WoW 11: Bambino Takes on Italy
WoW: 11 Bambino Takes on Italy!
Reminiscing on our memories in Italy and hoping to capture our highlights (and lowlights) in this time capsule.
Backing up the story, we decided before we ever got pregnant that we would love to spend our future theoretical child’s Birthday in a new place every year. We have always found such value in experiences and thought it would be a way to keep a piece of “us” alive and spend some uninterrupted true quality time with our child to be making memories together.
Fast forward to May 2021 - Anderson was born! In true Starback fashion, even after sleepless nights and wild parenting whoa’s the first few months we decided to go ahead and start planning his first Birthday trip somewhere overseas. We landed on Italy. Tara had been to Italy, though only the Northern part. Mitch had never been. For the first time ever, Tara relinquished some of her superpower and love for planning all things travel… and we booked through the Costco Travel Site. We decided on a trip that spent half the time in Rome and half the time in Sorrento to get a taste for both city and coastal life. The process through Costco was great, super easy, and when I priced out what we booked if we would have done it on our own, we were saving THOUSANDS of dollars so I would highly recommend.
Fast forward to May, 2022 we left on our first whirlwind international adventure with a baby. We of course flew Delta. We tried to prepare as best we could for the flights but really didn’t know what to expect being in the air that long with a baby for the first time. We had one layover on the way there and ended up flying overnight for our long stretch. In theory, I thought Anderson would sleep all night but I forgot the boy LOVES sleeping on his belly and he couldn’t do that easily in my arms or in his car seat so he never quite got comfortable and as a result… never quite slept.
Roma
When we landed in Rome we were TIRED but overall the flights there weren’t too bad. We stayed at the Inn at the Roman Forum. It was a beautiful, old, centrally located Inn that boasted endless ancient Roman character. It was on top of an old Crypt which was super interesting to walk through. The one bad thing? Tara is convinced it was haunted and didn’t sleep well at all. Other than that, 10/10 we would recommend. The breakfast was made fresh each day, and over time they knew exactly what our bambino wanted and brought it out as we sat for breakfast.
Our days traveling with a baby in tow are much less jam packed with activities than they used to be. We have one focal point of the day that we hope isn’t tied to a specific timeframe so we can go with the flow. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In Rome we were able to see the Colosseum, The Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Trevi Fountain (twice). The day we ventured through the Colosseum was toasty warm but we managed through. Tara wore Anderson as we walked through lots of ancient grounds and Anders may be one of the only babies who ever got his diaper changed inside of the Colosseum. Parents of the year or the worst parents ever? Not sure.
We also did a Roman Pasta cooking class at a Roman Man’s house named Massimo. We found it on the site “With Locals”, read lots of reviews, and sent our location to close friends and family before we ventured into Massimo’s house to see if we were going to learn to make epic food or get murdered. Luckily for us, we learned to make epic food. Massimo had learned to cook from the generations before him and graciously opened up his kitchen to us and a destructive baby as we cooked and sampled pasta all afternoon. We have been working hard to perfect our recipes since we’ve been home. Taste testers welcome!
Rome was a city where you could just spend days wandering the streets and not get bored. Everything was old and everything was beautiful. There were endless amazing restaurants and ancient churches on every corner. The streets were made of old cobblestones which made for interesting stroller rides but Anderson loved the added turbulence and started humming everytime we were walking around and cracked himself up at the sound of his own voice. The Italians lived up to their baby loving reputation and absolutely adored Anderson. He was the star of the show everywhere we went.
