My dad is my great friend and to the disbelief of my old high school self, I have come to realize we are actually quite alike in personality.

Except at some crucial moments when we are traveling.

Over the last few years I have taught my dad the beauty and art of savoring the moment and throwing schedules to the wind.  My dad has reminded me that patience with family and a perfect packing job make for a better vacation.  Here is my list of favorite travel moments with him.  Some good, some bad and some utterly embarrassing.  Hey dad, this is pay back for grilling my boyfriends in the living room before they could date me.

10.  My parents met me in Rome after a cruise.  This was their first time ever in my favorite city on the planet and I couldn’t wait to make the introductions.  One of the first things I taught my dad was how to cross the busy streets; walk out with confidence while maintaining eye contact and never hesitating.  At his first lesson, I told him to stay close and do what I did.  When we got to the other side of the street he turned to my mom and said, “Our daughter has balls of steel!”

9.  I have driven a stick shift most of my life and usually have no problem, but on one particular day I was trying to get up a steep gravel road in our excessively weighted down sardine box of a rental.  I stalled half way up and couldn’t get the momentum back.  My dad saved the day, maneuvering that sorry car up the hill with gravel flying and smoke trailing behind us.  I am sure our hosts were wondering what they had gotten into watching our approach from above.

8.  Speaking of that cracker jack box of a rental, I had accidentally reserved an economy sized car instead of a compact.  Doesn’t sound too bad, right?  Not unless you want to take your luggage with you.  I stood in front of the car and fought back tears.  There was no way we were going to fit four adults, one child with her car seat and our luggage.  Then my dad started putting stuff together like a real-life game of Tetris.  The ride wasn’t the most luxurious but we didn’t have to leave anyone behind.  I know for a fact I could not have done that without him.

Well, hello again

7.  My dad has an uncanny sense of direction, maybe it was all the Boy Scout trips of his youth.  You can blind fold him, drop him in the middle of nowhere and before you can say Bear Grylls he will have found his way home.  Except in Italy.  For some reason his internal compass goes awry and I’m not sure if he would be able to find his head if it wasn’t attached.  Of course, we didn’t discover this until one fateful night in Rome when my dad was leading the charge toward the Spanish Steps.  Instead, we found ourselves repeatedly visiting the Column of Marcus Aurelius.  My dad commented that he didn’t realize Rome had so many relief style columns; I commented that I didn’t realize my dad knew how to read a map upside down.  Not the best night for the two of us.

6.  The issues with directions didn’t end there.  Originally, my dad was to be my co-pilot and right hand man in the car.  Nothing was farther from the truth and the tension came to a breaking point near Milan as I was demanding to know which exit to take for Lake Como.  He was utterly frozen and I was less than kind.  My mom decided to chirp in from the back seat (where her sole job was to entertain my daughter) and ‘help’ which only infuriated both of us more.  My dad balled up the map and threw it in her face, telling her where she could put it.  Mind you, this all happen in front of my four year old and the version found here is toned down for the sake of my readers.  The event made a lasting impression on my daughter, and to this day she will ask me to reenact the day Papa threw that map at Nana.

5.  For the most part though, travel with my dad has been bonding.  One of my favorite things to do with him is go for a morning cappuccino and then spend the rest of the day popping in and out of little cafes for our espresso fixes when my mom isn’t looking.

4.  Another great memory is cooking together with my dad after shopping in the morning markets.  Sometimes we would make nothing more than cheese and meat platters, other times we would go all out.  Once my dad made us steaks cooked over a centuries old hearth in a little villa in Tuscany while I put together a simple Carbonara.  Perfection.

3.  On that first trip to Rome, I took my dad into the Roman Forum.  I can’t explain how touching it was to look over and see him bent down on one knee and weeping over the site of Caesar’s cremation.  I knew then he wasn’t the average tourist.

2.  His love for Italy and travel in general started on that first trip and then blossomed even further when he returned two years later.  Watching him grow to appreciate and love the people and lifestyle of Italy was amazing.

Pants removal not required.

1.  I made sure my parents both traveled with their money belts containing everything of value safely tucked beneath the pants and safe from the fingers of pick-pockets.  They were instructed on the importance of use and what they should keep stowed inside.  What I forgot to mention, because the thought never ever even occurred to me, is that you do not need to remove your pants to access your money belt.  Yes, that’s right.  I happened to walk into the lobby of our hotel and found my dad in the corner with his pants around his thighs trying to pull a credit card out of his money belt.

Sorry dad, but this one was too good not to share.

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Copyright 2012   Andi Brown,  Once in a Lifetime Travel

The post Top Ten | Travel Memories With My Dad In Italy appeared first on Italy Travel Planner | Consultant | Once In a Lifetime Travel.

It is only fair that I include my personal top ten embarrassing travel moments after poking fun of others.  Ready or not here they are, and a third of them have to do with poo.  I apologize ahead of time.

10.  On a night train from Brindisi to Venice (when I was a teva wearing college backpacker) a very intoxicated older man slipped into our sleeping car and proceeded to try and feel me up.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt due to his state the first time and politely moved his hand.  The second time he grabbed my butt I kicked him in the face.

9.  I found a passport on the ground in Rome and spent the next several days feeling smug wondering if poor Sheila ever made it out of the country.  When I went to check in at my next accommodation, I realized I had left mine in the lobby of our previous B&B.  Not so smug anymore was I.

