Our friend Cara from Land of Bean asked us to share a traveling story today! Cara has this great (meaning, we wish we had thought of it!) site BlogTrotting. BlogTrotting features bloggers from around the world and they share about their city or trips! It’s a virtual way to see the world!!
Anyone who’s been following us here at LoveFeast Table, knows we love to travel as do our husbands (which makes traveling easier to justify!) When we talk about life values and family values, travel is up there on the list! Todd and Chris Ann have traveled to Spain, Mexico, Australia and Germany to name a few! Devon and I have traveled to China, Philippines, Ireland and South Africa. Devon and Todd landed in India within weeks of each other! But, the one thing we had never done, was travel together! So, about 5 years ago, we began to scheme. You see, my brother was getting married to an English gal and the wedding was going to be in Winchester. As Italy is just a hopper flight away, the four of us began to plan how we could meet! I have to tell you, we’re not wealthy people, by any stretch of the imagination. Like I said before, we just make travel a priority! Some of you may have college funds for your kids, ah hem, all of our kids have passports.
We began to pinch our pennies (borrow from the grocery budget) and book our rooms (thank goodness for Craigslist!) Then we had a little surprise. I found out I was pregnant with number 5! We quickly did the math and realized he would be five months old when we boarded the plane. Now, I know there are mommas out there that would cancel their plans and rethink the trip…but, not us!! We are firm believers in traveling with kids! Does it slow you down a bit? Sure. Can it be an inconvenience to lug the stroller around? Definitely! Is it worth it? Absolutely!
I have to pause here to admit we were in no way nervous about taking Little Man, in fact, this would be easy! We had traveled through China, Philippines and Ireland with our other four kids! At the time, Teapot (our daughter) was only two. So, just taking Little Man would be a cinch!
We arrived in Pisa. We hopped in our rental car and zipped towards Florence. Devon said, “Isn’t the Leaning Tower of Pisa here?” “No. There’s no way this is the same place.” Yup, it was there…we missed it. I totally chalk it up to “new mommy brain” still in full swing! We drove into Florence and it took about an hour to find our apartment. We knocked on the door. No answer. We weren’t even sure we had the right building. We walked around, checked our map, came back. Still no answer. Travel Tip #1…when meeting friends in a foreign country and neither of you have your cell phones, figure out way to communicate in case you can’t find one another! No, we finally did find them! About a half hour later, we knocked again. This time, Todd yells out from the third floor…”We’re here!”
We were two blocks from the Duomo! We walked there that night.
Breathtaking as it was to see it lit up…it was even more breathtaking the next day.
We stood in line, Little Man in the Bjorn ready to climb the 463 steps to the top of the Dome.
The view from the top, was breathtaking!
It’s easy to see why so many artists were inspired in Florence! On the way down, Little Man was hungry and I stopped to feed him. He nursed in the Duomo!
It’s funny, because the next day, while we were walking in the city, we overheard two women say, “Yesterday I was in the Duomo and I swear I heard a baby crying!” Yes, Little Man left his mark!
He was with us when we saw Michelangelo’s Deposition.
He had his first taste of risotto.
He rubbed the pig’s nose, guaranteeing he would one day return to Italy!
He tasted gelato.
No, he didn’t have espresso or
grappa…we do have our limits!
He did make it home with us after we had an amazing meal with “The Baby” and a little limoncello and he spoke Italian.
Little Man sat with us and took in Tuscany…
while we tasted the wine…
savored the food and
let all of our senses be overwhelmed, by Italy.
Whether you’re thinking of globe traveling or Blogtrotting, don’t let children slow you down or discourage you from going! We met many people we wouldn’t have because everywhere we went we heard “Bellissimo Bambino!”
