Social life in Rome used to be very different. We would meet with friends in the early evening somewhere in the centre for 'just one glass of wine', that would probably turn into ordering a few glasses before heading to dinner. Or we would hang out for some afternoon gelato, have a picnic at the park with a bunch of kids running around or improvise dinner parties.

And now, we wake up early on a Sunday morning, we layer up, fill our backpacks with picnic material and meet to go for a hike!

I have to admit that, despite being born in Rome and having lived here for the first 24 years of my life, I really didn't know a lot about the mountains of our region, Lazio. For short trips we would more easily go explore the peaks of nearby Abruzzo, highest and renewed for being more spectacular, or we would venture for longer periods north to the Alps, especially the Dolomites.

So during this year where we have all been forced to travel often just within the walls of our homes or-if we are lucky-within the limits of our regional entities, to feed our wanderlust we explore our 'backyards'. And to be honest I am quite glad about it!

We did 4 hikes in 4 weeks, here they are with a little description and a link to the route we followed.

Lago della duchessa

We did this hike without Tommi: it is not a hard one but it is quite long and with considerable height difference. It was really, really beautiful. After a steep ascent in the forest, you reach beautiful open planes with grazing horses and, in summer, a hut where they make and sell fresh (goat?) mountain cheese. To get to the lake, it's a little further uphill in the meadows. Beautiful spot for the picnic. You can turn back the same road, but it's a little steep, it's easier to return with a less steep loop through the forest.

• Starting point: this parking lot
• Distance: 13.6 km
• Height difference: 946m
• Wikiloc trail (or here)

Monte Gennaro

This was a lovely hike summiting Monte Gennaro. It's a very sweet, easy marked path with a slow ascent through the forest to the big meadows of Campitello. This is a great place for a picnic, to eat, and probably also bivouac. Crossing the meadows there are different paths to the the top of the mountain, quite steep and not extremely easy as you'll be walking on the rocks. Worth the view and the satisfaction to have conquered a summit, whose pointy top can be seen from the eternal city in a clear day.

• Starting point: this parking lot
• Distance: 12km
• Height difference: 477m
• Wikiloc trail (or here)

Monte Livata, monte Autore

We did this hike in the snow, and it was magical. To be really honest, when we woke up and there was a freezing wind blowing and we had to go for the skiing material, I was a bit worried and tempted to call it quits. I am so glad we braved the weather because it was probably the most beautiful hike. It was FULL. OF. SNOW. But no strong wind, a warm sun and incredible views of both Lazio and Abruzzo's high peaks. The hike started with a slow ascent in the forest, which was enchanted under a thick layer of snow. We then reached a beautiful viewpoint and from there hiked further 15-20 mins up to summit monte Autore. After fuelling up with a rich picnic on the top, we looped back to the cars through another path in the forest.

• Starting point: this parking lot
• Distance: 9.8km
• Height difference 399m
• Wikiloc trail (or here)

Monte Lupone

One big thing to remember about venturing for a hike in the mountains is: sometimes things don't go as planned, be prepared and expect the unexpected! We arrived late to the meeting point, and our friends were nice enough to wait for us. We started hiking through the forest and two things were immediately clear: firstly, we were a bit slow, secondly the path was not easily marked. With the end of autumn approaching, days are very short so we have to be a bit fast if we don't want to find ourselves hiking in the dark. We decided to cut the big loop with a 'shortcut', going fast uphill to find again the path to the summit, and then find our way back to the cars. It was a pretty long and steep ascent, where we couldn't really afford to slow down too much as it was getting late. We reached the summit tired but happy, and we could see all the way to the coastline, Circeo and Anzio specifically. From then, we quickly started closing the loop to descent toward the parking lot. Going down wasn't so easy either, quite steep and slippery, but we all made it quite happy and in one piece!

• Starting point: this parking lot
• Length 15.4 km
• Height difference 690
• Wikiloc trail  

With a huge motorhome, a toddler, snow falling in parts of the country (and few new warm layers) we are back on the road and ready to explore more of New Zealand. We left Christchurch and started driving down the east coast of the south island towards Dunedin, then explored the wilderness of the Otago Peninsula.

The highway 1 runs through the south island east coast and, to be completely honest, it's probably not the most beautiful drive you can do in this country, but it does go through some places worth a stop and pretty areas to camp and sleep by the sea. Moreover, it's full of beautiful places to spot incredible wildlife such as penguins, sea lions, fur seals and many kinds of birds (are you a birder? we are not, so apologies for our ignorance).

The story of sea lions in New Zealand is particularly moving and interesting. They were wiped out of the mainland when settlers started inhabiting this land and the only surviving animals were pushed to the deserted islands south of the country, where nobody bothered to kill them. Those sub antarctic environments are not ideal for these big water mammals, who much rather prefer to live in the mainland because of milder climates and more advantageous hunting conditions.
A few brave females started making the long trip in the sea and gave birth to their pups in the mainland, starting to establish new colonies. The repopulation is taking quite some time, but the effort of the Department of Conservation and these brave animals might slowly be paying off.
Besides mothers with pups, they don't shy away from human contact, and it's possible to see these huge animals in many different locations along the coast, sometimes sunbathing in a busy beach, others catching a wave with some fellow surfers.

