As we tired of the hills of Italy, I cheerfully informed Rob that he should look forward to Venice because it is flat!  Except that I forgot about the bridges. I mean, I guess I did not really forget about the bridges. I remembered them in all of their glory, spanning even the smallest canals in the never-ending maze of waterways that forms the most fascinating city I have ever visited.  Some people hate Venice, but I can not fathom that. I absolutely adore Venice, even while carrying a stroller up and back down the bridges at every turn. The hardest part about navigating the passageways of Venice was when we first arrived and left the Vaporetto (water bus) stop trying to find our way to our hotel.  Not only were we hoisting our babies up and down the endless bridges, but we were also hauling our luggage and had no idea where we were going. Luckily, we did not have all of our luggage as we had packed just what we needed for two nights and left the rest in our rental car which was parked at the Venice Airport.

We got lost.  Really lost. The directions seemed easy enough, quite clear really.  According to our map, the route was quite short and only involved a few turns.  The problem is that the actual passageways of Venice look nothing like they do on a map.   Last time I was in Venice, this was precisely what I loved about the place, getting lost on purpose to discover the parts of Venice that few tourists ever see.  However, with bags and babies in tow, getting lost was not fun. We stopped many times for directions and finally arrived on a cool spring day in a full sweat.

Fortunately, we recovered quickly from our debacle.  Our journey from San Gimignano was 3.5 hours and somehow we kept the boys awake the whole time which meant the boys would be taking a nap while mommy and daddy enjoyed our complimentary bottle of prosecco from Hotel Palazzo Vitturi.  We had an oversized room overlooking the square with the boys’ baby cots winning the prize for best view.

Directly outside our room was a large sitting area with open windows to a small balcony overlooking the square.  Here we relaxed as we sipped prosecco while listening to the few remaining singing gondoliers who seemed to fancy the small strip of canal that passed close to our hotel.  

We watched Venetian life from above – people rushing home from work, walking their dogs, and shopping the stall full of vegetables right below our balcony.  

Once naptime was over, we enjoyed the view with the boys for a few moment before joining the buzz of activity below our window.  

It was in this piazza that people stopped to take in a little slice of openness in such a crowded city.  While in Italy, our little gemelli received a lot of attention from Italians, but nowhere as much as in this piazza.  The boys chased the little dogs walking by, played with new Italian friends, and tasted the fresh vegetables for sale at the stall.  Away from the throngs of tourists and surrounded by Italians, I felt like we were staying in the real Venice, and I was so in love.

Even though our location felt authentic, it was not too far from tourist central, Piazza San Marco.  We found the route with the fewest bridges and committed it to memory. The locals had all-terrain strollers and were able to get over the bridges quite easily with a few backward pulls up the stairs then bouncing down the other side.  I am not sure how those strollers made it through the narrow doorways of Venice, but I guess when you are a local, you know where and where not to go.

When in a place as confusing as Venice, I try to not make too many plans regarding meals, which is really hard because I am a planner and eating is my favorite part of being in a distant land.  I am a huge fan of TripAdvisor when planning my excursions, but when a place is overwhelming, I rely on the ‘Nearby’ option on TripAdvisor to find sustenance. Before arriving in Venice, I had read about Baci & Pasta and it sounded like the perfect quick stop for us since all the reviews raved about the quality of the pasta, but I had no idea where it was exactly.  Low and behold, when I clicked the ‘Nearby’ button while still at our hotel, Baci & Pasta popped up and away we went. Again, we were greeted by the friendliness that seemed to exude from every Venetian we met. I cannot remember which pastas we ordered, but I do remember enjoying them immensely as we sat on the door threshold of a nearby closed shop because there were no available seats in the small eatery.  Just as well since it was best to keep moving with our kiddos. We made our way to Piazza San Marco and while far more touristy than the piazza outside our hotel, the boys enjoyed running around while we listened to the nighttime entertainment emitting from all of the overpriced cafes lining the square.

As we walked back to our hotel, we were able to take in the lit up exterior of Palazzo Ducale and the Bridge of Signs under the moonlight as we listened to waves lap up against the boats and to accordions beckoning tourists for tips.

The next morning, on our way back to tourist central, we passed this vegetable market that caught our eye.  

We purchased some veggie snacks, and I still remember the taste of these bright cherry tomatoes.

