In an effort to record this trip chronologically, this first post is largely concerned with travel and transit and therefore not really all that heavy on Italy or photos or excitement. But bear with me, that is coming in due course. I will reserve the right to editorialize as I go along as well while retaining a synopsis of each day’s events.
Before setting off on this adventure, I had high hopes of blogging reasonably soon after returning but life has a way of being extra busy just when I want to add something new to my plate. Armed with a notebook, I kept track of every little thing as we traveled so in an effort to make blogging more straightforward and so as to make my recount more accurate and thorough. Since returning, I’ve barely squeaked out a brief summary and itinerary post and now I’m finally delving into the actual details almost a month after our return…
Our Journey Begins
April 10th dawned with an air of excitement. After months of waiting and planning, weeks of packing, days of last minute preparations and checks, we were finally on our way to Italy. Checking off our iPhone list, we verified that we had everything we intended to bring and weren’t forgetting something important. Giddy with anticipation and a hint of anxiety, we loaded the car and piled inside. A strange feeling took over as we pulled out of the driveway: the realization that we were going to be away from home for quite awhile. And not just away, but across the ocean in another continent away.
Jason drove us to my sister Elisabeth’s house since she had graciously agreed to drive us to the airport and pick us up on our return. Michael fell asleep along the way so I went in to get Elisabeth while Jason waited with our sleeping baby. We made the short journey to the airport and unloaded our bags. We bid farewell to Elisabeth and thanked her for taking us to and from the airport. Situating Michael in the Ergo front carry position, Jason hoisted my suitcase backpack onto my back. He took the two backpacks in addition to his backpack suitcase. The trip had begun in earnest.
We made our way over to the kiosks and checked in. Because we were traveling with an “infant in arms”, we had to also go up to the ticketing desk to get our boarding documents and verify Michael’s age and our passports. The lovely thing about traveling from a small airport is the relative lack of lines and chaos so this was quick and painless. We made our way over to security but Michael’s boarding document wouldn’t scan and so we were sent back to the ticketing desk. As it turned out, infants without seats only need boarding documents for overseas portions of travel and thus the “boarding document” that we’d handed the TSA agent was nothing more than a pointless and misleading scrap of paper. Fortified with this new knowledge, we simply handed over our own boarding documents along with passports and we were let through since mine noted that we had an infant in our party. Pulling out our allotted quart size Ziploc bags of liquids and placing them into containers alongside our shoes, we breezed through security like professional. After the metal detector, I waited without prompting for the mandatory palm swipe of anyone carrying an infant. I always feel a sense of lightness after making it through security. It feels like the last major hurdle between me and being on my way. We reshod ourselves and repacked our liquids and made our way to the gate.
Now began the waiting phase of our travel day. We had allowed far more time than necessary to get to the airport, checked in, and through security. We took turns sitting with the luggage and chasing after Michael as he explored the newly renovated gate area. He took great delight in running up and down and climbing up and down from the various types of chairs and stools in the waiting areas. We were happy to let him run and expend some energy in preparation for our flight. It also made the time pass a bit more quickly. Eventually it was time to board. We settled into our seats and waited to take off. Our flight was a bit delayed leaving the tarmac which was somehow blamed on the Masters tournament in Augusta. Be that as it may, we made up the time in the air and arrived as scheduled in Charlotte.
In Charlotte, our main order of business was getting a bite to eat. We opted for Bad Daddy Burger Bar as one last American meal before the deliciousness of Italy. Jason went for the Pastrami Burger with regular fries while I opted for a Western Burger with sweet potato fries. While they won’t rank on my list of top burgers I’ve ever eaten, they were tasty enough and certainly filling. With the remainder of our time until boarding, we let Michael run again as in Charleston.
When we boarded, we were met with the absolutely delightful news that our flight wasn’t completely full and that we could move over to an empty center section with four whole seats for the three of us. We’d been envisioning a transatlantic flight with only two seats and a squirmy toddler. This change made things so much more comfortable. Michael was even able to lay flat across two seats as he slept which he proceeded to do more or less immediately. Remembering the advice given in my early days of motherhood “sleep when the baby sleeps”, I did my best to sleep while he slept but was thwarted by the bright lights and the dinner service upon reaching cruising altitude.
