Meeting ‘ Mom with Backpack ‘ from Italy

Read the great Mom with Backpack blog here.

Travel has some amazing benefits.

One has been to connect with other travelers.

Another has been to connect with other bloggers.

This time we get to meet and stay with a family who love to travel and love to blog.

And they have a daughter, so Explorason gets a playmate.

When we arrive, the kids connect immediately.  They are inside playing, and then outside playing.  The wide range of toys is making Explorason’s eyes nearly pop out of his head.  It reminds me so much of how we ‘used’ to have a home, with a wide selection of things to play with.  Now with travel, we do have one bag – primarily Lego.

It is lovely to talk with Annalisa, the blog creator, as we communicate and share our love of world-schooling, travel, and parenting.

The children bond instantly, and once tired, they come in to watch a movie.  I am impressed that their daughter has fantastic English, and it soon becomes a joke when she requests “English only please” to her Mum !!

Dinner time creeps around and we are spoilt with lovely local food. We learn about the foods of the region and are presented with some information and a beautiful china magnet depicting where the Italian flag was birthed right in their town.

So it seems fitting, that after dinner we head to town for gelato.

We get to see first hand the wonderful old buildings and many squares and churches of Reggio Emilia.

The kids play in the fountain, and it is not to warm a night either!

Next day we are pretty excited to go to the Ferrari Museum which is in their region.

It is raining, so it is also a pretty perfect thing to do on a rainy day.

We are barely in the door, and the displays have started, and it is a lively place to be.

Enzo Ferrari looks like he really is sitting in his office in one of the displays.

There are cars that make noise and glow. There are displays of trophies and engines and even the winning helmets.

This Aussie boy is having a ball and is living a dream of his to see the Ferrari Factory – we drove right by it on the next main road, and to be here.  Ever since he received a gift of a mouse mat for his computer back in Adelaide from his cousins, he has been a Ferrari fan.

And I get to make a new friend too – and she is wearing her backpack !!!

Her daughter is a chatterbox, and she is always telling me pieces of information. Then she will make us all “STOP I SAY”. And she would point out some item of beauty.

After a trip to the shopping center and then returning to the lovely Italian home for lunch, we then pack snacks and ‘hit the road’ again.

They have planned two surprises. What can they be?

The first takes us up some mysterious country walking paths, with a seven-year-old girl as the leader.

It is to Eco-Parco di Vezzano.  You can read more about it here. www.eco-parco.it

We walk through gates, and to our surprise, there is a free animal park where the children get to feed the animals.

First, we see the tallest sheep I have ever seen. At first, I thought they were goats. Completely different from Australian sheep. All sorts of colors, and long, long ears.

So they have fun racing off and finding hay for them to eat.

Next comes from some dried Pasta/Spaghetti that ‘Mom with Backpack’ has brought along.  The goats later even climb up the fence for it. What a hit!

There are guinea pigs, rabbits, peacocks and more.

Talking of more, we are now told to hop back in the car – yes it is surprise number two – there is more!

So we drive for a good half hour or more and there before us, is a majestic mountain.  This is Pietra di Bismantova.  You can read more about it here. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietra_di_Bismantova

Unfortunately, it is not safe to go too far with the weather. The rocks are slippery and not safe for the children. There is a little church and I go inside with Explorason. It has a small rock pool outside with some religious statues. It also has a large bronze statue outside with the patron saint of Europe Saint Benedict.

I love this next photo!  No matter where you are from. No matter where you are going. We stand here now with new friends.

And I love the fact that travel introduces us to those new friends. People who are lovely; welcoming; kind; hospitable; and fun!

On our last evening, we get to experience and learn about more local foods. And about the differences in pizzas from around Italy.  We get to each have one pizza with toppings of our choice. Explorason said his “was the best he had ever taste in the world”.

So we say goodbye for now to our new friends.

We hope one day we get to invite them to our home. Or meet them in some other place in the world.

So good-bye for now – but we not goodbye for good.

Thanks to technology we can stay close – for now.

And meet again – later.

………………………………………

Read the great Mom with Backpack Blog here.

She specializes in selling online travel accessories that are not readily found in Europe and many are of American standards and styles.

She can ship to you too.

Questions and Comments

• What fascinates you about Italy?
• Have you read the great mom with backpack blog?
• What do you make of the interview?
• What is your take on families that travel permanently?
• Do share your experiences and comments with us below.