We made our way back to Piazza San Marco and actually enjoyed the more crowded, daylight version, although I must say that it was not as crowded as I had feared.  This is a huge benefit of visiting touristy spots in the shoulder season which is much easier to accomplish with young children before school schedules become a factor.  Bryson and Connor had so much fun chasing the pigeons.  So many pigeons! The scene was the typical pigeon covered piazza from all of the Venice travel photos you have ever seen, but somehow it was so much cuter when there were two matching little boys chasing these pigeons while their giggles filled the air.  

Apparently, it was not just my biased mom opinion that they were adorable because we soon had a tourist asking if she could take a photo with them.  The boys did not want to cooperate with that request (which is illustrated by the stroller in the below photo), so the tourist ended up of with an added bonus in her photo – Rob!  He helped settle the boys long enough to take some photos, then they were off chasing pigeons once again.

We knew from the start that we would not be able to enjoy a gondola ride since we were traveling with our two little wiggle worms.  Of course, this is the one thing you should not miss while in Venice. I had ridden a gondola during my previous visit to Venice, so it was not as sad for me, but I am sure we will make it back there one day so Rob can experience the ride.  To make up for missing this required activity, we decided to visit Palazzo Ducale which I had not done on my previous trip. It was quite impressive, but the boys did not seem to think the same so we rushed through the palace since they were getting restless.  

Because our hotel offered a large spread at breakfast, we did not need lunch until after our visit to Palazzo Ducale.  After making our way up and over the most daunting bridge of all, The Rialto Bridge, without much of a game plan, we realized we were getting a bit peckish.  Soon we were passing Antico Forno which I had read about on TripAdvisor but had not sought out despite it sounding like a perfect fit for us.  

What luck for us to stumble across it because it ended up being the best pizza we ate in all of Italy. We nibbled on it as we sat al fresco on a bench alongside the Grand Canal – a slice with a view!

The rest of our day was spent wandering aimlessly in Venice taking it all in.  It was an enjoyable afternoon although Rob and I were quite jealous of those sitting at cafes enjoying Aperol spritz without a care in the world!  

We so wanted to join the fun but did not want to ruin the serenity of the cafe patrons, so we opted for a bottle of wine from a wine shop near our hotel and another nap for the boys.  

Since we were a little more rested this evening, we decided to actually search for a dinner restaurant instead of opting for something close and easy.  I am so glad we did this. I had read about Trattoria San Basilio and even though it was off the beaten path on the edge of Venice, it was the perfect opportunity to ride the Vaporetto which was the closest thing we were going to get to a gondola ride during this trip.  The “bus” ride gave us an economical tour of the Grand Canale, and we disembarked at the San Basilio stop where a few steps later, we were at our destination, a family run establishment in every sense of the word.  

By the end of the meal, we also felt like part of the family.  The owners took it upon themselves to keep our boys entertained throughout the meal.  I do not recall ordering here, it was as if we were at our family’s house and they just brought things out of the kitchen that they thought we would like, and we liked all of it, especially Bryson as you can see!

By the time we were done visiting our “family”, it was dark which made the ride back on the Vaporetto a new experience.  It was the perfect ending to our short stay in Venice, a place we will surely visit again … and again … and again …

The post Ah … Venice appeared first on Explore More Travel Co.| Lake Norman and Charlotte area's premier luxury travel agency.

This trip marked my fourth time in Italy and Rob’s second time, yet neither of us had ever seen The Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It was more or less on the way to San Gimignano, so clearly we had to stop. I had always heard it was a little underwhelming, but how could I pass up the chance for a cheesy photo of me holding up the tower?!?  It had to be done.

From what I could tell, Pisa is just worth a stop en route to somewhere else.  The area surrounding the tower was there simply to support the hordes of tourists constantly arriving via tour buses.  As you approach the tower, you are overwhelmed with the number of souvenir stands lining the roads. How many tourists there must be in high season to support the sheer number of trinkets being offered to us as we passed?  We avoided eye contact and made our way to the tower. Knowing that climbing the tower with the boys was off the table, we quickly toured the Pisa Cathedral then let the boys blow off some steam running aimlessly around the pathways surrounding the cathedral and tower.  

The dark grey clouds loomed overhead as we captured our required photos, but somehow we avoided rain once again.  

