What do you do to keep your children occupied on holiday when you want some quiet time after lunch and they’re too old to nap? When it’s raining and you’re stuck inside for the day or when it’s the middle of the day and too hot to be in the sun? Do you take toys, colouring, books to read, watch TV or try to stop them jumping off the sofa and using the bed like a trampoline in my case?!
What an amazing month these two have had. My two little travellers! This month they’ve spent sixteen days away from home visiting Matteo’s parents in Italy and his Sister in Germany. They’ve had a wonderful time and their Italian has come on loads. It’s been tough on us being away from them for so long but knowing that they were happy and safe meant we were less worried about them. Also knowing that they have always each other makes it easier.
So when did my connection to Italy begin? Most people think it began when I met Matteo in 2003 but actually it was quite a bit before that. My first taste of Italy was as a teenager. We stayed in Sorrento and visited Pompei and Capri. Something about the people, the food and the language must have drawn me in as while I was doing my A levels I started teaching myself some language basics using an audio course.
I love Italy, it would make sense really seen as I live with an Italian, have a degree in the language, used to use it in my job and have travelled there every year but one since 2002. There’s just something about the people, the language, the history, culture and food that caught my attention.