8.  Being related to my parents who bum-rushed the train from Rome to Florence, pushing and shoving everyone out of their way (with their luggage) in a hurry to find seats together.  They figured out too late that their seats were actually assigned.

The guilty party.

7.  I didn’t realize there is etiquette on a train when it comes to using the loo.  I found myself taking a poop in the middle of a station as the train made a painfully long stop.

6.  At a restaurant I had to use the one and only bathroom on the premises (and yes, it was a #2 again).  To my horror I absolutely could not figure out how to flush the damn thing.  I gave up and went to leave….bumping into a very handsome gentleman heading in to use the facilities after me.  Check please!

5.  Too late I realized there was not a square of toilet paper in the bathroom and I was without my trusty multi-purpose guidebook pages.  I had no choice but to use my favorite pair of polka dot underwear.

4.  After enjoying a splurge at a restaurant in Rome I went to the bathroom to…..just kidding!  I looked over the bill and saw that the tip was included so I did what I had been told to do and rounded up the total.  The waiter seeing that I had not given a second tip started throwing a tantrum and flapping the receipt all over the restaurant.  Horrified I threw him some money and ran out.  To this day I have no idea what happened.

3.  I rented my car…..for the wrong month.  Worse yet, it was for my tour group.

2.  I blame Rick Steves for this one.  On my backpacking college trip I took his Italian Phrase Book which had a fun section with things to say that were a little off the cuff; fun slang and curse words to break the ice with the locals.  One word we really latched on to was stronzo, the definition said it meant a dried hard piece of poo (I again apologize.  I’m a mother of 3 and a nurse, poo is a way of life for me).   We yelled it out at random times, more so when intoxicated.  One night, while watching the World Cup with some local friends we had recently made, we used our new word.  The crowd became silent and all eyes were on us.  Evidently dried hard piece of poo is putting it nicely.  We never uttered that word again.

1.  My friend and I decided to try and take an earlier train out of Rome but the line for tickets had taken forever.  We had no choice but to run for it (backpacks and all).  Just as we were about to climb the stairs to our platform, my friend slipped and fell backwards.  The weight of her pack prevented her from getting up and she literally looked like an upended tortoise.  I got her back on her feet and we went screaming up the stairs, taking them two at a time.  Red faced and breathless we were greeted with disapproving stares.  To my confusion, there was no train on the platform and everyone seemed to be just milling about.   I noticed the reader board.  One word.  Ritardo.  Late.  Aahh Italy.

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Copyright 2012   Andi Brown,  Once in a Lifetime Travel

The post Top Ten: Embarrassing Travel Moments in Italy appeared first on Italy Travel Planner | Consultant | Once In a Lifetime Travel.

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I was crazy to take my toddler to Italy by myself I would have never come back.  You are wasting your money; she will never remember anything.  She will be a mess on that long flight.  How will you pack everything by yourself?  She won’t stand going to museums or sitting through long dinners.  Jet lag, potty issues, getting sick, being bored.  I heard it all.

But one month after my daughter’s second birthday I defiantly boarded a flight to Rome armed with a backpack of her necessities, one suitcase for both of us, a stroller and Benadryl.  I could see that look in the other passengers’ eyes.  You know the one.  Everyone hoping we were nowhere near their seat; thirteen hours with a small child in an even smaller space could be considered a version of hell on earth.  To the shock and relief of those around me she was an angel on the plane;  she devoured her ‘fancy’ meal, watched a movie and then proceeded to pass out.  I can’t say the same for many of the other passengers.

I quickly found out that traveling with my daughter did two things:  opened doors to experiences and got us free stuff.  People who would have done nothing more than complete their transaction with me or more likely not noticed my presence were suddenly whisking us behind counters and showing us part of the real Italian life I had not seen before.  We met dogs; we met grandkids.  We watered plants and learned to make pizza.  We held rabbits and petted goats. And I haven’t even gotten to the free stuff.   My daughter learned a simple smile meant extra scoops of gelato or little candies in her hand.  I don’t think I went anywhere with her that some old lady wasn’t trying to feed her.  She was the star at dinner, our waiters taking pride in her appetite.  Did I ever pay for dessert?  Maybe my own?

She loved the Roman Forum, although it was the beetles not the ruins that caught her eye.  Every new hill town was exciting; who knew how many kitties would be hiding in the narrow cobblestone streets.  Trains were a marvel.  Maps became new toys.  Piazzas her playgrounds.  My passion for travel deepened with each new discovery she made.

Maybe I was crazy and it is true that she doesn’t remember that trip.  But my daughter has no fear of the unknown and loves new experiences.  I have since taken her back to Italy (see the photos below) and she now has her own travel bucket list.  The lesson to be taken here is that having a family does not mean your travel dreams are over.  They are just different.  I may not be able to travel as much as I did before, but I never use children as my excuse to stay home.  Travel is good for them.  They begin to understand the world is a bigger place and differences are to be celebrated.  Travel is good for you.  You will find indescribable joy watching your child experience another culture.

I could list the top ten reasons why traveling with kids is cool, but I think these pictures do a better job.

Copyright 2011  Andi Brown  Once in a Lifetime Travel

The post Top Ten: Reasons Traveling with Kids is Cool appeared first on Italy Travel Planner | Consultant | Once In a Lifetime Travel.