By this point in our trip, we had developed a steadfast rule to eat lunch on the go and to allow ourselves a sit-down dinner.  Lucky for us, the #1 restaurant on TripAdvisor for all of Pisa is a panini shop called “I Porci Comodi”. We were unfamiliar with most of the deli meats displayed, so I am not really sure what we ended up eating, but it was good.  There were only three small tables inside, so we took our chances with the rain and walked back towards the tower. It was starting to sprinkle ever so slightly, so we ducked into a doorway of the cathedral facing The Leaning Tower of Pisa and scored the best lunch spot in town.  

As we left and tried to make our way quickly through the souvenir stalls, a child-sized bright blue shirt caught my eye.  Displayed proudly on the front was none other than Lightning Mcqueen and Mater directly in front of The Leaning Tower of Pisa and the word “Italia”.   It was so tacky and perfect at the same time. Right then and there, I had an epiphany – all of the tacky souvenirs I would never buy for myself could now be purchased for my children.  After haggling with two different souvenir vendors, I had my two Lightning McQueen & Mater Pisa shirts for just 15 euros. Trust me, we definitely got our money’s worth, yet I can only find this one photo of my kids in their favorite shirt.  Here it is in all of its tacky souvenir shirt glory!

After acquiring our treasures, we were soon on our way to San Gimignano – a well preserved medieval town perched atop the hills of Tuscany.  You would think it would be easy to spot a hilltop town, but alas, this was not the case. Apparently, everyone arrives in San Gimignano from Florence, but we were coming from Pisa which is apparently off the beaten path.  We roamed the Tuscan countryside, sometimes in the wrong direction. There were no signs to San Gimignano until we were a couple of miles away. International mobile plans were not in our budget back in 2015 and the google maps turn-by-directions I had printed on multiple pieces of paper were not cutting it.  We ended up stopping every so often, trying to find somebody who could give us directions in broken English or in arrows scribbled on a piece of scrap paper. After much trial and tribulation, we finally made it to the town which is not meant for cars.

We had directions to get to our accommodations, Hotel Leon Bianco, directly on the central piazza, but we could not for the life of us, figure out the maze of one-way streets that surrounded the piazza, so we eventually decided to park where we could, despite it not being a legal parking spot, because we could tell from the map that we were close to the hotel even if we were not directly in front of it.  We unloaded all of our stuff and made the steep walk to the hotel. After checking in, Rob was directed where to park our car permanently. The parking lot was at the bottom of the hill that the town is perched atop and then a bit further. I had no concept for how far it was away, so as I waited for him in our hotel room with the boys, I wondered if he had taken this opportunity for some alone time at a bar.  Apparently, that was not the case, it really was that far. I just hoped we had not forgotten anything in the car!

We chose Hotel Leon Bianco for its Tuscan feel and central location.  The location ended up being extremely important on our first night as shortly after Rob returned from the car, it began to rain.  We tried to wait it out but eventually decided to eat a quick meal at Bar Le Torri which was more or less attached to our hotel. It was not bad, but I would not recommend it unless you were staying at Hotel Leon Bianco and were trying to avoid a rainstorm.  But why worry about a mediocre meal when you are staying across the piazza from the gelato world champion and the rain ends right as you are finishing your dinner? In a matter of seconds, we were staring at the endless array of flavors at Gelateria Dondoli unable to decide which one to choose.  One of the things I love about gelato is the smaller scoops that allow you to try multiple flavors without consuming too much.  I am a taster, I love to try as much as possible and apparently when it comes to gelato, as often as possible. We enjoyed at least one gelato stop each day we were in Italy but nowhere did we enjoy gelato more than at Gelateria Dondoli.  The flavors here were so unique, and we did not taste any that we did not enjoy!  

Overnight, the rain clouds passed, and we were blessed with a perfect spring day.  We took advantage of the weather by spending the entire morning and early afternoon walking the town.  San Gimignano is a walled medieval town, and most of the walls are still intact. I had read that when visiting San Gimignano, one must walk the path along the medieval walls.  It is the only way to truly appreciate the rolling hills of Tuscany dotted with iconic Tuscan cypress trees as far as the eye could see. We were prepared for an initial struggle to get atop the walls, but we were not prepared for the endless cycle of up and down that walking the walls entails.  

While we did not make it the entire route along the walls, we explored enough to appreciate the beauty of the surrounding countryside.  