We first saw a sleepy sea lion resting on the beach in the Catlins, in the southeast region of New Zealand, about 3 months ago with a beautiful golden fur and soft eyes.
A female, Joy, is known to regularly give birth at a campground where we slept, north of Dunedin, in a spot usually popular with surfers and dog walkers.
Now few also live in Sandfly bay, a beautiful wild beach that takes its name from the strength of the wind moving the sand around. We parked our van for the night on top of this wild bay and climbed down at dusk, hoping to see the few penguins that inhabit the area waddling back home after a day out at sea. We didn't see the little birds but we could enjoy the spectacle of huge sea lions brought back to shore by the waves and waddling in the the dunes to spend the night.

There are many other places where is possible to spot penguins, such as the Albatros centre in the Otago peninsula,  in Caroline bay north of Timaru (this one for free!) and at the Oamaru Penguin centre. Here we actually saw an impressive, and frankly quite stinky, colony of fur seals hanging out lazily during the day.

Moreover, in the tip of the Otago Peninsula, the Albatros centre is a great place to know more about these huge birds. This is the only mainland left where they still live.

The decision of continuing to travel "vanlife style' was the best we could take. We love the freedom that comes from it and-honestly-also the comfort. Because of Covid and being low season, we could rent at a very low price a big and comfortable motorhome, with heating and quite some space. It’s great to spend cozy afternoon and evenings inside after the sun sets, with space for everybody to play, work, chill and cook. Freedom camping in NZ is permitted in many designated areas, meaning you won't need to pay extra for a campsite for many nights, and you are able to sleep in beautiful sites in the nature, lulled by the sounds of the waves.

Where we slept:

The first day we drove until Timaru and slept south of the city, in Patiti point. There is a quiet carpark by the beach with an incredible sunrise view.
The following day we slept in the Warrington reserve, north of Dunedin. There is a free campsite where loads of surfers stop, a big playground (a plus for us) and it's the place where Joy comes to give birth to her pups! We didn't see her tho.
The third day we stopped in Sandfly bay. There is a parking lot on top of the beach. A steep but beautiful hike down leads to the wild beach inhabited by many sea lions and a few yellow-eyed penguins.

After 8 weeks spent on a house on a hill, lockdown, planes and plans being cancelled, it feels emotional and exciting to say that tomorrow we will finally hit the road again!

We made a home for ourselves in this place, slowly moulding our old family habits with new ones. The house is on Mt Pleasant, few km south of Christchurch and north of the quaint port of Lyttelton. It has incredible views over the city, the ocean and the Banks peninsula. We never lived in such a remote place, with no close neighbours and in a street without traffic. This came with challenges (see the lack of human interaction or even seeing other people) but also brought us peace and connection with nature.  

We started exploring the hills around us and ventured for a hike almost every day. We made up stories with Tommi about the sheep being our neighbours, pretended the stones in the clearing were planes bringing us to Bali or trains to see Nonna or Oma. We never thought we'd stay so long here and we are so grateful of our super kind hosts that made us feel welcome and that we had someone to count on here in NZ! They are a lovely Kiwi couple who live in Christchurch, and for one weekend we even did a house swap.

During the first weeks we enjoyed lovely sunny bbq lunches in the garden in shorts and t-shirts, soaking up the heat of the sun when the wind wasn't blowing. But the sun now sets earlier every day, every afternoon we now lit a fire to warm up the house, every week a little earlier, and we layered up t-shirts with jumpers and we wear long trousers.

When the lockdown measures started to be lifted we ventured outside our little hill, going for coffee and walks on the beaches of laid back Sumner, New Brighton or in the Governor’s peninsula. One of our favourite things was to hike the 4 km from our house to Lyttelton, passing by WWII bunkers and steep rocks overviewing the Bank peninsula. We would then grab a coffee and then make our way back up via a different track. It was a bit over 8km in total, quite an effort for a caffein refill!

There was a lot of lockdown cooking. Our top new entries were:

• Hand pulled noodles and dumplings, following the recipe of Pippi Eats
• Roasted Aloo gobi paneer from Meera Sodha EAST
• Courgette and tomatoes keftedes, from Georgina Hayden’s Taverna (and my first cookbook bought as an ebook)
• Flatbreads, of which I finally managed to perfect a recipe that works for me
• Pizza night. I always followed the recipe of an Italian baker, Bonci, but finally managed to find a foolproof way for the whole process.

Now NZ is in Alert level 2, which means travel around the country is resumed, we are beyond happy about it! We felt so lucky to be ‘stuck’ here, where the virus has been always under control and the government response so swift and effective. And we are so happy and excited to be able to explore this country more.

One of the things that excited us the most of going back to Bangkok for a few days was to stuff our faces with all the delicious Thai food. We only had to find a way to make it appealing to Tommi, as we weren't sure on how he would react to the local cousine. Between what we ate back home and the varied menu of his nursery he had been exposed to a variety of flavours and cooking styles, but still he is not always an easy eater.

