milano

vee took a
trip to milan
at the end of
september
to help
celebrate
her papa's birthday.

we decided upon
milan because
it is a short train ride.


(vee on the train to milan)

also
i have an old friend
who lives in milan
that i have not seen
in almost
20 years!


(vee with mario, my friend francesca's boy)

we were not sure
how traveling
would be
with a toddler
but it actually
worked out
better than expected.
it helped that
the italians
love babies.

they were always
smiling and talking
to vee.
they always offered
us their seats
on the train.





or offered us
a helping hand.

of course
the main thing
that we wanted
to do is
eat italian food
but...
the one thing
that is
very hard to do
with a toddler
is sit down
and enjoy
a meal together.
usually
we would feed vee



and
then one of us
had to follow vee
around
as she explored
the restaurant
and surrounding
neighborhood



while
the other person
ate their meal.



we often asked
the waiter
to bring one dish out
at a time
so one of us
would not
end up
eating a cold meal.

one of the highlights
of the trip
was grub's
birthday lunch
at the small.



not only was
the waiter/owner
incredibly nice
and accomodating




(there were animals by our table for vee to play with)

when he served us
our main course
he whisked vee
off in his arms
and carried her around
as he served meals,
opened champagne,
and took orders.

it was the cutest thing
you have ever seen.
vee loved him.
i only wish that
i had snapped
a photo
of it...
but i was too busy
enjoying
the wonderful food!

otherwise
we walked
around the city
with vee
in her carrier.



she took
in the sites
as well.



and posed
with dad
for photos.





in the afternoon
vee and i
returned
to where
we were staying
so vee could nap
and grub
could explore
the stores
unencumbered
by a toddler.

vee and i
would nap,
work on
grub's
birthday card,



and play
until
dinner time.



all in all.
a great weekend.

xo