We reached a commerce area along the route where one of the restaurants I had read about on TripAdvisor was located.  Caffe Giardino offered the view we were seeking of the Tuscan countryside without walking up and down the town’s medieval walls.  It also allowed us to grab a quick bite without a long, involved sit-down meal. We ordered at a counter and soon had our meal.  Unfortunately, the boys were not cooperating with sitting down for this meal so we stepped outside and sat on a bench where we were afforded the same view.  The silver lining is that this area also happened to be near where our car was parked, so we were able to get a few items that were of course forgotten in our rush to find our hotel the day before.

After finishing our lunch, we were at an entrance to the town along the wall, so we chose to walk the far less steep route through the town along the shopping streets.  I can not stress enough how important it is to bring umbrella strollers when traveling with young children in foreign lands.  In America, everything is ADA compliant, but that is impossible in places as antique as San Gimignano or in other places without funding for these types of endeavors.  Although it would have been nice to have the sturdiness and comfort of our double stroller, there is no way we would have been able to get through the doorways of many of the stores we popped into that afternoon.  

Every so often, we would let the boys out of their strollers to run throughout piazzas and climb the steps leading to the many historic buildings and cathedrals.  

Throughout the afternoon, we acquired wine, bread, cheeses, as well as a couple of trinkets for the boys. Shopping in San Gimignano proved to be quite entertaining, even if we did have to carefully navigate the shops with two strollers!

By the end of the day, my feet were begging me for a break.  What better place to take that break than the jacuzzi on the hotel rooftop.  Not only did we book Hotel Leon Bianco for its central location, but for the fact that our room had a separate living area that housed the boys baby cots – the jacuzzi was the icing on the cake.  The boys needed a proper nap, so Rob stayed with them while I enjoyed the rooftop jacuzzi, a rare moment alone. At this phase in the twins’ lives, I would rarely spend time alone because of “mom guilt”.  Rob and I did things together while somebody watched them for a quick date or I would leave them with Rob so I could do something with others. However, I never allowed for “me time”, I would use that time to do something that needed to be done in the house.  I am convinced that I would not have enjoyed these memorable, relaxing moments if we were not in a distant land where I wanted to take full advantage of every opportunity presented to me, and this is one of the reasons I encourage you to travel with children.  

We were all rested and relaxed as we made our way to dinner at Il Trovatore, a short walk to the outskirts of town.  After a few wrong turns, we finally made our way.  It was too cool to sit outside, so we were not really able to appreciate the view from the restaurant but definitely appreciated it before we entered.  

It had a very family friendly vibe, and the staff was very sweet to our boys and entertained us as we watched them cook our meals on their open fire indoor grill.  Rob opted for one of their big steaks that you could choose from a case, while I had pasta and ordered lasagna for the boys. It was hands down the best lasagna we had in Italy, so we ended up eating most of theirs!  See my TripAdvisor review here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187901-d1405799-r270621685-Il_Trovatore-San_Gimignano_Tuscany.html

We did not dare try dessert at Il Trovatore, as we had a date with the gelato at Gelateria Dondoli, and we do not cheat on those we love. Eating our gelato in the middle of the central piazza while the night was winding down was the perfect ending to our stay.  Some people complain that San Gimignano is too crowded and touristy, but for us, the hordes of tourists making day trips from Florence allowed us to better appreciate the evenings when we had the town to ourselves and could enjoy the calm after the storm.  If you worry about the crowds here, my sister and brother in law enjoyed their visit to Volterra, a less touristy version of San Gimignano nearby. I can personally recommend Siena and Pienza as other Tuscan towns that can be used as a base to explore the area, although I have never visited these places with my children.  There is a good chance that I take them there one day though, and I will definitely let my readers know how it goes! In spite of our literal ups and downs along the wall and some initial issues finding our hotel by automobile, San Gimignano was a perfectly paced visit to Tuscany for The Explore More Family!

The post The Tour of Italy’s Hilliest Towns Continues appeared first on Explore More Travel Co.| Lake Norman and Charlotte area's premier luxury travel agency.

After an exhausting trip crossing the Atlantic with two toddlers in tow, we awoke on day two in a better state.  We had chosen Sestri Levante as our base to tour the Cinque Terre and surrounding coast because it was easy to access with a vehicle and flat, which is a necessity when traveling with two strollers.  What I did not consider was 1) how steep the Cinque Terre and many of our other destinations during this trip were and 2) the fact that we were traveling with not one, but two, strollers! I really do not know what I was thinking would happen when we arrived at each steep destination. There are no elevators or even many ramps located in towns constructed during the middle ages. The first lesson of our trip was learned the hard way:  when traveling with young children, do not choose the destination based on your bucket list, but rather choose wherever is the easiest to maneuver with your small children and all the excess baggage that comes from traveling with them.  Hindsight is 20/20, so I was happy to learn this lesson early in my traveling with children endeavours. Any mistakes that I have made I can now share with others wanting to take their first steps of traveling with young children so that their experience is not necessarily better, but easier.  