The first night we went to a place specialised in Khao-Soi, a dish from the northern region of Thailand. We were all exhausted and extremely jet lagged and Tommi slept while we were seated in the small and unpretentious restaurant filled with a delicious, fragrant smell of coconut, fresh herbs and stew. Two beautiful dishes arrived, a creamy stew and a stir fry of egg noodles, both garnished with a heap of crunchy noodles. Tommi woke up slightly confused while we were diving into our meal, asked ‘what is this’ pointing straight to the crunchy noodles that we sold for ‘pasta chips’. Probably confused enough, he decided to give it a try and it was so much of a success we had to order another plate!

The day after we told him we were eating ‘funny pasta’, and as the Pad Thai arrived he tucked in without fussing about it and from that point it was noodle love. He then went on to devour an incredible amount of mie goreng (mostly avoiding the veggies...) while we were in Bali.
So noodles are now in high rotation in our family homecooked meals. We love Meera Sodha’s Pad Thai and Pippy Eats recipes, but this is definitely the fastest and easiest noodle recipe we have been making loads for lunch while in lockdown. Thank you to our friend Alessa for posting it on her ig! She is an extremely talented Yoga teacher and therapist but also an excellent cook (her tajine is the BEST I have ever had).

Serves 2

• 200 gr vermicelli rice noodles
• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot
• 3 small tomatoes
• 1/2 courgette
• Mixed herbs (Mint, coriander, basil...)

For the sauce

• 5 tsp soya sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp peanut butter
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the noodles in salted boiling hot water for 2’, then drain and rinse with cold water. Cut all the veggies, grating the courgette and the carrot. Mix with the cut herbs.Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients, adding a splash of hot water if the peanut butter is hard to dissolve Finish off with some toasted peanuts or sesami seeds.

For full disclosure, Tommi doesn’t have ALL the vegs we put in. But I usually put aside a dish with only avocado and carrots to mix up with the noodles and the yummy sauce.

I am not a very crafty person, but I love cooking. So I was faced with the lockdown reality of having to entertain a toddler indoors for much longer than I used to and I naturally went back to cooking and baking together. I think it ticks lots of boxes (fine motor skills, messy play, counting...) but I am no education expert.

It does work for us very well: Tommi is very concentrated on the jobs, he enjoys it and we all get something yummy to eat out of it. This little sidekick has been my kitchen assistant since he could sit up by himself on the bench of our (ex) kitchen in London. We both need to work on our food styling skills but the results are generally very good!

This was a 'cheaters crostata'. Crostata is a classic Italian shortbread jam pie, and my aunt is just the best at making it. Her recipe is legendary and her pies are inhaled at parties, smuggled into houses, last pieces hidden in cupboards. It's not hard but requires a bit more time and quite some butter (nothing wrong with that!). You can find that recipe here.

This recipe has way less sugar and olive oil instead of butter.

Heat up the oven at 180C. Mix 300gr flour, 1 tbs of sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 egg, 100ml olive oil and 2 tbs of water.

Knead well with your hands and roll it out with a rolling pin or even with your own hands. Cut at 2/3 of the spreaded dough and spread out with your favorite jam. Use the rest of the dought to create a lattice and decorate. Bake for 30’ at 180C.

After couple of days in the city, we escaped the buzz of Melbourne and went to discover gorgeous Phillip island. We had the perfect day trip, filled with sun and strong wind and incredible experiences: we saw koalas and wallabies, sipped delicious local wine, made guacamole on a deserted beach and at sunset saw penguins parading back home after a day fishing in the ocean. All in all, a day packed with some of the best Australian highlights.

The truth is that we are city people who love to escape to the outdoors. We do not see ourselves living in the tranquil countryside, we like to be part of the hustle and bustle, being surrounded by many people and their differences and quirks, the excitement and diversity that comes by living in a big city, but maybe because of this we often feel the pull to escape to nature and recharge.
We talked to few friends who are either now live, lived or are from Melbourne for suggestions of things to do and Phillip Island was constantly popping up. It's mostly famous for being inhabited by a rather large protected colony of penguins, but it is  also home to natural parks, stunning beaches and excellent wineries. So we packed some food, extra clothes (because you need to be prepared for 4 seasons in one day) and we set off to the south west of Melbourne.

We first stopped at the Koala reserve. It's not a zoo (we are not really into zoos to be honest) but a conservation enterprise that is proving essential to help preserve Phillip Island's koala population. We paid our tickets and, without expecting much, made your way on the tree-top broad walk, looking over the eucalyptus trees to try and spot an animal. But while we were looking at the far away branches, we didn't realise that a sleepy, furry koala was hanging on a tree just in front of us! It was an incredible experience.

There were about 6 koalas inhabiting the trees around each of the two broad walks, all of them adults, and most of them sleeping soundly about 2 meters away from us. A friendly ranger gave us information about their age and gender, and told us more about their habits. It was very exciting, probably more for the adults than the toddler, who quickly turned to us with a pretty good impersonation of a sleepy koala ("Mamma, they don't do anything else!"). Eventually also two wallabies arrived hopping their way through the forest, who sparked more interest in our little one.

The next stop was the nearby Phillip Island Winery, an incredible place which only glitch is that it closes too early! We got there by four and had only a short hour to enjoy some fantastic wine at their cellar door overlooking the green hills. While Tommi was enjoying an ice lolly we tasted a selection of their wines and settled for a glass of their Rose (a bled of Shiraz and Pinot Noir) and Pinot Gris.

