Sometimes, the best way to spend time together is to spend time away. A good family trip goes a long way in creating a bond in the family and you and your kids get to savor and create a record of new experiences together. This was no different for we and our two boys in our recent family trip to Italy.
During this trip, we met some Italian friends in Orvieto for an evening stroll and dinner. With our two little boys in tow, they took us straight to Bottega Michelangeli. Stretched across a series of storefronts on a narrow cobblestone side street, the five-generation wood atelier specializes in beautifully designed, hand-crafted wooden toys and dolls.
Steeped in old fables and mythology, this place is all about fantasy and fairytale. Just like in the Disney films and storybooks, it was a wonderland filled with fantasies, dream works and a portray of stuffs you hear your kids talk about from their favorite fantasy movies.
I’m talking about stuffs like carved rocking horses with leather pulls; marionette dolls with beautiful, fanciful clothing and intricately hand-embroidered pixie hats; forests carved into the facade; a wooden angel, arms outspread, flying from invisible strings hanging from the ceiling.
These went a long way in beautifying our postcards, making them a family treasure which will go a long way in serving as a reminder of the precious moments we shared as a family.
It reminded me of the importance of magic, that kids don’t always need to be entertained by their toys, sometimes they need to be carried away by them.
(I should note, guiltily, that I passed on the wooden toy soldiers with fabric ticking and upturned mustaches I was admiring for the boys and bought a beautiful bag made of belting leather for myself.) Meghan McEwan is the co-founder of Designtripper.
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POSTED IN: TRAVEL · TAGGED: FAMILY TRAVEL, FAMILY TRIP, ITALY, ITALY WITH KIDS, TOYS