In Sestri Levante, we stayed at a small family run hotel.  The rooms were small, but we had a nice sized balcony.  The balcony had no view, but it was such a nice reprieve after our busy days to enjoy a bottle of Italian wine while the boys fell asleep in their baby cots.  I knew to book rooms with balconies, but it was not until we were on the trip that I realized what a necessity it is to have a balcony when traveling with young children.  

The hotel could not have been better located, we walked to everything we could possibly need – parking, train, beach, shops, and restaurants.  Not that we really needed restaurants because our hotel had a fantastic restaurant that we could have happily eaten at every night. Normally, I would want to try as many restaurants at a destination as possible, but knowing that we would be especially weary from the boys adjusting to a new place and time zone, we opted to dine two nights at the hotel restaurant.  Breakfast was included every morning of our stay, and we received a half board rate for the two nights that we dined at the hotel.  The meals did not disappoint – antipasti followed by a primi plate and a secondi main finished with dolci, all prepared by a very entertaining chef who made the boys giggle, was more than we could have hoped for.  

All of the staff were so helpful throughout our stay. We would attempt to clean up the boys mess after each meal, but the staff would not let us insisting that we let them do it. When we worried about the boys crying the first night, they reassured us that it was okay.  They even went to the room next door and acted out a loud scene to prove that the rooms were soundproof. The effort was Italian gold!

Our agenda for Day 2 was simple enough.  Drive 1.5 hours from Sestri Levante to Portovenere, a charming seaside town often overlooked because of its proximity to the Cinque Terre.  The only hiccup we had here was that we were forced to park a short hike from the town, but it was a beautiful stroll along the water with playgrounds along the way to entertain the boys, so we really did not mind stretching our legs after sitting most of the previous 36 hours.  

We ate along the waterfront, but I think the restaurant fell into the category of tourist trap because the only thing I recall from that meal is the view.  One really cannot complain much about food when staring at the Mediterranean Sea on a sunny spring day while a gentle sea breeze cures your jet-lagged fatigue.  

Upon completing our mediocre meal, we walked around the corner and discovered the pedestrian thoroughfare that you would probably conjure up if you were asked to close your eyes and  envision a charming Italian pedestrian street.

We stopped for our daily gelato at a quaint little shop, then stumbled upon the La Cambusa stall at the entrance to the pedestrian area where we sampled the most amazing pesto.  

Until this fateful day, I did not even know that I really cared for pesto, but unbeknownst to us, we were in the region where pesto originated.  People take pesto seriously here. In fact, there is even a Pesto World Championship!

One taste of Pesto Genovese on a piece of fresh bread was all we needed to leave Portovenere with a fresh loaf of bread and way more pesto than we could possibly consume over our two remaining days at our hotel where we had a small refrigerator.

After carb loading on pasta and bread dipped in pesto the night before, we awoke on day three ready to take on the world … or at least the Cinque Terre!  We knew it would be the most ambitious day of our trip, but logistically it made the most sense to do it on this day because we had one day after to recoup before heading to our next hotel.  Logistics are very important to considerwhen de veloping an itinerary with young children.

We awoke to gloomier weather than the day before, but despite its threats, rain never hampered our day.  A short stroll to the train station in Sestri Levante and we are on our way to Monterosso al Mare where our plan was to catch the ferry to Riomaggiore, the furthest of the villages, then stop at Manarola and Vernazza during the return trip. 

Upon disembarking the train in Monterosso, we quickly made our way to the ferry, bypassing the village opting instead to visit it on the return. Time was of the essence, and the ferries would only get more crowded as the day progressed. We waited in line amongst many tourists and when the ferry arrived and we saw those in front of us walking the narrow ramp onto the boat, we wondered how we were safely going to get the boys and strollers on board.  We hastily took the boys out of their strollers and instead of folding the strollers up or pushing them up the ramp, Rob proceeded to lift the stroller above his head not thinking of what was stored underneath the seat of the stroller. I watched in horror as my newish DSLR camera tumbled into the sea below. It was as if it happened in slow motion. The ferry crew leapt into action and retrieved my camera from the waves below, but it was too late.  My camera was never to work again.  Of course, the time it took to recover my camera was more than what it would have taken to see if the stroller could have been pushed up the ramp or to collapse the stroller. 

