In early September, our family set off on an adventure in Italy. This was a first in many ways; most importantly our first international trip with Dom. I am sure we will write a post about all the lessons we learned traveling with a toddler for 2+ weeks, but first we have the photographic evidence of the trip to share.

Wednesday, August 29th – Thursday, August 30th

We flew overnight through Germany to Milan, Italy. Our car seat did not arrive in Milan the same time we did; fortunately we scheduled an airport pick-up with a seat already installed. It was well after noon by the time we made it to our hotel. Dom passed out almost as soon as he was in his crib allowing all of us a short nap. Slightly recharged, we walked a few blocks searching for food. We had known going in that Italians tend to eat later than we do, but were not fully prepared for how difficult it was to find a place to sit down before 7 pm. Only a few blocks from the hotel was Nhero, a bar with a full buffet of small bites included with a drink. Between that and a convenience store run we were set.

Friday, August 31st

Our F1 luck continues, and we woke to heavy rains on the hotel window. Rather than adventure out to the wet track to watch practice we took the metro to the Duomo. From there explored the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Ferrari Store, and shared our tradition of visiting a McDonald’s in other countries with Dom. This marked his first visit to the chain. After everyone enjoyed an afternoon nap we took the trolley to Santa Maria Delle Grazie to see The Last Supper. While waiting for our viewing time we had an aperitif and gelato, the hazelnut flavor did not disappoint. Tip to anyone thinking of going; tickets must be purchased months in advanced for a 15 minute time slot. This is worth it because there are only about twenty people in the chapel during each ticketed period meaning you can actually see the art! Dom was not impressed by the fresco, but did like that they have a version for sight impaired visitors that he could touch. From there we walked a few blocks to the Sforza Castle, enjoyed very yummy pasta at Farinella, and had our first experience with super kid-friendly waitstaff of Italy.

Saturday, September 1st

Rain once again delayed our trek out to the track on Saturday morning – electing instead to wait until after breakfast and nap time with the hope it would clear up. It was quite the trek out of the city to Monza. First we took the metro to the train, from the train we loaded onto a shuttle bus to the massive city park, and then it was several mile walk from the shuttle bus drop off to the race track entrance. By the time we got there, and found our seats, qualifying was almost over. We managed to watch some of Q3, then took part in the party atmosphere in the fan zone. Dom danced, made friends, and just had a great time before we had to repeat the trek back to the hotel.

Sunday, September 2nd

Race Day and it was not raining! After room service breakfast, we headed back out the to track for the day. This time we took the stroller hoping to save mommy and daddy’s backs. Even with several patches of mud it went a lot smoother than the prior days trek. Dom enjoyed his first F1 race experience; pre-race he played with a water fountain and tossed his ball to other race fans, loved the jets flying over at the start, and thought the final celebration was so much fun to watch. The adults had a good time as well, but did not leave happy with the race result once again.  Daddy had locked the stroller to a tree while we watched the race and once Dom was in his seat heading back to the shuttle bus he passed out. Back at the hotel it was time to prepare for our next leg of the trip – the drive to Bologna.