Storybook Travels: From Eloise's New York to Harry Potter's London, Visits to 30 of the Best-Loved Landmarks in Children's Literature Paperback - 2002 - 1st Edition

Excerpt

The Traveling Family

Some Things to Keep in Mind When Planning a Storybook Travel–or Any Vacation–with Children

From time to time, we have seriously questioned the wisdom of traveling with children. We remember the time, for instance, that one daughter, then five, threw up all over the carefully chosen stash of toys, snacks, and audiotapes at the beginning of a long road trip. Or the time another child, then seven, became panicky about San Francisco's traffic and noise and refused to walk another step, convinced we were all going to be hit by a runaway taxi. Or the time a nine-year-old daughter dismissed her French grilled-cheese sandwich as "disgusting" and then whined with hunger for hours.

No one knows more than we do how challenging family travel can be. But no one knows more than we do how great are its rewards. Over the years, we have been fortunate enough to take regular breaks from daily life to roam North America and Europe with our families. The original motivation may have been more selfish than we'd like to admit–"I'm not going to let having a child stop me from going to Paris!"–but the results have been more rewarding than we could ever have imagined.

Yes, children are most content when they are in the groove of a comfortable routine. But we've watched our children become happier and infinitely more mature as we have taken the trouble to shake up those routines. The once food-phobic child now has confidence that she will find something palatable (perhaps even delicious!) to eat wherever she goes. The once-shy early adolescent now feels at ease with everyone from a California park ranger to an Italian kid who speaks only ten words of English. The structure-obsessed child has learned not to fall apart when plans change unexpectedly.

But we don't mean to suggest that you can or should travel with kids exactly the same way you'd travel with other adults. If you hope for them to have a memorable experience–and for you not to go insane–you'll plan a trip with these five guidelines in mind:

1. Less Is More Than Enough. Perhaps when you were in college you managed to cram the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Tuileries into one fun-filled Paris day. Don't even think of trying it with children. Limit yourself to one big outing a day with young children, maybe two with older kids.

2. Have a Focus. That's where Storybook Travels comes in. A day of aimless museum wandering can alienate a child in a hurry. But a trip to New York's Metropolitan Museum after reading From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will be a wonderful adventure. When you set out with a mission that kids can get behind, everybody's likely to end up satisfied at the end of the day.

3. Give Kids a Voice. This is true whether your child is four or fourteen, although you wouldn't give a 4-year-old's voice the same weight as a 14-year-old's. For little kids, letting them decide between whether you'll take the bus or subway is plenty. Older kids can take a much more active role in planning and executing a trip. When they have a say in the decision-making, children are much more likely to engage in the travel experiences.

4. Keep Some Semblance of Routine. Even if you're sleeping in a different hotel every night, you can preserve just enough of the routines that keeps kids from falling apart. If your little one always has a nap after lunch, find a way to make that happen, even if it's a nap in the car while you drive. If your grade-schooler expects a snack at 3:30, honor that expectation. And respect the comfort item–a trip away from home is not the time to wean a child from a beloved blankie.

5. Encourage Record-Keeping. It isn't always easy, but it's worth the effort. Equip each child with a journal, a pen, and a glue stick, and set aside a little time every day for the journals. Let them decide how to fill the journal–some may draw, some may write, and some may glue in pictures, ticket stubs, and other mementos; many will do all three. The act of recording helps them process their experiences, and when memories begin to fade, a year or two later, they will treasure their journals, even if they complained about having to make them at the time.

The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883)
by Carlo Collodi
Collodi, Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany is a well-known A-list destination for traveling grown-ups–but not many people know that because of the tiny village of Collodi it's also a wonderful place to take children. In the 1950s, the proud residents of Collodi built Parco di Pinocchio to honor native son Carlo Lorenzini, the author of Italy's most beloved children's book, who used his village's name for his pen name. For children (and adults) who have read the original book, Parco di Pinocchio makes an excellent day's outing.