At this point, I would like to bestow upon you another lesson about traveling with children, do not rush.  Most people have sympathy for the person traveling with small children and when you are traveling, many people around you are also tourists and not really in a hurry anyway.  

Nowhere did we rely on the kindness of strangers more than in the Cinque Terre. Things started out well as it was a fairly flat walk from the train station to the ferry in Monterosso.  However, things changed quickly as we disembarked the ferry at Riomaggiore.

Everywhere we looked, there were stairs.  How were we going to get up and down all those stairs with two strollers?  Especially since I was less than a year and a half from having had back surgery.  Do not get me wrong, we were not completely crazy and were far from the only tourists with a stroller.  But we were definitely the only tourists with two strollers and only one able body able to carry the stroller up the maze of stairs that led the way to the village’s main piazza.  Once we were in the main part of village, there were fewer stairs and the commercial areas were at an incline. I could push a stroller uphill with a few rests built in, but carrying a child and stroller up stairs was out of the question which made the route from the ferry to the village very intimidating.  This was our system:

Rob carried child #1 strapped into a stroller up a set of stairs while I waited with child #2.

Rob would quickly descend stairs while I quickly ascended same stairs so that neither child was left unattended for more than a couple of seconds.

I would wait with child #1 while Rob carried child #2 strapped into his stroller.

We both pushed strollers to the next set of stairs.

Repeat.

Luckily, the kindness of strangers was our saving grace.  An innumerable amount of thank yous and gratzis were uttered this day.  

We had no expectations of dining in the Cinque Terre.  One adjustment that needs to be made quickly when you consider traveling with young children is that of enjoying every meal at sit down restaurants.  This was just as well for us this day because we had too much to see and too little time. But in general, be prepared to eat on the go when traveling with young children.  

Lucky for us, we love hole in the wall type places because it allows for more authentic experiences, and we found a couple of gems during our visit.  El Pescato Cucinato was highly recommended on TripAdvisor and was just the type of place we needed after making our way uphill.   Italian style fish and chips, plus a few extra treats from the sea, quick and fresh, allowed us to refuel quickly before continuing on our way.  

After strolling through the rest of the town, we made our way back to the ferry which took us to Manarola.  A similar scene of carrying strollers up a labyrinth of stairs commenced with strangers playing the part of hero to the crazy Americans traveling with twin toddler boys!  When we did not think we could not walk any further, we took respite in a restaurant with a view to the sea where the boys enjoyed sweet treats and the grown ups enjoyed different kinds of treats.  

Once back on the ferry, we realized we were starting to lose daylight and were quite exhausted from our literal ups and downs throughout the day.  It was with much sadness that we made the decision not to visit Vernazza. When I envision the Cinque Terre, it is photos of Vernazza that I see in my head.  It was the village I most wanted to visit, but it was just too much to fit in if we wanted to keep our sanity.

We saw Vernazza from the sea, but you cannot see the postcard view from the ferry.  However, when I really think about it, the photo I wanted to capture would have most likely required a hike to get to that perfect vantage point and that would have never been possible.  

Vernazza is supposed to be the most touristy of the villages, so it would have probably been the most difficult to explore with our strollers. It is not far fetched to say I will be there again one day and will be able to visit the villages more thoroughly.  As far as visiting it with toddlers, it is very doable with one and maybe even two if both parents are in perfect health. Our biggest mistake that day was not taking the train all the way to Riomaggiore, walking downhill through town to the port, then taking the ferry to Manarola and Vernazza ending in Monterosso al Mare.  The stairs would have still posed a challenge, but we would have started the day downhill and would have had the time needed to see all the villages.

Although I was disappointed to not visit Vernazza, I quickly made peace with it.   Connor and I sat outside on the front of the ferry letting the sea spray tickle our faces.  It was a rare one on one moment where he just sat still in my lap for a few minutes.

