Taking a moment, in Italy
Along this journey, the kids continue to learn so many life skills that I know will benefit them throughout their lives. Reading maps, bus and train schedules, surviving without Siri and Google maps, understanding that laws vary greatly in different countries, and pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way are just a few of the life skills that come to mind. They continue their math skills with currency conversions and budgeting around activities and items they want to purchase. They are learning to forecast the weather by looking outside and making clothing choices accordingly or dealing with discomfort of being cold and wet with miles to walk. They are getting much practice in the difficult lesson of patience, unmet expectations and things being out of your control - trains being delayed—hello Italy. They are also learning the importance of eating when meals are served/available and being flexible in food choices, and how hunger can impact not only their mood, but everyone else’s as well! But most importantly, they are learning how kindness and a smile goes a long way regardless of the country or language. While there is no grade, all this travel minutiae is a class in itself to be added to their formal education this year. And, in my opinion, it is probably the most important subject.
We are in Italy at the moment, outside of Milan taking a couple of days to catch up on schoolwork for the kids, Structure 3C projects for Bill, and the Structure accounting for me. And, of course, laundry. We packed super light on this trip, getting better each leg of the trip, so laundry is a must. Unfortunately, we are no longer in the countries where it costs less than $5 to have all our laundry sent out to be washed, dried, and ironed. Missing that right now, but we’ll embrace the adventure of finding the town laundromat ourselves.
We’ve been really lucky on the trip so far having to only do laundry ourselves once in Cape Cod, once in Australia (in the hotel which was great) and now today in Italy. It is pouring rain so a good day to do it. Bill and I packed up our backpacks with dirty clothes, left the kids at the hotel to work on computer science projects and book reports, and headed off with our umbrellas to find the laundromat. I think it was the nicest Laundromat we have been to yet. I keep joking (but somewhat serious) that we should open a laundromat and add a coffee bar/library to it. I have always wanted to be a barista and I do love cleaning so it could be a great fit for me. I am already picking up tips for what I would provide in our future ‘mat.
It’s been a super chill couple of days, but much needed. I’m glad we planned this little respite into our schedule before heading to Florence tomorrow. We were on the go so much in London and plan to be in Florence as well that getting caught up and perhaps a bit ahead with school and work was very much needed.
8 Euros for laundry, 33 minutes, 3:50 Euros for 20 minutes in the dryer. And, laundry soap is automatic. So efficient.
In other news, Zach has lost “Lobstie” and we are all suffering. Especially Melina who has to hear about it every night when they go to bed, as they are sharing a room. Lobstie background - back in October, lunch in Provincetown involved lobster for Bill. Zach, seeing the lobster tank, wanted one. As a pet. The guys working at the restaurant let him pick one out, carry it upstairs in the restaurant to where we were eating, let him carry it around, name him, etc. They educated him on care and feeding and Zach drew a picture of exactly what to search for in the water to feed him. He wanted to buy it, keep it as a pet during our stay and then release it outside back into the water at the end of our trip. For those who know Zach, you can understand how this became an issue—-when he gets emotionally involved with something he is all in. Fortunately, we were able to convince Zach to return Lobstie to his friends in the tank with a promise from the guys that he would be just fine, and not eaten. I know, I know, but it got us out of there.
We spent the afternoon walking around and Melina found a super cute stuffed lobster that she bought for him - which he loves - and Lobstie has been with us ever since. Well, until a couple days ago. I am actually quite surprised he has made it this far. He has visited every lobster tank we encountered, been written about in reports, worked into math word problems and even has a Christmas list. It has been entertaining seeing all the different housekeeping people show Lobstie love as well—on Z’s pillow, under the covers, towel draped over him, etc. So, the other day when Z realized Lobstie was missing, we backtracked. We contacted the hotel in Milan and he was not left there. We were on 3 trains after that so it is not looking good for the little red crustacean. We’ll ask at the train station tomorrow, but no one is holding their breath. Melina has found a replacement - although they don’t deliver to Italy - and is desperate for us to “fix” this so she can sleep in peace. This is the email from last night. Cracked me up.
Ah the love of a sister. This email cracked me up so much, had to take a screenshot.
