Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these   places:

Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from Dinosaur (恐龙) models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.

Go to a Youtheater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts. Puppet (木偶) making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.

Visit art museums. They offer all kinds of activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer workshops for making hand-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings( 签名) by children's favorite writers, and even musical performances and other arts.

Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.

The new Blackfriars train station in London is a great building, giving passengers wonderful views of the city. However, they will hardly see most of London's best-known landmarks, for today they are lost in a jungle of skyscrapers, as if London were competing with Dubai (迪拜).

The new look is dull. The problem isn't modern architecture itself. When the modern combines the old, it can enhance a city. But when it has no connection to the features that have given the city its personality for hundreds of years, it overshadows that city's character.

Unattractive architectural style is one thing; unsuitable location is another. The City, London's traditional financial district, was an area of strong low-rise buildings that included old houses and pubs such as the George and Vulture, which counted Charles Dickens among its frequent customers. The glass large buildings are quickly destroying the City's character. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas says the architectural style of cities is converging (趋同).

London is not alone. Paris is getting into the skyscraper game, as are other European capitals. Government officials view very tall buildings as global status symbols. Celebrity architects are in high demand and pump out designs apparently aimed more at attracting attention than enhancing a city's traditional view. Some of their creations are imaginative, stylish and practical; some are not, or are fine creations put at the wrong address.

The process of turning big cities into clones of Atlanta or Hong Kong can create more than strange cityscapes. They create long-term problems as well One is environmental. Skyscrapers require huge amounts of energy all year round for heating and air conditioning. Many old buildings in Europe simply rely on thick walls to ward off the heat in the summer and keep the heat in the winter.

Another big problem with modern high-rises is that they are single-purpose structures. Bank towers with huge open trading floors wired to the fastest communications networks cannot be easily remade into housing, factories or shops. For the most part, they will have to be torn down when they have outlived their usefulness. In Europe, strong old buildings keep getting reinvented, century after century. An 18th-century church can be changed into a hospital.

All in all, the main shortcoming of the skyscraper craze is the loss of urban identity. Millions of tourists go to Rome, Florence, Paris, because, for the most part, they have not been "liberated" yet by towers. If these cities look like Dubai, who will want to go there? Not me.

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Let’s move to Dorking, Surrey: perfect if you’re looking for an easy life

What’s going for? Dorking has what many people want in life: an easy life, a job that pays well, little traffic, nice pubs and fancy restaurants for fancy nights out. Dorking is a market town with bow-fronted antique shops. It’s a county where English is terribly spoken, in accordance with all expectations.

Well connected? Very Trains: from the Dorking station to Leatherhead (7 mins), Horsham (22 mins), London Victoria (1 hour) and Waterloo (51-56 mins); from Dorking West to Guildford (16-25 mins) and Gatwick Airport (24-28 mins). Driving: 10-15mins to the M25 if the traffic is kind; 30 mins to Gatwick and Guildford.

Schools: Primaries: St Martin’s C of E, Powell Corderoy, St. Joseph’s Catholic and St Paul’s CofE are all good ones, with St Paul’s CofE being outstanding. Secondaries: Both the Ashcombe and Priory School are good.

Hang out at... Everyone’s talking about the new restaurant Sorrel. The Running Horses pub in nearby Mickleham ticks the Sunday lunch box.

How much? Very nice property of all types, from 18^th-century cottages via late Victorian arts to 1920s semis (半独立式住宅). The Rose Hill conservation area is a nice spot to start with. Large townhouses: €650,000-€2m. Smaller townhouses:€500,000-€650,000. Semis: €300,000-€750,000. Cottages: €275,000-€550,000. Flats: €175,000-€400,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, €825-€1,200pcm; a two-bedroom house, €1,200-€1,400pcm.

How others think? Jane Holmes: Hills are everywhere you look --- Box Hill, Ranmore and Leith Hill. It’s beautiful. Dan Andrew: Traffic is not controlled by commuters (通勤者): folks work locally, too.