This trip is ideal for families with readers between the ages of 9 and 12, although even toddlers will enjoy the park.

The Book

Forget the Disney movie–Pinocchio is no adorable, cherub-faced moppet. Born in 1881, when the first in a series of Italian newspaper-serial chapters was published, he is a lanky, sharp-featured marionette carved out of a magic piece of wood by Geppetto, who is not a kindly toymaker but an old man known in the village for his silly yellow wig and his fierce temper. From the first instant, Pinocchio is a wild little monster, beginning life by kicking his new father, running away, and inadvertently getting Geppetto jailed for child abuse.

And don't expect to get the warm fuzzies from Jiminy Cricket. Called the Talking Cricket in the book, he so annoys Pinocchio with his advice that in the first few pages, the impulsive puppet hurls a hammer at the cricket and kills him.

The surprise was how much our kids, who've seen the Disney movie about a thousand times, enjoyed the book. True, it has many of the same characters and plot lines as the film: Pinocchio is misled by the thieving Fox and Cat, runs off to the Land of the Toys (Pleasure Island in the movie), is turned into a donkey, and is swallowed by a giant shark (a whale in the movie), in whose belly he is reunited with his father. And at the end, of course, he becomes a real boy.

But the book describes (and sometimes satirizes) the rough life of Italian village peasants more than a hundred years ago, a life that seems unimaginable to today's pampered American kids. People are thrown in jail often and for little reason. Brawls, fistfights, and beatings are common. And children are expected to dote on and eventually provide for their parents, not the other way around. In fact, what finally makes Pinocchio a real boy, and a success in life, is not his schooling or work but the fact that he takes care of his aging parents (by the end the Azure Fairy has become his mother figure).

Perhaps those differences add to the book's appeal for modern kids. Or, more likely, the sheer fancifulness of the story is what really captivates them. Pinocchio and Geppetto may be humble peasants, but their lives are full of magic and hair-raising adventure. In true serial fashion, every chapter details some close call, chase, fight, or reconciliation. The marionette nearly loses his life at least six times and gets into countless scrapes, typically vowing to return to school and be a good boy after each mishap. But because growing up doesn't happen overnight, it takes Pinocchio thirty-six chapters and lots of trial and error to become worthy of being a real boy.

Take note that there are many, many editions of this book. Try to find an unabridged version, which is much richer in adventure and detail. If you can't find one in the United States, just wait until you arrive in Italy. Just about every bookstore and souvenir shop in Tuscany sells English-language versions of the unabridged story.

The Experience

Although our research had uncovered next to nothing on Parco di Pinocchio (it's almost never mentioned in English-language guidebooks), we parents knew not to expect Disney-style rides and multimedia showmanship. An American-style theme park just wouldn't make sense in this landscape of rolling forests, tidy vineyards, and Renaissance-era hilltop villages. Sure enough, Parco di Pinocchio was exactly what we grown-ups expected, a culturally uplifting place created by adults in the 1950s to honor the book, using bronze sculptures, mosaics, and other artwork created by the leading artists of the era. There wasn't a single ride or video game. And yet the kids adored it.

Because they'd read the book in the days immediately preceding our outing (Erin, 10, read it on her own, and we parents read it aloud to 7-year-old Emily), the characters and stories were fresh in their minds. They raced joyfully through the gardens, stopping first at the puppet show in progress. The Italian dialogue soon sent Emily wandering to the neighboring playground to swing and climb, but her older sister was able to figure out the gist of the story from the puppets' behavior, the inflections, and the few words she could understand. She enjoyed the challenge and was pleased with herself for being so international.

Next they ran into the mosaic square, whose tiled walls tell the story of Pinocchio in pictures. They picked out the main characters and events, then continued on into the mazelike garden, the heart of the park. Around each bend was a surprise. My daughters were most enchanted with the House of the Blue Fairy, a dollhouse-like structure with prismatic windows allowing glimpses into shimmering blue "rooms." Emily decided right then and there to be the Blue Fairy for the next Halloween. But their favorite feature was the huge shark's mouth (which looks more like a whale's). It's the most interactive of the sculptures?stepping-stones across water took them into its gaping mouth, and a spiral staircase took them atop his head, from which water shot forth regularly. They loved it.

