Oh, my dears, sweet, sweet, sweet is the air of the summer holiday. For those of you who missed it, here is the video I posted about a very memorable trip to Pompei. As amazing as the sightseeing was, complete with all the stories (again you guys, I did write an article about our very Italian guide Francino and his mesmerizing tales, so hope you read that one too), what is even more entertaining is the story of how we got to Pompei. And I mean that literally.

First of all, I am expressing my deep gratitude for my parents, who against all hardships, never travel without us kids…all 3 of us. However, especially because of this particular fact, I believe that my parents must be out of their minds. I have seen it in action and I am going to tell you all about it. I know a lot of folks who do not take their young ones further then the surroundings of the building where they live and only in exceptional cases, they brave some very short car trips. And I am talking about people who have only one kid, or maybe two. Well, my parents have 3, as you know, and the last two are under three years old and 1 year apart. But taken all this into consideration, my mom dutifully packs 5 suitcases, 4 carry-ons and 2 strollers and we embark on crazy adventures, involving different continents, time zones, climates and all sorts of unexpected events.

Going back to Pompei…well, in all appearances it should have been an easy flight, because we were taking a direct flight to Napoli from somewhere in Europe. However, Caroline skipped her nap time and was throwing a tantrum right from takeoff. It involved her rolling under the seats of the plane, screaming her lungs out, kicking her legs like a bison in a stampede and throwing things at dozed off, unsuspecting fellow passengers. In the meantime, my mom was breastfeeding Dante who had no chance of falling asleep in the above mentioned noise. Baby hung at the boob and thus half naked, my mom physically wrestles a passenger who tries to solve the screaming by offering Caroline airplane peanuts (the girl is allergic for God’s sake, so please people, stop offering food to other people’s kids without asking, because you can create a real tragedy). She politely also refuses other offers of peace, such as iPads, phones, candy and even a fancy, shiny watch. If you ever want something from someone, make him sit on a plane next to a screaming toddler.

Mom is tireless in trying to calm Caroline down by taking her to the front of the plane and singing something (I guess…all I can her is the screaming) but the hostess doesn’t let her linger there for too long, to the final despair of the passengers who were finally getting a short break. Mom then takes Caroline to the bathroom and in a few minutes everything goes quiet. She later confesses that the only thing that worked was repeatedly turning on the faucet and singing “rain, rain go away.” I can literally hear the passengers sighing in relief, like a choir who has been holding its breath since take off. I bet they are saying silent prayers mixed with curses.

After almost 3 endless hours, we somehow make it alive to Napoli, but now the kids are well rested and full of energy. While we do the forms to rent a car and squeeze in people and luggage, they rummage throw all the food supplies that we have been carrying since destination. In the another hour and a half it takes us to reach the hotel on the Amalfi coast, the combination of lollipops, biscuits, juice, half eaten sandwiches and apple slices takes its toll, so we are now sharing the car with 2 dirty diapers. Don’t be too judgmental, we are usually healthy eaters, but if you want to make it at least somewhat sane through a plane trip, you have to have a full arsenal ready.

The radio is blasting full on and by the time we arrive at the hotel, you can hear three little voices singing along to the Italian songs on the station. We are all smiles and my parents, God bless their souls, are all smiles too. I wonder if it’s because of the singing, or it’s the relief that we have reached the destination or maybe, they have gone completely bananas.

We are tired, hyper, hungry and covered in different crumbs of unidentified foods but just look at this view and it was all worth it. The adventure is just beginning!