June 9, 2023
Bologna
To change things up today we took the bus into town instead of riding. We didn't have a specific plan except to find coffee which we managed pretty easily. The footpaths were wide enough for Tobias to cruise around without hitting anyone's ankles and we could glance around occasionally. It's interesting how people in different cities respond to little kids on a bike. In Ljubljana no one batted an eyelid because every toddler was riding a balance bike. Here he was drawing attention from everyone but it was generally very positive. Other places we've had some pretty disapproving stares when he gets in people's way. We try and teach him some courtesy, and have started learning "sorry" as well as "thankyou" wherever we are, but I don't feel too bad since plenty of adults staring at their phones get in our way.
While we were at the Fontana del Nettuno we spotted another touring family riding into town with a kid in a trailer, one on a follow me tandem and one on his own bike. We thought 1 kid was tough, but this is next level. We talked to them for a while (as much of a conversation as can be had with two 2 year olds wanting all sorts of things). They are French and have just come from where we are headed and are on their way to Slovenia. They are also on a 5 month trip, but they will bike back to France since the logistics of all the bikes and kids on transport is too much. We had lots in common - that biking is the most restful part of the trip, that 2 year olds generally just want to be carried, and that sometimes you just see a lot of playgrounds.
While Tobias napped we finally booked our flights to NZ, so at least one big administration task is off our shoulders. Now we just need to work out how we are going to get across France in time for Lander's wedding.
The afternoon was spent at a playground followed by some excellent gelato. This is the first good icecream I've had this trip so I'm glad we got Tobias his own one and he didn't have to share ours. He did finish first and managed to sneak some of mine while I wasn't looking. Tomorrow we have just one train then a reasonable bike ride to get near to Florence.
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