My end-of-year message to my kid’s teacher read:

“Dear teacher,

thank you for the wonderful school experience we had with you this year. Is there anything else we, as parents, can do to help her on the trip in the knowledge world?”

Her response is priceless:

“Dear parent,

continue to do what you do: take care of her and continue to travel as you do.”

What we learn on trips from people we meet, places we see, flavours we feel, landscapes we look at, customs we get privy to, food we share, adventures we embrace offer unique opportunities to

strengthen family bonds through time together,

shape our/adults’ understanding of the world through child’s eyes (the opposite is also valid),

acquire new skills (trying that water-ski this year?),

get to know the shades of the diversity and, in consequence, improve tolerance,

practice a new language by playing on the beach with other kids,

unconstricted splish-splash (watch out for the severe looking lady tough),

build our stay-in-the-moment ability to knit common memories and create treasures to last.

About two weeks ago, at a cross-road, i met a friend who proudly showed me the pic of her beautiful and smart daughter. They went to Florence on a trip together. Her eyes were sparkling while she was telling me about the nice time they spent there and the discoveries they made together. Looking at “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli for instance…

First time travel anxieties are part of the process. It is normal to ask yourselves lots of How questions. Plan well and trust yourselves and your kids. Travellers in less comfy and infrastructure-deprived times managed it well. So there is no reason, you cannot. The joy and sparkle generated by joint experiences will erase by magic all preparations anxieties for treasures to last.

Travel well. Travel safe.