Lindavid,

Over forty plus years worth of annual trips, we've traveled with our kids and later our grandkids and we have never been treated less than graciously at each and every establishment we've visited, from beach places to some of the nicest restaurants on the island, or at least at the time of those visits.

In my experiences, we knew when the kids got over-tired or their moods were such that a high end place at 8:00 pm wouldn't be a great idea and we respected those factors. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw a young family with children at Spiga and the kids were better behaved than some adults we've seen at dinner. I'm often amazed at how they can rise to the occasion and really want to surpass their parents expectations.

I wouldn't worry too much about bringing your kids to the nicer places as long as you keep in mind the hour and their endurance and you allow them bring along some form of personal amusement for when the boredom sets in.

Enjoy the restaurants and the kids - mine still occasionally bring up memories of some of the nicer places they experienced over the years and so do their kids. And of course, amid those experiences there were a couple of nights when we took turns walking the sidewalks with them when they just couldn't manage it. But the bottom line, enjoy them while you can and offer them the experiences of a lifetime as you're able. Life is short and they grow up all too soon. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />