On the second Sunday in May, I always do my daughterly duty presenting cards and candy to my own dear Mom. But since 2008 marks the holiday’s 100th anniversary, I figure it’s only fitting that this year I show my appreciation for some of motherhood’s all-time greats by honoring them in the locales they loved best.
The Royal
Dour Queen Victoria isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Still you’ve got to give the woman credit. After all, she took time out from running the British Empire to produce nine children. Motherhood didn’t come easy for her, mind you (Victoria survived an assassination attempt during her first pregnancy!). However, the Queen made things a whole lot easier for the rest of us because she was responsible for popularizing what was in the mid-19th century a radical, unrespectable idea––taking anesthetic to ease the pain of childbirth. Osborne Estate, the Queen’s private retreat on the Isle of Wight, seems like an appropriate spot to say “thanks.” The property’s Pavilion Cottage can be rented this month for £121 per night, based on a four-night stay.
The Scientist
I’m clueless when it comes to anything vaguely scientific. So I’ve long been impressed by the indomitable Madame Curie. Having pioneered the study of radioactivity (and won a pair of Nobel Prizes in the process), she has been dubbed the Mother of Modern Physics. But she was also the mother of two daughters: one of whom went on to become a Nobel Laureate herself. The most educational way to celebrate Marie and her “nuclear family” is by making a pilgrimage to Paris’ Left Bank to see the laboratory where she labored endlessly from 1914 until her death in 1934. Musée Curie’s restored rooms contain her original furnishings and instruments, plus the three Nobel prizes won by the Curie clan.
The Writer
Today Anne Morrow Lindbergh is best remembered as the long-suffering wife of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and the grief-stricken mother of the kidnapped Lindbergh Baby—which is a shame because she accomplished a great deal in her own right. Equally devoted to her family and her writing, Anne successfully raised the couple’s five surviving children, yet still managed to slip away to Florida’s Captiva Island and pen Gift from the Sea: a little guide to life that stands up as well now as when it was published in 1955. Nothing beats reading her book at ’Tween Waters Inn (this May, a vintage cottage named for Anne costs $260–$325 a night), then scouring the Captiva coastline for the kinds of seashells that inspired it.
The Songstress
Rumor has it that the real Maria Von Trapp wasn’t quite as sweet as the chipper nun-turned-mom played by Julie Andrews in the classic 1965 movie, The Sound of Music. Nevertheless, Maria scaled seemingly insurmountable obstacles (both literally and figuratively) and, in doing so, arguably did more than any woman ever to prove the old “wicked stepmother” stereotype wrong. The best place to pay homage to her is, of course, her hometown of Salzburg. But if that seems a bit far to go, an alternative is to escape (as Maria and her brood did) to Stowe, Vermont: site of their Austrian-themed Trapp Family Lodge. This May two-night packages complete with family sing-alongs and Nordic trekking start at $350 per person.
The Star
Now that the whole “Brad should have stayed with Jennifer” thing has blown over, it’s safe to admit I admire Angelina Jolie. With four kids already and twins on the way, she’s in the running for the Most Prolific Mom prize. Then there is her humanitarian work on behalf of … well, everyone. Angie makes it all look easy. Deciding where to pick up her trail, on the other hand, can be daunting. Options include a stay at Namibia’s Burning Shore Resort (where she awaited daughter Shiloh’s birth) or at a French chateau (she reportedly bought her own). Perhaps the most lasting tribute, though, is to lend a hand in her current stomping ground, New Orleans. VolunteerLouisiana lists loads of do-good-feel-good opportunities.
