Dev, Beatrice, and I spent the last week in Florence and Rome, enjoying a last family vacation while we're still a family of three. We have been so busy these days with major professional projects, house-buying, and preparing for Baby #2 that it was really nice to take a week away just to be together without having any work to do. Also, on a more practical note, we were glad to slip in one more long flight before Beatrice turns two and is no longer eligible to fly for free.
Since Dev and I had both visited most of Italy's must-see sights on previous trips, we didn't feel a lot of pressure to see any particular things - we mostly just went on long walks, ate great food, and took lots of photos.
Of course, we did hit a few major tourist highlights, like the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Sistine Chapel in Rome (the last time I was in Rome the Chapel was closed for cleaning and renovation, so I had never seen it).
In Florence we stayed in a lovely furnished apartment in a seventeenth-century building overlooking the Arno and less than one block from the Ponte Vecchio (and thanks to Amy Turner for this excellent recommendation).
The Ponte Vecchio, from our apartment window
That meant we did all our sightseeing on foot - in fact, we didn't have to use a taxi, bus, or train during the three days we were there, which is much easier with a toddler. Staying in an apartment also meant we could eat out for breakfast and lunch but make dinner at home, saving money while also ensuring that Beatrice could go to bed relatively early. Usually we'd buy meats, cheeses, and breads from a local grocery store, eat them for dinner in the early evening, and then take a walk with Beatrice around the piazzas to get coffee and gelato before putting her to bed. Jetlag and weird travel schedules, however, meant that Beatrice did eat at least one dinner out at a fancy restaurant at 10pm - how European!
Beatrice picks daisies in the ruins of the Palatino
In Rome, too, we were lucky with location - in this case we stayed in a hotel within walking distance of Trevi Fountain, the Forum, the Colosseum, and virtually every other major sight, though we did have to hop in a taxi for our trip to the Vatican.
This was Beatrice's first international trip and overall she handled it remarkably well. The twelve-hour flights each way were challenging, to say the least, but at least Beatrice enjoyed traveling by train. On the train from Florence to Rome, Beatrice absolutely fell in love with a Russian preteen girl who was traveling home with her family from Venice's Carnivale - she sat on the girl's lap almost the entire 1.5-hour train ride, totally in awe of her impressive "big girl" ways and her bright pink sweater. Beatrice also took to hugging random toddlers she'd meet on her travels - I think after a week with only Dev and me she was starved for toddler companionship.
Beatrice feeds pigeons at the Vatican with an Italian little boy and his grandparents
Beatrice's favorite parts of Italy were pasta e fagioli, hot steamed milk (like a latte without the espresso: she calls them "hot cup"), peccorino cheese, dogs, and paintings of babies (mostly the baby Jesus). She went through the entire Uffizi going from one baby painting to another, shushing us all because there was a "baby" there. Other highlights included chasing pigeons at the Vatican, splashing in Trevi Fountain, and playing with rocks at the Colosseum. I'm sure Beatrice also enjoyed the near-constant desserts we bribed her with to keep her happy on long walks, on the train, and in museums. During the week she learned the words "cracker," "frog," and "Pope."
Beatrice and Dev share some pasta
Beatrice plays with pebbles at the Colosseum
The Italians loved children just as much as we'd heard they would, especially the men. Luckily Beatrice is very outgoing and loves attention - a shyer child might have been a bit nervous about all the strangers kissing her, hugging her, and picking her up, but Beatrice seemed genuinely delighted by it. Plus some of the people gave her candy.
Eating pizza in the hotel room in Rome
Drinking some "hot cup"
Also, and I know I'm bragging here, but I have to say - we spent a week in Italy with a toddler and all we packed in total was one carry-on bag, one checked bag, and one umbrella stroller for the three of us. Yep, pretty proud of that.
A lack of ramps or elevators meant that Dev carried Beatrice in her stroller up and down hundreds of stairs all over Italy.
This was our first trip out of the country in almost three years and our biggest trip since having a baby - it definitely feels great to be back in the swing of things again. We also learned a lot about what does and doesn't work when traveling internationally with toddlers.
Sleeping in the Rome train station
Beatrice, passed out asleep in a toy store
All in all, it was a great way to celebrate our last week as a family of three. Now we're back home and immersed in getting ready to move. In other news, I'm heading into week 30 of the pregnancy - Beatrice, you may remember, was born in week 38, so we're getting close . . .
Beatrice eating gelato
Check out more of our photo on Facebook or Flickr.