Sorrento
On Anderson’s Birthday we made the drive from Rome to Sorrento. Car’s and Anderson don’t really mix, but we survived. Tablets for the win (we try and only bust out the tablet in cars or on airplanes) We made it to our little boutique hotel right in the heart of Sorrento called the Maison Il Conservatorio. It is covered in painted blue ceramics and has a distant view of the Gulf of Naples. We spent a few days seaside at a few different beach clubs in Sorrento. The beaches are beautifully blue with clean waters but they aren’t sandy and for the most part, aren’t free. The ones that are, are more crowded and do not include umbrellas, which with a baby are a must! You take the steps down to the beach and there are a few different beach clubs where you can rent a spot for the day. We tried out both Leonelli’s Beach and Peter’s Beach. The rocky seaside wasn’t the most baby friendly spot to hangout, but we made the most of it. Anderson loves being outside and he also loves water - so that made up for it. The water was absolutely breathtaking.
There was the cutest little children’s park just a few minutes walk from where we were staying in Sorrento. We took Anders to play every day we were there. Though the kids didn’t speak the same language as him, they were all infatuated with the little Bambino. He had multiple little boys come up to entertain him and make him laugh. His hair was pet by at least 3 little Italian girls and one even planted a kiss on his cheek. It was pretty sweet. At times when Anderson would start to get cranky out and about, all he had to do was spot a Pigeon to entertain himself again. He became the Pigeon whisperer… they were following us everywhere we went.
We also spent a day in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. We walked up and down the painted streets and along the seaside. We drank Lemoncello and ate good Italian food. The views felt like we were in a dream, and I sure didn’t want to wake up.
Food.. the FOOD!
I think it goes without saying Italian food is one of the highlights of a trip to Italy. We were a bit bummed when we confirmed a few months before our trip that Anders serious allergies to Milk and Egg because those are some staples of Italian cooking. To top it all off we don’t speak Italian and had to explain his allergies everywhere we went. Nevertheless, we prevailed. Anderson found his passion for Pizza Marinara, which sounds incredibly lame, but in Italy they just do it right. All of their pizza dough was without milk or egg so it was a safe staple everywhere we went. Most fresh pasta has egg in it, so he didn’t get to eat pasta in most places. But we made due and he was happy nonetheless. Mom and Dad ate endless pasta. Our Favorite place of all was called AZZ! Italian Tavern in Sorrento. It was owned by the cutest family and we ate there twice because we just couldn’t stop drooling about how perfect our first meal was. We had a bottle of red wine every night and were in heaven. Our complimentary breakfast at our place in Sorrento was incredible too. It was a full array of homemade pastries, fresh fruit, Italian staples and all the Cappuccinos you could ever want.
Anderson adjusted really well to the time change in Italy. I think being so tired our first day and getting tons of sunshine helped him adjust quickly. We also always try to keep our pre-bedtime routine as close to how we do nights at home as well. Some baby gear staples we brought that we bring on pretty much every trip are; his travel Yogasleep Rohm sound machine, Guava Lotus travel crib (super light weight and comfy), Babyzen YOYO 2 Stroller (super compact - can fit in an overhead bin on a plane and took on the cobblestone streets well) and his Cosco Car Seat (not the comfiest, but definitely the lightest and super budget friendly).
Our flights home were a little more eventful, not in the way you hope. We ended up with 3 different legs and a few longer layovers. We also ended up sprinting(We literally ran for about 5 minutes straight) from one end of the France airport to the other to hit our flight back home, Anderson enjoyed this part, but not the flight. By the time we were home it had felt like we were traveling for 3 days (it was only 22 hours) but Tara’s arms were fully numb from holding Anderson and most of her body's skin had been pinched off. At that point and we were all delusionally sleepy. The trip we would do 10 times over, the flight home we would like to black out and never think of again.
All in all, it was a successful first trip abroad. It definitely had some tough moments with a teething baby and plans that needed to adjust to realistic expectations but we made some amazing memories together as a family that we will never forget.
Starworthy spots
Azz! Italian Tavern - Amazing food, get there early!
Parco di Villa Fiorentino, Corso Italia, 53, 80067 Sorrento NA, Ital - Childrens park and garden
Gadgets
Baby Zen YoYo
Happy Travels!
The Starback’s