Running along the garden paths with them, and getting lost in the labyrinth next to them, were kids and parents from all over: a couple of Americans, a few more Brits, some Italians, and a mix of French, Germans, Belgians, and other Europeans. But their numbers were relatively few?the sculptures seemed as plentiful as the people. Crowds are clearly not an issue here.

Itinerary

An outing to Parco di Pinocchio can take a couple of hours or a whole day, depending on where your Tuscan starting point is. If you're staying north of Florence–say, in Lucca, a wonderful sixteenth-century walled town with fairy-tale appeal–the park should be a fairly quick drive, perhaps twenty minutes. If you're staying south of Florence, as we did, you'll have a longer drive and Florence traffic to contend with. On the map it didn't seem far from our tiny Chianti village to the equally tiny village of Collodi, but the combination of stop-and-go country roads and autostrada bottlenecks resulted in a two-hour drive each way. Although it is significant to Italians, the park is low-key by American theme-park standards, and it's not exactly on anyone's beaten path. From the A11 autostrada, take the Chiesina U. exit and follow the many (but small) signs that will lead you to the park via the midsize town of Pescia.

If you're hungry, consider stopping in Pescia, where there are many more choices than in Collodi. We were quite pleased with the pizza at Del Magro, a plain little bar/café where the four of us had pizza and Pellegrino for only $10; several other nearby restaurants looked worthy. Or allow time for a sit-down meal at Osteria del Gambero Rosso (House of the Red Shrimp), Parco di Pinocchio's adjacent restaurant. Or, perhaps best of all if the weather's fine, pick up picnic fare in Pescia and have lunch at one of the many tables in the park.

As you enter the ancient hillside village of Collodi, you'll see a grand building on the hillside to your right. Called Villa Garzoni, this fanciful castle is known for its ornate eighteenth-century terraced gardens, complete with strange topiary, statues of mythical beasts, and water staircases. If you have time, stop here for a spell; because of its eccentricity, it's far more interesting to kids than most gardens.

A little further on lies Parco di Pinocchio. Outside the park's gate (manned by one sleepy ticket seller) is a row of souvenir stands. Skip these and head into the park, whose own shop is a little better. Once you're through the gate, pathways will guide you through the property: past Emilio Greco's sculpture Pinocchio and the Fairy, through the outdoor puppet theater and the mosaic piazza (created by Venturino Venturi), to the giant chessboard, and into the garden maze. The kids can race ahead on the paths and make the discoveries: the House of the Blue Fairy, statues of the book's many characters (the Assassins, the Crab, the Blue Fairy, Pinocchio, the Serpent), the aforementioned Giant Shark, a cool underground pirate's cave (although there are no pirates in the book), some immobile boats on water, whose connection to the book are mysterious, and a mock village that unsuccessfully attempts to remind kids of Pinocchio's village. Behind the Giant Shark is a labyrinth that's fun to brave.

Parco di Pinocchio is a small place, and high-energy kids could whip through the whole place in forty-five minutes. But encourage them to slow down. Try watching the puppet show, even if the language is a mystery. Hang around the playground for a while. Linger over a game of giant chess. Stop in the little café/souvenir shop for an ice cream and a wooden Pinocchio doll. And make sure to allow time to browse in the museum?library center. Our whole family found the collection of Pinocchio-related toys, dolls, movie posters, and books fascinating (yes, Disney is well represented here). After seeing the exhibits, along with several academic treatises on the significance of Pinocchio to Italy's national identity, we began to understand the cultural significance of the little wooden boy.

Media reviews

“An approach to family travel that keeps the child alive in all of us, and in the process helps us to understand the history, the meaning, the mythology, and the mystery of these very special storybook places.” —Peter Greenberg, travel editor, The Today Show