With still a few hours to kill before the penguin parade, we headed to Berry beach for a walk. It was amazing. The perfect sand covered the wide wild empty beach pounded by long powerful waves. The light was soft and even tho the wind blew strong we could enjoy a picnic and some games on the sand.

And finally, the penguins. A hoard of tourists marches toward an amphitheater in front of the sea and religiously waits for the about 1000 penguins of the resident colony to get back from a day in the ocean while the sun (and temperature) drops. Then, one or two small birds (the smallest kind of penguins) started appearing waddling their way back home, followed by the rest of the group. To be really honest, since by the time the penguins start getting to land it's already dark, it's not obvious to spot them. It's was easier for us to see a few from the broad walk heading back to the car. We couldn't take any pictures of the experience, as they are not allowed to not scare the penguins.
We got back home pretty late and tired, but absolutely blown away by this day trip that packed so much of Australia's wonders.

We left Bali and south east Asia behind and flew to Melbourne as a long layover toward New Zealand. Melbourne is a place where we immediately thought we could live. We loved the vibe of the cool vibrant city with a direct access to incredible outdoors.
We felt it was like 'relaxed, warm, spacious London'. Does this resonate with anybody else?

The city's neighbourhoods are characterised by the signs of the immigrant communities that inhabited them, now mixed with hip bars and cafes. The tram line is Melbourne's pride and allows free hop-on hop-off in the centre of the city. More than any obvious landmarks, the charm of the city lies in the vibrant atmosphere, its cool side alleyways filled with street art and quirky eateries, the green parks and multicultural markets.

Following the suggestion of a friend, we got a decently priced airbnb in Carlton. It was spacious and well equipped, and for the first time in a month we had two rooms! The downside was that it was clearly a student flat (with some of the cleaning issues derived from it!). Carlton is also the historical Italian area, and it was funny to walk around old school Italian coffee and restaurants that had that immigrant of the mid-1900 feeling to it. We did have dinner at a small old school Italian place, called Gemma, and it was actually pretty good.

We didn't eat out as much as the city wants you to because a) a toddler on tow is not exactly the easiest asset for a night out and b) Melbourne is pretty expensive and to keep in budget (there might be another post about our budget travel app developed by Peter..) we had many meals at home, accompanied by some really excellent Australian wine we bought from a local bottle shop.

We had a day trip to Phillip Island (more in the next post!), which we really enjoyed, and another day we ventured to one side of the Great Ocean Road. This doesn't make a good day trip from Melbourne, it's too far away and you really need some time to enjoy this beautiful coastal road and its beaches. Nevertheless we had a great day out because we arranged to meet up with Trish, an amazing woman that hosted me together with her family when I came as an exchange student in Australia 19 years ago! We had met again couple of times during the years, and this time I could introduce her to Tommi. It was quite special and emotional. I am very grateful for how she and the rest of the family welcomed me and made me feel at home when I was 17 and by myself on the other side of the world.

Favourite things:
Up on the top activities, we loved walking around Fitzroy, filled with cool bars and shops. The Melbourne Museum and its surrounding park were also very pleasant to hang out and we really liked the Royal park and its fantastic playground. We missed the famous Queen Victoria Market but we had delicious dumplings at Mama Tran the South Melbourne Market.

Our last day was spent hanging out at the incredible Heide Museum of Modern Art. A beautiful place, set on a hill on the boarder of the city, the entrance to the open air arts and the garden is free. We packed a picnic and enjoyed a few chill hours of chill hours among modern art and beautiful native Australian trees, peering at the cockatoos and keeping an eye out for wild snakes.

Our visit to Melbourne was also a turning point in our trip. It marked the first month since we left and it was really the moment in which our mindset had to shift. This is not a normal trip. At this point we would be all back home, back to our jobs, nursery, runs and bike rides, yoga classes, sneaky nights out, drinks at the pub, flat whites with a newspaper and listening to a podcast or an audiobook in peace while commuting. We had to find a way to re-adjust and to deal with the lack of personal space that, let's face it, comes with travelling full-time as a family. So, not without some challenges, lull moments and a few fights, our mindsets shift slightly, we relaxed and fit ourselves into the full time travellers life.

(Segue in Italiano!)

This was supposed to be a chronological and as up to date possible account of our family gap year but for a number of reasons we are very much behind. We’ll continue posting photos of the places we visited and telling stories of our journey, but we felt it’s time for an update of our current situation.

Coronavirus got the whole world to stop, and so we did stop as well. Last week we parked our rental van in front of the garage of a house on the hills behind Christchurch and, as everybody else, we are now staying at home. We got very lucky to find this place, to be able to extend the rental of our campervan (that we are now using only as a car to go to buy food), and to have some secluded outside space to enjoy.

But we have no idea how long we’ll be here for. The lockdown here is set for 4 weeks minimum. Internal flights, boats, and non-essential road travels are all blocked. There is virtually no flight out of here that reaches Europe, with the complication of layover passing through 3rd countries and flights being extremely expensive and often cancelled. We are luckier than the backpackers who came out of  Fiordland after 4 days of no connection and found themselves in lockdown, but still this is quite a weird situation.

