New Mexican cuisine.

***  From Scott Ingram on Facebook  –  Go to the Hot Air Balloon Festival (Balloon Fiesta) in Albuquerque. Super family-friendly. On of the most memorable trips of my life and I think I was 10. Can’t wait to take my kids there.

***  From Martha Swenson Hall on Facebook  –  White Sands and a sand board for sand surfing.

***  From Jodell Durkee on Facebook  –  I enjoyed touring through Old Albuquerque.  We took our kids to Carlsbad; it was great too. There is a mystery by Nevada Barr called Blind Descent – she is a National Park Ranger and EMT. She tells a lot about Carslbad, if you like mysteries.

***  From John Holmes on Facebook  –  In NW New Mexico, Red River is an undiscovered but great little four-seasons town. Close to it is Eagle Nest, which has an excellent, huge fishing lake. Both are close to Angel Fire Resort, which has really grown in terms of activities in recent years. All of these are a very easy drive from the Santa Fe-Taos area.

Thanks so much for the contributions!

The Family Travel Guide New Mexico-related posts are here and the BootsnAll Travel Network has a New Mexico Travel Guide.

The next state in the series is New Jersey.

Send your New Jersey highlights to @SheilaS on Twitter or write them on my Facebook Wall (please tell me you’re a 50 state-er if you want to friend me.)

My purpose for this series is not only to highlight worthy kid-friendly vacation destinations in all 50 states, but by using Twitter and Facebook I want to also encourage tourism organizations to learn more about connecting with their visitors using social media and online networks.

Please add your own New Mexico suggestions in the comments below, if we’ve missed anything. Thanks!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only leaning tower in the world that you can visit. There are so much more leaning towers available on the face of the Earth that you can drop by the next time you decide to take a holiday

Excerpt from: 
Visit the Top 5 Most Interesting Leaning Towers