However, this calm did not last long and it turned out that my camera was not the only one of our belongings to find its way to the sea that day.  Without rhyme or reason, Connor threw his sippy cup into the sea. In an effort to not overpack, I only brought one sippy cup for each of the boys. This might not seem like that big of a deal, but sippy cups are not nearly as easy to come by in Italy.  Something you might not think about, unless you are a twin parent, is that you literally have to have two of the same thing or the twins will fight about it. We bought an Italian sippy cup that was not nearly as user friendly as the one we brought with us from home, and the rest of the trip was spent fighting over which cup each one would drink from.  The morale of this story is to always bring more than you need when traveling with toddlers!

Despite not visiting all the villages we intended to visit and losing both a camera and a sippy cup, I could not be upset.  I had crossed off a high priority item off of my bucket list and spent quality time with those I love most. You will always lose things or have to spend more due to some mistake you make while traveling, but when these things happen, we shrug it off as the cost of travel.  It is always worth the price. Our day ended in Monterroso where an on the go snack break was followed by time at a playground where our children frolicked with other children as afternoon became evening.  

A slow paced day to the Italian Riviera was the perfect follow up to our day in Cinque Terre.  Even though it was only a forty-five minute drive from our hotel, it seemed to last much longer since my eyes were glued to the road the whole time in an attempt to help Rob navigate the windy and often one laned road to Portofino.  

Of course, Rob may use another word than helping!  The drive made one thing obvious, one must really want to go to this village to make the trip, which has cultivated it into a resort town for the rich and famous.    

Portofino literally means the port at the end of the road, and that is exactly what it is!  The road spits you out into the town’s underground parking garage, and even though it was expensive, it was nice not to have to look for a place to park.  When we exited the garage, we were right in the middle of the action. Keeping to our pledge to take it easy this day, we just pushed the boys along in their strollers along the entire harbor while we marveled at the brightly colored buildings taking guesses on how much it would cost to purchase one.  We bought the boys some local sweets in the main square by the port and let them run around as the church bells chimed.

Even though we really did not do anything there, I really liked the feel of Portofino, mostly because it seemed like the kind of place my mom would have driven out of her way to show us while on a vacation simply because it was pretty.  As a child or adolescent, I would have teased her relentlessly for wasting our time. I am not sure if I truly appreciate these types of places now or if I simply appreciate them because they make me nostalgic. Either way, I am glad we made the effort to see a little slice of the Italian Riviera.

Our original plan was to eat lunch in Portofino, but the restaurants we saw did not look like the kind of places that would fancy our cumbersome strollers and our children running around the tables.  

We opted to keep our visit to Portofino to an hour so that we could save on the high parking costs and made our way back the way we came stopping for lunch in the town of Santa Margherita Ligure. This ended up being a much better option for us despite us learning the hard way that when you order a carry out meal at a restaurant with tables, you must declare whether you will eat there or take away. Apparently, they charge extra if you decide to grace their tables and chairs with your presence, so do not say take away and then sit down. You will be scolded! We took our food outside by the water which was a much better set up for us anyway. At that stage in the boys life, it was not worth taking a table at a restaurant if there were no high chairs available.

Luckily, our dinner spot that night did have plenty of high-chairs available.  On our last night, we ate where we saw the locals eating, I Due Forni Pizzeria, just a few steps away from our hotel.  We were seated next to another set of twins (these two were fraternal and Italian, gemelli), but even through broken English, we could relate with these parents trying to entertain their kids with toys and coloring books while preventing the young children from spilling the red house wine placed well within reach by the waiter who clearly did not have children of his own.  What better place to dine with Italian families than a pizza restaurant, a food that transcends all borders and is loved by children worldwide.

Were our first few days foolproof?  Absolutely not. We made many mistakes, but we also created memories that I can vividly relive almost four years later.  I cannot recall much of the day to day grind from the first two years of raising twin boys, but I remember fondly these two weeks that my family and our two strollers spent visiting some of Italy’s hilliest destinations.  

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Gemelli

You may know Gemelli as the short, corkscrew-shaped pasta made up of two thick strands twisted together.  But for me, it is so much more. Hearing the word conjures up magical memories of Italy …

The square in Venice where an impromptu play date took place when Italian children started playing with twin American toddlers while their parents communicated through broken words and smiles.

An Italian hotel owner borrowing a baby cot from a neighboring hotel so that these twins could be squeezed in his small, European sized room.

The Italian lady walking her matching dogs and allowing them to play with the matching children.

An Italian chef making a special meal and an extra space at the table with a make-shift high chair in his BnB dining room where there had never before been a need to sit two toddlers at the same time.

