How do you say "fish eyes" in Italian?
Thoughts on traveling with small children
Our son Alo was two years old the first time we took him on an international trip. No surprises here: it was to Ireland and we were well familiar with where we’d be going and so we were not at all anxious or stressed out about what it would be like to have a young child in tow. [Side note: Max did, however, book us at a bed & breakfast that *does not* allow children, thinking “it would be fine” (it wasn’t), so lesson learned there.] But otherwise, it was a breeze.
I left a week earlier for a writing retreat in Ballycastle, and Max and Alo flew into Belfast and picked me up. We traveled through Derry and then down the Wild Atlantic Way, and Alo was so chill and happy the entire time. We had a lot of fun on that trip, and made a lot of great memories. This was the trip where Alo tried fish eyes at a restaurant in Dingle and loved them, creating a moment I still love to talk to people about. Fish eyes are a delicacy which he continues to enjoy to this day.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that trip since we began to consider going away in March, and yet I’m only just remembering now that there was a day or two where Alo threw up constantly. So much so that we went through all of the clothes we had packed for him until we stayed at a hotel in Dingle that allowed us to use their washing machine (shout out to Inch Beach House for going above and beyond!). Now, as I recall, as quickly as the stomach bug came on, it went away, and Alo was eating his fish eyes later that very night.
Funny which memories still hold, and which get pushed aside.
As travel planners who specialize in Ireland, we rarely go elsewhere in Europe, and with two kids under the age of 10, we can barely find time for formal family vacations. This year, we decided to go to Italy for spring break as a bit of a “baby moon” before our restaurant, Alo’s, opens later this year (fingers crossed!). I admire couples who have it together enough to go on little vacations before they have a child, but Max and I never got around to doing this before our kids were born. Why not take a family honeymoon before our restaurant baby is born?
I daresay Max was a bit jealous of the three days I spent in Rome last year at Parabere. I’ve already talked about that one slice of pizza to death on my Substack, so you can imagine how Max feels married to me. Add to that the fact that we are in the process of opening an Italian restaurant, the trip to Italy almost manifested itself.
We didn’t start planning immediately, however, because we were unsure whether we wanted to take our two year old with us. Scratch that–of course we want to bring her! She’s just a bit more rambunctious than our son was at 2 and rarely sits still at the dinner table. How will she behave at a restaurant in Italy? What’s it like to travel in Italy with small children? Will we lose her on a tour of the Colosseum? These were some of the thoughts running through my head right off the bat.
She wouldn’t remember the trip anyway, we told ourselves as we went back and forth over whether or not to bring her along. And since she is now two, we’d have to pay for her seat on the plane. We were leaning pretty heavily towards leaving her with her grandparents–until we actually asked them and learned they would not be available to watch her the whole time we’re traveling. Decision made!
If you’ve been to Italy with small children we’d love to hear your tips (and recommendations!).