When you travel as a child, the memories of your trips are very different from what you see in travel guides. Most people who go to Venice, Italy, for example, probably return home with memories of the canals, the gondolas and maybe the Rialto Bridge or St. Mark's Square.

My strongest memory of Venice, on the other hand, is blue chocolate.

I first went there when I was 6 or 7, during one of our yearly family trips through Europe. As we were strolling on the sidewalks along the canals, we passed by a small bakery that had lined up all kinds of goodies in its window display. Next to cakes, bread and other baked goods was a big plate with pieces of blue chocolate the size of matchboxes that I just couldn't take my eyes off of.

It turns out it was white chocolate dyed blue, but that didn't matter to me. The memory stuck, and Venice will always be the place of blue chocolate in my mind.

Last month, my wife and I took our 2 1/2-year-old and 11-month-old daughters to Gothenburg, Sweden, to visit my family for a couple of weeks. It was the second trip for our oldest daughter, who also went when she was 1. I've been told children don't form any permanent memories until they're 2 — I think of it as the parental trial period — which would make this visit the first one she remembers.

We wanted to make the trip memorable and planned as many family-friendly outings as we could fit in.

One sure stop was Liseberg, Sweden's biggest amusement park and a place that reminded my wife of Disneyland. On the day we went, the park looked more like a congested stroller convention than anything else, and we elbowed our way through the crowds for an entire afternoon so our beaming little girl could go on enough rides to last her until next year, when we plan to return.

We also spent a day at Slottsskogen, a 300-acre city park my wife labeled "Gothenburg's Central Park." With its petting zoo, penguin pond and enormous playground, the park didn't disappoint our daughter, whose energy levels put the Energizer Bunny to shame.

Every day wasn't an outing with specific kid-friendly activities, however. Many days were spent just hanging out with family at my parents' house, which meant the adventures for our oldest daughter were limited to the offerings of the backyard, with its lawn, flowers and berries. We put on her Velcro-fitted "Dora the Explorer" sneakers — which she never wears in Hawai'i because they're too warm — and her jacket and let her out in the yard, free to run around, pick and eat berries and toss worn-out tennis balls to Fanny, my parents' German shepherd, a dog that apparently loves small children. Farmor, which is how Swedes refer to a paternal grandmother, was more than happy to supervise.

When we came back home to Hawai'i and the unpleasantness that awaits anyone who has jet-lagged kids who take turns screaming between the strategic hours of midnight and 4 a.m., my wife and I focused on remembering the good times from our Sweden vacation, trying to convince each other it had been worth it.

We agreed that it had been a fantastic trip, we were sure our little girl acquired some great memories, and we speculated about what her favorite part of the trip was. Going on the Rabbit River ride at Liseberg? Petting goats at Slottsskogen?

Neither, it turns out. One morning, when I was getting her ready for her day, she looked at me and asked, "Can we go to Sweden?"

I paused and thought about how to respond. Before I could come up with anything, I saw her face brighten up and she exclaimed, "I want to go to Sweden! I want to put on my Dora shoes and run fast, fast with Fanny and Farmor!"

Dora shoes and running with Fanny and Farmor. That was her blue chocolate.

I thought about all the trouble we went through to plan our Gothenburg outings and activities in order to make sure our daughter would have something to remember. I thought about how heartwarming it is to know that it's the simple things that matter to your child, things like being near family and just hanging out.

And I thought about how much easier it will be on our next trip. All we have to do is remember to bring the Dora shoes.