Martha's Marvellous Munchies

So, you don't have small children?  Well, guess what?  You should go to Italy too! Thinking over the trip, I didn't feel like we were hugely restricted by having children in tow.  Sure, it's never so relaxed when you are constantly making sure that two small humans are adequately fed, rested, cleaned and entertained.  But there wasn't much we really missed out on.  (Except the risotto.  The Lombardy region is known more for its rice dishes than its pasta, and I did want to try a real Italian risotto.)  There were, however, a number of excursions that the boys would have preferred not to have been dragged out on. Alps Oh, the mountains.  The mountains were beautiful.  One day we drove north and stopped for lunch on the Passo della Presolana.  Perched above a hairpin bend on the road, we munched our focaccia surrounded by the clear cool air and the swooping, soaring peaks. Without children (except as handy photographer) With...

Go to Italy... it's only a two-hour flight * Most of the plane journeys I have been on are in the transatlantic, super-jetlag, screw-up-two-days-of-your-life category, so it still feels like a pleasant novelty to board a flight for a mere two hours.  Especially when you have two children who require continuous attention.  This was Theo's first flight; he took to it like a pro, and even charmed some lady in the next row into cuddling him for a while.  Despite travelling "light", we somehow had nine separate items to keep track of (not even including Toby's penguin, turtle and blanket, which I lived in permanent fear of him dropping), but everything made it there and back without incident. so. much. stuff. *Valid for residents of UK and certain other countries only.  Your flight time may vary. Go to Italy... and rent an apartment Climbing medieval steps near our apartment  Believe me - two bedrooms and a kitchen make life sooo much easier.  Gr...