For the past couple of days we have walked by the carousel in downtown Florence without the littles noticing. But on a slow Monday afternoon, we finally indulged them much to their utter delight. I mean, really, do you have to fly all the way to Italy to get on a carousel? Let me tell you something. Seriously. This is the most beautiful carousel in have seen in my life!
There were no lines, it just kept going and going regardless of how many people were on. And only cost 1 Euro a ride, although admittedly, we did get a couple of free rides too. Gabriel and Magdalene went around and around and around. They just couldn't get enough. It was lovely!
Pizza in the piazza. Don't go for the knock-off pizza cut and served by the grams. Go for the real thing. You won't be disappointed.
Best backdrop for a carousel, really.
The ceiling of the carousel were painted fresco imitations, the base of the carousel was beautiful wood flooring and the horses were elaborately decorated with glass and beads and gorgeous fancy plumey feathers on their heads. It was sort of a piece of art! Which suits the city, I would say!
Italy is an interesting and complex place to take children. We haven't seen any playgrounds here... So the streets and the sights are our playground. It's been an interesting experience finding creative ways to help our children understand and appreciate what they are seeing but they are doing extraordinarily well so far, I feel. It's been a lot of queuing into their interests in whatever we see. For example, spotting the "rowing boy" in the river caused quite a bit of excitement. As well as traveling on the "moving stairs" and the various "trains" (trains/metro). Counting boats in the maps in the Sistine Chapel, spotting Santa Claus while traveling. There has been a lot of carrying and cuddling and suckers and ipad/screen time (on the train or in the apartment during down time). There has been a lot of eye-spy and chasing birds and petting horses that draw carriages, a lot of watching fountains and sipping hot chocolates. Puzzles and sibling silliness.
We've mostly really, really appreciated having other family who can take charge and be fun sometimes--playing the "Ghost Game" or reading stories and doing puzzles. The most helpful thing was purchasing and gifting them special toys they have been asking for over the past couple of months. We held out for so long and finally gave them on Christmas morning which was half way through the trip. This created a great deal of excitement and new creative play.
As I sit here at 10:30, typing, I try to think of tips to give parents who may be taking their very little people to Europe. I am not exactly sure where to start! But one thing I have realized is that we should never under-estimate our own children's natural desire to see and explore new things. We have been very surprised at how much they take in and understand and appreciate, especially when we are excited about what we are seeing and doing. I feel that this is the biggest component of traveling with children. They feed off our energy and excitement and share in our interests and passions when we share them with them.
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