But let’s roll back: we are an Italian/Belgian couple, our son was born in the UK but he carries a Belgian passport. Back in December 2019 we left our last address in London to start a year full time travelling.
At the beginning of our trip, and when the Covid-19 crisis unfolded itself in China, our families were worried for us. We were in Thailand, then in Bali, close to China and during the Chinese new year. The roles then gradually inverted and we got worried for our families and friends in Italy, in Belgium, in Spain, the UK and all over Europe. We got worried for the whole world, gradually, but we could carry on travelling in NZ, which by the looks of it was one of the least affected countries.
Social distancing here was not necessary (yet) but nonetheless easy. It is true that travelling with the van meant we had to use lots of shared facilities, but it also meant we were often in remote places with few other people around. There were only 20 Covid-19 cases in NZ by then, all related to overseas travel, and it felt both safe and controlled to keep on travelling.

Then the alert levels were raised here too. New Zealand closed its borders. Australia closed its borders. We followed closely and saw that all our flights out of New Zealand - and consecutive legs of our travel - gradually got all cancelled.

We started to have a lingering feeling of anxiety, which many of us must have been feeling. Numbers of infected and deaths growing rapidly in Europe. No flights to go back. We don’t even have a home to go back to. And which country is home? UK? Belgium? Italy? All of the flights we had purchased got cancelled. What should we do?

We were in the Catlins, a place that rightfully feels at the borders of the world, when we decided to cut the last part of the loop we wanted to do in the South Island, and we booked an Airbnb for a week close to Christchurch.  The plan was to stop, think and maybe try to drive to the North Island, where at least it would be less cold (we are travelling with very few clothes!). But after one day into our Airbnb, the lockdown was announced. We had 24h of stress to make sure we could stay in this house for as long as possible. After our incredibly nice host told us he was not going to leave us without a roof on our head, we slowly found some calm in this house by the hills. We made home in a home that is not ours. We built a new routine, improvised a toy corner for Tommi. We use our van (which is clearly a tourist van with the company branding taped all over) to go to the supermarket, while people whistle at us thinking we are silly tourists still going around to visit the country. Kiwis are luckily very friendly and open people, so besides experiences where people take a step back when they hear we are Europeans, we haven't been shouted at or seen as "infectors".

We have been expats for over 10 years, but there is a weird feeling to be so far away. As a family we also carry different passports, so which country and embassy is going to help us? We feel slightly vulnerable to be in such a non-familiar environment during a crisis of this size. That said, we are very aware of the privileged situation we are in!

The rest of the travel was supposed to bring us to New Caledonia, Brisbane, Japan, Sri Lanka... Well, that’s not going to happen. Shall we become Kiwis?  

Questo blog doveva essere un racconto cronologico e il più possibile aggiornato del nostro anno sabbatico di famiglia, ma siamo molto indietro con gli aggiornamenti. Continueremo a raccontare dei meravigliosi luoghi che abbiamo visitato, ma pensavamo fosse il caso di scrivere un aggiornamento della nostra situazione attuale.

Il Coronavirus ha fatto fermare tutto il mondo, inclusi noi viaggiatori incalliti. La settimana scorsa abbiamo parcheggiato il van a noleggio davanti al garage di una casetta sulle colline dietro Christchurch e anche noi ora ‘Stiamo a casa’. Siamo molto fortunati ad avere un posto dove stare, di essere in mezzo alla natura, di aver potuto prolungare il noleggio del van e poterlo usare per andare a fare la spesa. Ma non abbiamo idea di quanto tempo rimarremo qui. Il lockdown è stato annunciato per 4 settimane almeno, tutti gli spostamenti interni sono stati bloccati, inclusi voli e il traghetto fra le due isole della Nuova Zelanda. Non c’è praticamente possibilità di tornare in Europa, viste le limitatissime tratte aeree e le complicazioni dovute ai transiti. Siamo certamente più fortunati degli escursionisti usciti da 4 giorni senza connessione ritrovatisi in una diligentissimo paese in quarantena, ma comunque è una situazione un po’ strana.

Ma ricominciamo da capo: Camilla è Italiana, Peter è Belga, nostro figlio è nato in Inghilterra ma ha passaporto Belga. A metà Dicembre 2019 abbiamo lasciato il nostro appartamento a Londra e i nostri lavori per viaggiare per il mondo.
All’inizio del viaggio, quando la crisi del Coronavirus è cominciata ad esplodere, le nostre famiglie erano preoccupate per noi. Eravamo in Thailandia e a Bali, durante i festeggiamenti del Capodanno Cinese. Poi i ruoli si sono invertiti, e abbiamo cominciato ad essere noi preoccupati per le nostre famiglie e amici in Italia, Belgio, UK e nel resto del vecchio continente. Intanto continuava il nostro giro della meravigliosa Nuova Zelanda, che continuava ad essere virtualmente non toccata da questa crisi.

Mantenere il social distancing era stato piuttosto facile anche prima del necessario. Viaggiando con il van eravamo spessissimo in posti molto remoti, anche se spesso utilizzavamo servizi comuni (bagni, docce...). C’erano solamente una ventina di casi di Covi-19 legati a viaggiatori arrivati o tornati da altri paesi.
Poi il livello d’emergenza si è alzato anche qui. Nel corso di meno di una settimana, la Nuova Zelanda ha chiuso i suoi confini. Altri paesi vicini hanno fatto lo stesso, e tutti i voli che avevamo prenotato sono stati cancellati. Abbiamo cominciato a sentire questo costante livello di ansia ed incertezza, con cui molti si sono ritrovati a che fare nelle ultime settimane.