A hotel receptionist reading an Italian bedtime story in an attempt to lull them to sleep when their jet lag prevented them from doing so.

The Asian tourist who wanted to take a photo with the twin toddlers in Piazza San Marco, but ended up with a photo of her with them and their father.

You see, gemelli is the Italian word for twins, and the word is music to my ears.

When deciding where we would travel internationally with our twins for the first time, Italy was a natural choice.  Rob and I had gone there for his two week R&R leave during his deployment to Iraq, so it has a special place in our hearts as the place where we reconnected after being apart for seven months.  We loved everything about Italy – the architecture, the natural beauty, the people, the food, and of course, the wine …

Do not get me wrong, I did not think we would be able to enjoy Italy as much as the last time, especially the wine!  But despite concerns of a red-eye Transatlantic flight with two 22-month-old boys, we made Italy the choice for our first international trip with Bryson & Connor.  

Did I mention that we did not buy airline seats for the boys?  Children up to the age of two can fly for free on their parents’ laps.  I think most people who take advantage of that rule have one baby between two parents who can switch holding the child during the flight.  Many probably draw the line at an overnight flight. 

We went all in, toddler on each lap all night long. It could not be that bad, right?

 

Wrong!  It was bad.  Really bad. Worse than I thought it would be.  And we were lucky! The gate agent took mercy upon us and arranged a vacant seat in between us, but the boys were in awe of everything around them.  It was all so new and exciting, and not being in a proper space for sleeping made them not realize it was time to sleep. 

The boys did not even seem tired.  Rob and I were exhausted. Eventually, the boys gave in and fell asleep briefly, waking up excitedly a few hours later to sunlight and breakfast being served.  

Barely able to keep our eyes opened, we quickly stopped for lunch as morning was already over and we had just begun our road trip.  The Autostrada is a series of toll roads/highways that efficiently allow you to exit and re-enter in a very streamlined process. It is not like the United States where you exit the highway with ten restaurants and gas stations to choose from.   In Italy, you get one restaurant choice every few miles so you decide to eat there or drive to the next one. We quickly became fans of Autogrill which is more or less the McDonald’s of Italy. Since you only had one choice when you exited the Autostrada, you needed to make sure you picked the restaurant brand with the most options.  The first Autogrill we stopped at spanned across the Autostrada so that both sides of the Autostrade could access the same restaurant. What almost two-year-old boy would not love staring below as cars whizzed under their feet?

After consuming much needed sustenance, we were again on our way to Sestri Levante, but we did not make it very far.  Our eyelids started getting heavier and heavier, so we zipped off the Autostrada for a cappuccino, then another and another … at some point, I resorted to straight espresso like a real Italian.  Even though I was not driving and we had not paid the extra money to list me as a driver, I felt the need to stay awake for moral support and also because I did not fancy falling off the edge of some of the windiest roads I have ever traversed.  Of course, during this time, the babies were snoozing, so we had no hope of a nap once we arrived at our hotel.

Many people say not to take a nap when you are jet lagged because it takes longer to adapt.  I would happily nap on a normal day at home, so when I am tired and given the opportunity, I jump on it, no matter where I am.  I do not find it hampers my adjustment horribly, the key when traveling with children is that you are all on the same schedule.  As long as my kids are napping when I am painfully tired and also need a nap, then I do not mind them staying up later than normal as we adjust to our traveling norm.  Sadly, a nap was not in the cards this first day of our trip. Although it was certainly a rough journey, it was all worth it when we arrived, settled in at our hotel, then found the perfect little spot on the beach with a playground for the boys and a bar for the grown-ups.  We had the happiest of hours while the boys played and we recouped.

Becoming parents, especially to two babies at one time, takes a lot of your energy away.  After putting your kids to bed, you seek refuge on the couch and while you may be watching the same show and sharing the same bottle of wine, you are not really connecting.  We made sure that everywhere we stayed on this trip (and all subsequent trips) had a balcony (preferred) or second room to ensure we had a place to connect and unwind from our day.  With our Italian wine (or Prosecco) in hand, we talked about the day we had, the kind of day we wanted to have tomorrow, and anything else that came to mind.

Getting away from the everyday grind is so important.  What better way to do it than in a foreign land where people engage with you warmly and pat your child’s head gently as they inquire“Gemelli?”  To which you reply with a smile, “Sì, gemelli”.

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