Chronicles of a brave trip

Hello everyone and greetings from Italy!

So ten days ago I traveled to Europe alone with the kids, the six-years old and the five-months old baby and (time flies doesn't it? But I am digressing). Everyone I encountered told me I was brave, but I was not much worried. I was cocky, and I was sure that the baby was going to be asleep by the time we boarded the plane at 10 pm, and that my son was going to follow suit after take-off (because once the captain switches off the light kids have to go to sleep, right? -- wink).

You may guess that reality was quite different that my expectations, and while I was holding my screaming baby for an hour because we were stuck on the tarmac and he could not fall asleep, I kept thinking to myself that it had been an awfully bad idea to travel alone with the kids. The worst part was that British Airways did not manage to sit me and my six-years old son together. He had to sit all by himself behind me for the entire duration of the transatlantic flight, even though I had called two months in advance to reserve our seats. I kept thinking: if something happens, who is going to help him to put on the oxygen mask?

But the plane eventually took off, and the baby did fall asleep, and my son passed out after watching a movie. He was the brave one, and sat all by himself without making a fuss, even though he is afraid of takeoff and I am sure it was hard for him not to be able to hold my hand. He was dead tired, but he helped me to make it to our connecting flight even though we had to rush through Heathrow airport (thank God for the umbrella stroller I insisted on taking against my husband objections). We managed the second flight too, in spite of the business travellers' disapproving looks when I was nursing the baby.

This is why, when my older son woke up in Milan, I had purchased him a present from the plane's duty free, something I never do. This bracelet, by Duchess Kate's favorite brand Azuni London, was too pretty to pass on, so I rewarded myself, too...