Il numero di contagi in Europa saliva vertiginosamente. Non ci sono praticamente voli per tornare. I voli che avevamo cancellati. Che fare?  

Così abbiamo deciso di finire il giro che volevamo fare in NZ prima del previsto e abbiamo prenotato un airbnb per una settimana vicino Christchurch per raccogliere un po’ le idee. Eravamo nelle Catlins, una regione piuttosto remota a sud ovest dell'isola del Sud, uno di quei posti con la caratteristica atmosfera dei confini del mondo. Abbiamo guidato le 6 ore che ci separavano da Christchurch, e dopo un giorno che eravamo qui, la Nuova Zelanda ha annunciato un lockdown di almeno 4 settimane.

Adesso il governo aiuta i turisti a trovare una sistemazione, ma all’inizio non era chiaro, come non era chiaro se potessimo rimanere nella casa dove eravamo. Ma il nostro ospite si è rivelato una persona gentilissima e ci ha offerto aiuto e promesso che non ci avrebbe lasciato senza un posto dove stare durante questa emergenza. Lentamente abbiamo ritrovato calma in questa casetta sulle colline. Abbiamo costruito una nuova routine, un angolo con dei giochi più o meno improvvisati per Tommi. Usiamo il van per andare a fare la spesa, mentre la gente punta il dito pensando che siamo turisti sprovveduti ancora in giro per il paese.

Sono 10 anni che viviamo da ‘emigrati’, ma onestamente la sensazione di essere così  lontani, arenati, è molto strana, fa sentire vulnerabili. Abbiamo anche passaporti diversi, quale ambasciata ci aiuterà? Non vogliamo assolutamente mettere in dubbio la situazione estremamente privilegiata in cui ci troviamo, sappiamo di essere molto fortunati. Il resto del nostro viaggio doveva portarci in New Caledonia, Brisbane, Giappone e Sri Lanka. Siamo abbastanza certi che, almeno per ora, non andremo in nessuno di questi posti, ma dovremo diventare neozelandesi?

It feels weird to write about travels during the coronavirus outbreak. But maybe we can make some of you escape out of their living room with our journal and start putting pins on that map for when all of this will be over...

In search of cooler weather and fewer crowds, we spent a few days in Munduk, a sleepy town amidst beautiful rice terraces in central Bali. Here, tourism is not as invasive and aggressive as in other parts of the island. Forgetting all the (non-existing) Western eatery options, we had food in very small Warungs. Many times we were the only diners besides the owner's family, eating delicious simple Balinese food made from local Grannies and Mamas. Also, we finally felt brave enough to rent a scooter, and really enjoyed the freedom that came with it!

Munduk was probably our favourite place in Bali, the one we felt was both most authentic and relaxed. The rice terraces are not as famous as the one of Jatiluwih, but we thought they were very beautiful and peaceful. We wandered for sunset walks up the terraces, ended up meeting friendly locals while sipping strawberry juices and staring at the many shades of green. In a little cafe overlooking the terraces we had our cups of Bali Kopi alongside with a little bowl of coconut sugar and some toasted cocoa beans in palm sugar that were just divine.

The rest of the days went by cruising the winding roads with our scooter hunting for waterfalls, avoiding monkeys crossing the road and visiting temples.

Our favourite waterfalls

A short scooter ride outside Munduk and 680 steep steps down (and then again UP!) we got to a magical place called Melanting waterfall. We were alone to enjoy a little pool off the big falls, in a lush tropical forest. Tommi ran around naked with his waterproof sandals over the shallow stream, while Peter and I took turns in cooling down in the very cold water!

We also liked the Banyumala Twin Waterfalls, way more touristy but honestly the best leisure waterfalls we encountered. There were even changing rooms! The twin falls end in is a very large pool where the water is always waist-high, and the falls themselves are not so strong so you can get close and take a full 'shower'. Tommi took ownership of a little stream off the main pool, and started the never ending game of throwing stones in the water. We got there around 10 am and by then there were only few people and a couple of (wannabe?) influencers flexing muscles or waving silky hair, but it got crowded pretty quickly!

The temple: Ulun Danu Beratan

We got mixed reviews about visiting one of the most famous temples of Bali, even depicted on the 50K Rupias note, but we were close to the Bedugul area so we decided to go.

The parking was more full than expected, and it ended up to be because of a local Hindu ceremony. Balinese ceremonies seem to happen every other day. All of a sudden, the road is closed and you have to wait out a parade of men, children and women in their traditional dresses, carrying large offers to the local temple. The visit turned up to very pleasant, and even the slightly tacky playground outside the temple was a good activity for us!

After these quiet, idillic days, we rolled south between the sea and the rice fields of Canggu. I think there could be lots to say about the massive growth of this over expanding enclave, but I am not sure we could give a comprehensive assessment of the situation. Sure is that you can see how hotels, yoga studios, beach bars, vegan eateries and co-working spaces are popping up around rice fields, completely transforming the landscape and clogging the small street with insane traffic.