As to be expected, dinner was nothing fabulous. They served chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The other choice was pasta. Clearly, we went with the chicken since we were headed to pasta’s homeland and anticipated many delicious Italian meals. The food came out on a large tray with bread and butter and a brownie as well as some processed cheese and crackers. We ate and then settled in for the flight. Shortly after dinner was cleared, the lights dimmed and the cabin became more conducive to sleep. Michael slept off and on and I tried to maximize my sleep time when he was also sleeping. During his wakeful periods, we watched a couple animated films, The Peanuts Movie and Big Hero 6 and he played with his Matchbox cars and trucks. Drifting in and out of sleep, we passed the majority of the flight peacefully enough. Just before landing, they passed out a breakfast of strawberry yogurt, granola, a cranberry-orange muffin, and some dried fruit. After about nine hours on the plane, we were finally in Rome!
After deplaning, we easily followed the signs for non EU passports, our passports were unceremoniously stamped, and we were out in the airport itself. We followed the signs for the trains, studied the route maps a bit to figure out which train would take us to Trastevere. After some difficulty using our Visa card with the machines, we paid cash at the ticket booth and I used my limited Italian to purchase the tickets. We entered the platform, validated our tickets, and boarded our train, feeling very accomplished indeed. We listened for our stop and disembarked at Trastevere, stopping off at a tobacco shop in the station to buy two bus/tram tickets. The man at the counter held up his thumb and first two fingers to indicate €3 which looked like an American 2 signal but he said “tre euro” so we knew the cost. The next step was the most complicated thus far since Tram 8 which we would take to Largo Argentina didn’t exactly stop right at the train station but a couple blocks up. We stopped at each bus station and studied the listing of buses/trams that stopped there until we found the right one. We hopped on our tram and waited to get off at the second to last stop for Largo Argentina. At that point, it was just a matter of locating our hotel but that only took a bit of orienting ourselves and studying our map to find that without much hassle. We pushed the call button at the gate and climbed four flights of marble stairs to reach the Relais Teatro Argentina where a kind Indian family welcomed us and showed us to our room. It was very spacious with high ceilings, a king sized bed, and a Winnie the Pooh portable crib all set up for baby Michael. Jason was excited to see that it even came equipped with a corkscrew. We rested and regrouped for a bit before setting off to find lunch and explore Roma!
Traveling with a toddler
Friend/Family: Anything new?
Jason/Me: Well yes, we’re planning a trip to Italy this April.
Friend/Family: Are you going to bring Michael?
Jason/Me: Yes, of course.
This exchange or something very near to it happened innumerable times as we planned our trip and shared our plans. It simply hadn’t occurred to us not to bring Michael along on our family trip. Certainly, there are advantages to traveling sans children and our entire experience would have been completely different without our little boy. There were definitely difficult moments where it would have been much easier just the two of us. However, I am so glad we brought our Michael. Curious and full of wonder, he enriched our journey immensely. It also was a tremendous bonding experience for us as a family. We’d never had that much time uninterrupted with just us three. We all grew closer together, but the bond between Jason and Michael especially was strengthened and deepened. Some of the most memorable bits of the trip simply couldn’t have happened without our baby’s presence.
Packing smart and light
I’ve always been an advocate of simplicity in packing. From a very young age, it was a value instilled in me by my parents, especially when traveling by air. Checking bags was something to be avoided at all costs. Nonetheless, this can be easier said than done when traveling for an extended period of time.
Knowing that we would be relying extensively on public transit, mainly trains, we knew that we would be spending a fair amount of time toting our luggage around. Motivated by this, we made sure to pack an amount that we could carry on our own without too much hassle. The biggest factor in being able to pack in just carry-ons was our willingness to do laundry. We planned on laundry about every week so we only needed to pack enough clothing for seven days rather than eighteen. Combined with efficient suitcases, this made the seemingly difficult feat very manageable and straightforward.
If it interests you, our basic packing list follows:
- Clothing for 7 days
- 7 tops each (all short or long-sleeved so as to meet requirements for appropriate church attire
- 3-4 bottoms (all pants/capris/long skirts for the same reason)
- Undergarments accordingly
- 2 sets of pajamas
- Rain jacket (fold nicely and much less cumbersome than an umbrella to fit in a suitcase)
- Shoes (actually only I brought a second pair because I wanted sandals; Jason and Michael just wore the same comfortable yet dressy shoes the whole time)
- Toiletries (shampoo, soap, medicines, vitamins, etc.)
- Camera
- Travel journal
- Ergo baby carrier (we opted for no stroller)
- Toys and books for Michael
- Snacks
- Diapers (we brought enough for the whole trip)
- Wipes
- Changing pad
eunbambino 
This is great! You make traveling with a baby seem possible AND delightful. Nicely done, sweet lady!
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