Taking a 22 month old to Italy - am I out of my mind?

[chlobo]

DH & I just got back from 4 days in ME with DD. It was a family gathering where there were formal meals. It was challenging to say the least. DD did not want to sit still and needing constant looking after (which is appropriate for her age).

In September we are supposed to go to Italy with a bunch of childless friends. We have no one to leave DD with so she will come with us. Are we nuts? I envision that we'll spend a lot of time catering to her naps and missing a lot of fun b/c she goes to bed to early.

Has anyone gone abroad with a toddler and lived to tell tales? Anyone have any good advice?

[Momof3Labs]

Personally, I'd do it, but not with a bunch of childless friends. I suspect that you won't see them much since they will want to do adult things that don't work so well with a toddler. Is there anyone that you can bring along to watch her part of the time so you can still have some fun?

[aliceinwonderland]

I would do it if no choice...We're taking Erik to Vienna for Xmass, so I may well eat my words soon. At any rate, the more people and faces, the better (to entertain the baby)...this has been my experience at least. Oh, we were in Italy with Erik when he was 3 months old, but because he was so tiny, we carried him (in the bjorn, etc)so he slept that way, no need to go back to the hotel. BUT, I love naps when I'm on vacation, so taking a break was not so bad after all...

e.

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

Well we took a 22 month to Europe for a month and lived to tell...I say if your going to do it do it then...
He was a champ...fast forward to 6 months later and I doubt we could have even gotten on the plane to make the trip!!!!

Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[chlobo]

We have thought about taking someone. There are 2 hurdles - 1) Cost - plane tickets alone are $700 2) Finding someone. We have a great babysitter but she has a day job so I'm not sure she'd want to take a week off to do it. But then again, maybe she would.

[cilantromapuche]

We took Abe to Japan and Argentina and other places. The problem that I found (he turns 2 on Saturday) is that he has a harder time with change as he gets older, which means more grumpy episodes and more clingy.
My personal belief is that you have to be willing to stop at any given moment and recognize that they have had enough (trust me you can tell) and that they need to nap, play, whatever.
It is doable but I never had him in a group, it was just DH and sometimes we met up with family.

Good Luck!
Chris

[Sarah1]

Like Lori said, the thing that I think might cause you trouble is that you are going w/childless friends. Stuff like lingering over a long meal will be close to impossible...and I'm not sure how understanding and accommodating your friends will be.

[valeriec]

We took our DD to Italy and Switzerland last summer when she was 19 months old. Our situation was different in that we were staying with DH's family so probably easier to take the time for naps. We went out in the morning and then came home for lunch and DD's nap and then went out again in the afternoon/evening. We did take a couple of longer day trips that went pretty well. Take a comfy stroller - DD could always nap in her stroller or in the car or train if we were out longer.

How long are you staying? Will you be doing a lot of traveling or mostly staying in one place? I must say, the first few days were pretty rough for DD (and me!) b/c of jet lag. She wanted to sleep a lot, she wouldn't eat much, and was grouchy and clingy - but that may be partly b/c she was staying in a new place and meeting family she had never seen before. By the end of the first week she was doing great and the rest of the trip was wonderful (we stayed for 2 1/2 weeks).

Hope you have a great trip - where in Italy are you going?

[chlobo]

We're staying in Luca. A place called the Il Gobbi house. We are only going for a week (maybe 8 days). She will barely ride in the stroller so I can't imagine her actually sleeping in it but we'll see. Not sure what kind of sightseeing we'll be doing but at this point I'm guessing it will be different than our friends.

[Sarah1]

Lucca is awesome! Not too touristy (at least not when we were there seven years ago...). The walled city is great for walking and strolling. Since you are going to be based in the same place the whole time (as opposed to traveling around the country) I think it's doable. I will say that when Audrey was 22 months, she was a serious handful!

[jbowman]

I've been to Lucca twice (and was just there in May). It is a fabulous city that is laid-back and not nearly as touristy as the rest of Tuscany.

Lucca is within driving/easy train ride distance of Pisa, Siena, Florence, so you could easily go on day trips to those cities (and your DD might enjoy riding in the train).

FWIW, I got Ellie some toys at a cute toy store in Lucca, on one of the "main drags" leading into the city! The shopping in Lucca (esp. for size of city) is quite good. There are plenty of cafes and piazzas so your DD can run around.

Are you going to have a kitchen where your staying? If so, perhaps a couple of nights you and your friends could make dinner rather than going out for a meal.

I don't know how into art you are, but a must-see in Lucca is the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto. It's a gorgeous 15-century tomb of a woman who (unfortunately) died in childbirth. It's located in the Cathedral of San Martino, and is a real gem!

PM me if you have any questions. I'm happy to help!

[chlobo]

Yes there is a kitchen. We need to talk toour friends more about details. Here is a link to the house. It looks great.

http://www.ancoraitalia.com/tuscany_properties/ilgobbo.html

http://www.tuscany-villas.it/vacation_rentals/4335/

Well now I'm getting kind of excited.

[jbowman]

Oh Carren, this will be soooo wonderful! And you have a pool! So you can relax with DD there as well! How *kool* is that?

If you (& your friends) plan on doing a lot of sightseeing, y'all might prefer to eat in on most nights anyway. I was there in May (and granted I'm pregnant and was leading a group of students around), and was so tired in the evening that I only went out to dinner a couple of times. Plus you will have the Italian siesta on your side--many Italians rest/have lunch b/t 1-4 pm--perhaps your DD is already ahead of the game, LOL!

[Globetrotter]

We took DD to Italy when she had just turned three, and that was a great experience. My only concern with your situation is that your friends are childless. You'll probably be on a different track from them, but if that's okay with you, go for it! Our travel style has changed since we had kids. We take it really slow and take lots of breaks.

Oh, it also depends on how understanding your friends are. Are they the types who will pitch in with child care and won't go nuts if your child is having a tantrum?

WE traveled with some friends and their toddler on a one week road trip (we were childless at the time) and it worked out fine. There were a few times that we had to stop for him, but overall it didn't stop us from having fun.

Kris

[mamaharsh]

We took Nate to Belgium at 25 months and he was a trooper. We stayed in a hotel, but were visiting Belgian friends who had a little girl the same age, so we got to do a lot of kid friendly stuff.

You definitely might have to miss out on some activities, but it still sounds like a good time. Nate's a sleep on the go kind of kid, so we never really had issues with that.

I found a carrier more useful than a stroller for most of the trip. Also, a DVD player and stickers were godsends on the plane.

[chlobo]

What kind of carrier did you use? We have an ergo carrier but so far she hasn't really liked being in it.