We took advantage to these few days to unwind in a nicer accommodation where we could cook ourselves some meals (It felt incredible after almost a month of eating out to prepare our own food -- and even do the dishes), planning some future travel steps, while enjoying a wealth of food options and kids play hubs. Worth to mention is Parklife: it was right in front of our accommodation, and we went there one night by chance as it was pouring down rain as it was the closer eatery. We ended up going back to spend a half day sipping coffee and booking flights whilst Tommaso had the time of his life playing with the giant jumping castle and the myriad of toys.

Ready to leave the island of Gods, we realise we got completely unexpectedly conquered!

Our Bali trip continued from Ubud to Amed, on the east coast of the island. This was one of the first places where we knew we'd go in Bali, as Peter wanted to take a free diving course - "apnea" - at Apneista (thanks Alessa for the tip!). In the meanwhile, Tommi and Cami hung out by the beach and sipped fresh juices and munched on salads at the Green Leaf Cafe. In the evenings, we all together climbed up to the Jemeluk viewpoint and get to the Blue Earth Village for some nice food and couple of fresh beers, while enjoying the beautiful sunset view with the sea on one side and Mount Agung on the other.

Amed is famous for diving and snorkelling. Apnea, or free-diving, is the art of diving down without the aid of oxygen. As I was told on the first day of a two-day introduction to apnea, it is not about diving deep but more about the entire experience of immersing yourself in the water without any outside help and explore the natural limits of your body. Believe it or not, our bodies are somehow naturally adapted to free-diving and we share something called the "mammalian dive reflex" with whales, dolphins and other water-loving mammals. Surely, we cannot dive as deep as them, but I was surprised how this reflex kicks in the moment you hit the water, and helps the body to relax and consequently use less oxygen. As a result, it is much easier to hold your breath for an extended period of time – a few minutes at most, which certainly seems a lot longer whilst being in the water. All in all, I was extremely satisfied, exhausted but relaxed after the course, and already looking out for another moment to continue my exploration with free diving.

We then embarked on a speedboat directed to Gili Air, one of the small islands northwest of Lombok. We used Freebird to travel from Amed to Gili Air. We read terrible account of the boat trip, and how some companies were more unreliable and the boats really small. The travel was ok for us, also because the sea was quite calm (although Cami still doesn't feel great when on a boat!)

We got hooked to the slow pace of the island, the good food, the peaceful atmosphere and we ended up stretching our stay to 5 nights instead of 3. Moreover, on the queue for the speedboat, we met a lovely little family with whom we connected immediately and ended up spending a lot of time while on the island. Belén, Ruben and Lia are from Barcelona (our special connection with Catalunya seems to never abandon us!) and when we met them they were already travelling the world since 7 months! It was nice to meet such likeminded and interesting people, listen to their travel stories while seeing the little ones play and laugh with each other!

Gili Air is a great place  to unwind and relax, do a bit of snorkelling if you feel like (Peter saw a turtle whilst swimming), and cycle around. We rented some rusty and cheap but sturdy bikes that brought us around the island. The beaches are not so big but the sand is soft and full of pieces of corals (also huge!). We enjoyed hanging by the beach and having juices by the beach and pizza at Mama Pizza (Italian approved), delicious food at Pachamama and excellent coffee at B52.

We left with a heavy hart back to Bali, but excited to go and explore the mountains and in search for some cooler weather.

And here we are, exploring Bali with a toddler on tow. The island of Gods and the island of surf, party, meditation, veganism, yoga, yummy restaurants and digital nomads: we got so many different accounts of it that we are in between confused, worried and excited. We’ll get to realise what a great family holiday destination it can be and how it conquers you with its colours, friendliness, beautiful nature and mixture of old traditions and fashionable trends.

The first thing that hits us is that Bali smells like incense. Even the airport smells like incense! Balinese people give every morning an offering to their gods: a small basket of flowers, incense and food in every shop, every home, every car and scooter.

The second thing we notice is that the colours are beautifully vivid. The green is so green and the same fancy plants we buy in hip shops in London and keep in our flats grow here lush in the wild.

We follow the suggestion of our friend Claudia, and we decide to start exploring the island from Ubud, a little village tucked between the rice fields that has quickly become a busy hub for expats and travellers. It’s strategically located to explore some beautiful temples, areas of natural beauty while enjoying top notch restaurants, yoga classes and a buzzing atmosphere.

As we get on the highway from the airport, we overtake two blond surfers dudes riding a scooter without shoes and carrying a surfboard, a picture perfect image of the surfer vibe of the south of the island. As soon as we approach Ubud, the crowd changes. The surfers are replaced by the yogis and families negotiating the crazy traffic with three or for people on a scooter.

Even though not all the most advertised Ubud attractions seem to be toddler friendly (besides hanging by the pool), there is a lot to enjoy as a little family.

Walks

We embark on the Campuhan Ridge Walk and the views over the rice fields are indeed incredible, but the heat gets unbearable pretty fast and we take it easy. We stop after 2km at the Karsa Cafe for juice and Bali coffee. The setting is amazing, with tables on little huts over the fishpond water surrounded by the rice fields. We continue for another couple of km and the lunch spot is less scenic but the food at the Balinese home cooking is home-made, delicious and fresh.

Temples

There are many temples around Ubud, and two even into the little town, but we decide to dedicate a day to the discovery of Gungun Kawi and Tirta Empul.

We went first thing in the morning to Pura Gunung Kawi, a pretty big temple and funerary complex. It's quite early and there are few people around , it’s our first experience wearing a Sarong and the visit is really enjoyable.

From there it’s a short and pleasant (although sweaty) walk to Pura Tirta Empul, the holy water temple, where holy spring water channels through 30 different spouts in two pools. Local families queue for the ritual, sided by a sizeable amount of tourists getting their pictures taken in pose in the purification pools. But truthfully, it is beautiful and there is a special atmosphere around, so it’s easy to feel the pull to join in this beautiful ritual. We ask for indications and explanations to some friendly locals, and equipped with appropriate sarongs the three of us go waist down to the cold water and join the hoards to the holy spring.

Our getaway ended in a vegan Warung (Siripadi) nearby the temple, where we are joined by a friendly balinese family we met in the springs!

Cooking

Curious to dig into Balinese cooking, we searched for a cooking class that we could attend together without having to pay a fortune for a private one.

The cooking classes at Ketut ends up making a nice half day activity.

We enjoyed a very nice market tour, and the class was quite informative and the food was delicious, in a nice and quiet setting. The people were very friendly and helpful with Tommi, showing him around the garden and keeping him entertained when he wasn’t interested anymore in doing any cooking or tasting!

Chill

The rest of the time in Ubud has been spent chilling by the dipping pool of the Villa we were staying and the excellent coffees and restaurant in the centre.

Tommi gets increasingly confident to swim by himself (with floaters), which is nice to see.

Indonesian coffee is really exceptional. Of note, there is an increased interest in the Kopi Luwak, where the coffee bean has passed through the digestive system of the civet cat, then gets extracted from its poo and processed. Bear in mind when purchasing it or visiting coffee plantations that very often the civet cats are kept in captivity and suffer through the process. 'Regular' coffee is much cheaper, cruelty free and still really really good!

Food

Besides the places already mentioned, we liked:

• Warung Sopa. Very cheap, fresh, low key and delicious! A small baby friendly area with some toys, but not a child focused place
• Clear cafe: nice place, many veg options and not only balinese food
• Warung Fair Bale has been founded by a local NGO, and helps giving medical care to people in Bali who normally don’t have access to it.
• Semanyak: excellent coffee, we kept on coming back and we even got some beans to make with our Aeropress, the quality was top notch.
• Soma Cafe’: nice fresh food, with a relaxed sofa-jam session where locals and travellers join in. Our Tommi is always attracted by the musicians, and they were so nice to get him involved by giving him a tambourine and, briefly, also a guitar!

Hello Bangkok! With its heath, bright colours, poignant and sweet smell of street food, smog and tropical flowers. Bangkok marked the beginning of our family adventure.

When planning the trip we decided to try to not take two flights in a row, and Bangkok seemed like a good place to stop for a few days, immerse ourselves in a completely different climate, enjoy delicious Thai food, change view and temperature.

We stayed in Ari, following the suggestion of a friend, which is a relaxed neighbourhood in the north of the city, boasting a mixture of local places, street food joints and hip coffee shops. They serve really good, strong coffee, which when suffering from jet lag with a toddler on tow is a lifesaver.

We slept at the Yard hostel, where we had a large nice room with a sweet terrace. It seemed a bit to have our own home, but at the same time the breakfast in the laid back yard on shared tables with young backpackers really got us into the mood of the south-east asia travel, reminding us of when we went backpacking in Thailand as a couple, nearly 9 years ago!

The 'visiting/touristy’ activities were kept quite to the minimum, to give ourselves the time to recover from the plane and the jet lag, and get in the mood of a long travel. We did go to visit Wat Phra Chetuphon, the reclining buddah temple, as we had a good memory of it and thought Tommi would enjoy the giant statue and the sweet huge feet. It did feel more busy than last time we went, but it was a very good outing, followed by a sweet lunch in a nice cafe nearby.

Tommi fell asleep in the carrier while we were walking around, and we miraculously managed to transfer him our laps and enjoy a bit of chill time in a cute local cafe in Thanon Tanao. We then took a stroll in the neighbourhood, where there are many places producing religious artefacts.

The rest of the days passed by hanging out in coffee places, eating delicious local food in Ari (we liked particularly the Ontong Khaosoi and xx place) or in street food stalls and sipping juices, hopping on and off the busy skytrain.

We found out that the remedy to survive a combination of sleep deprivation and south-east asian heath is POOL. So, again following the suggestion of a friend, we made a couple of visits to a very kid friendly cafe in the center, called 'Blue Parrot cafe'. It is definitely not the most 'authentic' place in the city, with nachos and pizzas included in their menu, but their coconuts, the loungers by the pool and huge baskets of toys made it a great place to relax and chill for everybody.

Thai people were all very friendly with Tommi. He got smiles and free fruit from strangers in the skytrain, so much that he kept on looking for the 'lady with the mandarines’ each time we’d hop on a train.

The short stay ended up with a flash meeting with an old friend who was also in transit through Bangkok! It was sweet to catch up with couple of beers on our little terrace, while the hours went by and we all knew we had a plane to catch in the early hours of the following day.

Next stop for us: Bali!