I’ve given up trying to be “deep”.  I thought there might be a way for me to write something detailed and eloquent about the people who helped us win the trip to Tuscany.  But that will take too long, and I think too much time already has passed.  So here it is:  I am deeply grateful for all of the help offered and provided by so many during the contest.  Several days later, I am still completely overwhelmed by the number of people who spread the word in an effort to get more votes for us.  During a time when I was feeling really down about how mean and disrespectful some people can be, there were plenty of others who stepped up and proved there still are good people in this world.  Friends and family members I have not seen or talked to in years were posting the contest details on Facebook, asking their friends to vote.  Friends of friends – people I’ve never even met – were doing the same thing.  My co-worker’s son’s basketball coach (follow that?) even posted it on his page.  Our entire Taylor Street neighborhood (save for a few rotten apples) rallied behind my family and did what they could to make sure we won this trip to Tuscany.  And what would these people get out of it?  They knew it would be nothing monetary or material, just the knowledge and satisfaction that they helped someone else.  These people are good people.

Thanks again for the help, support, encouragement, and votes.  You know who you are

The contest started out friendly enough: fifty photos in the running, the photo with the most comments come Friday, March 12th, is the winner. I never thought in a million years that we had a chance of winning. But after a few days, it became clear that this competition was going to come down to two photos, ours and that of another family (who seems to know everyone in the world). They moved out to a commanding lead, and I was about to concede victory, when some suspicious comments were made about the contest on the Ciao Bambino! Facebook page. The gist of the comments was that the other family deserved to win the contest more than we did. The girls in that family lost their father a few years ago to lung cancer, and this trip would help them with their grieving. Ok, I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent, nor do I want to know, so I definitely feel for those young girls. But then this person went on to say that the winning family should be one with children old enough to appreciate a trip to Italy. This person didn’t need to name names or point out specific photos, but we heard the message loud and clear: vote for the other family, not mine, because Lucia is too young to go to Italy, therefore we’re undeserving of winning the grand prize. That’s all my family needed to see to get us fired up! Felicia and Frankie rounded up all of their friends, who got their friends on board, and so on. It was on!

Before I knew it, we had over 500 votes; the other family, about the same amount. We were neck and neck for a few days, then we took the lead! It was the first time during the whole competition that I actually got excited about possibly winning! We were up by almost 200 votes and I went to check on the other family’s photo, and that’s when I knew something was wrong. Within minutes, the other photo gained almost 500 votes. I took a look at the comments they were getting and discovered they were spam, serious spam. Not only that, those spammers were leaving 10-20 comments apiece. That was clearly against the rules. The contest was getting out of hand. To make it even worse, some of the comment spammers were leaving nasty comments about my photo, and about Lucia specifically. I began emailing Ciao Bambino!, and found out my friends were doing the same. Others were calling for the disqualification of the other photo. It was turning into a big mess. Long story short, Amie from Ciao Bambino! phoned me the next day. I let her know how upset I was over the whole thing and she made me feel a ton better. Amie also let me know that the spam and offensive comments had been deleted. By the end of our conversation, I once again had conceded victory, and began thinking about the cool GPS we would win for coming in second place.

The contest was scheduled to end the next day, Friday, March 12th, at 2pm CST. I had the day off work and knew I wanted to be nowhere near the computer at 2:00, so I scheduled a massage for that time. Even after the massage, I couldn’t bring myself to log onto Facebook and check the results, though I figured we’d probably come in second. Hours later, we were at Mark’s parents’ house, and I received a call on my mobile from my friend Jenny in Detroit.
Jenny: “So, are you excited?!”
Francesca: “What the hell are you talking about???”
Jenny: “They decided to give the prize to both families!!!”
Francesca: “SHUT THE HELL UP!! No way!!”
That’s when I jumped to my feet and ran to my in-laws’ computer to log onto Facebook and see for myself that, yes, Ciao Bambino! worked it out so that both families could win a week in Italy! I was in shock; more than a week later, it still hasn’t sunk in. With this move, Ciao Bambino! proved itself to be a class act. Amie and the other staffers didn’t let the comment chaos ruin an otherwise awesome contest, and maintained a high level of professionalism throughout. There is no doubt in my mind that Ciao Bambino! will be my first stop when planning future travel, and I encourage my friends and family to do the same.

Stay tuned for more posts about this contest and about our upcoming trip!

My adorable niece, Lucia, originally uploaded by *SuperstarSinger* Felicia Folinazzo.

Meet Pepina Dolce! Before & After, originally uploaded by *SuperstarSinger* Felicia Folinazzo.

Dallas - rescued from gang members, originally uploaded by Eldad Hagar (Please support Hope For Paws).

The owner of this photo, Eldad, is one of my contacts from Flickr, and, along with his wife, Audrey, runs the non-profit organization, Hope For Paws. They are based in Los Angeles where Eldad can often be found in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods rescuing injured or stray animals. The pair also rescues animals from shelters who are facing euthanasia. Eldad & Audrey open their home to these animals, pay for any medical attention, even surgery, that the animals may need, and work to find forever homes for the animals. How do they afford all of this? Eldad & Audrey have published a book, Our Lives Have Gone to the Dogs, that contains pictures of and stories about many of the animals they have rescued. The price of the book is $9.95, and 100% of the proceeds goes directly to paying veterinary and surgery bills, and to providing general care for all of the animals. I already have a copy of the book but my donations won’t stop there.

I would like to think that such an organization exists here in Chicago but I don’t know of one. Anyone know of something similar to Hope For Paws in Chicago?

Posted by Francesca

It warms my heart to hear a child say that she is interested in travel, especially at such a young age. The educational opportunities associated with travel are endless – and it doesn’t have to be exotic, international travel. Exploring within our own country, or even our own state, can be adventurous and cultural. A family with young children may not have many chances to get out and travel, so how else can we foster and promote a child’s desire to see and learn about the world? Toys and games, that’s how. M’s birthday is coming up so I wanted to get some travel-related gifts for her. While searching for such gifts, I found two awesome websites that sell travel-related items for children of all ages, games and toys that are fun and educational. The first is I’m A Good Little Traveler!; the other is Magellan’s Toy Shop. Amazon.com also yielded some wonderful finds, as well.

On another note, I am tired of people telling me, “Your travel days are over now that you have a baby.” Uh, excuse me, what? I beg to differ. Why are so many people of this belief? Why can’t we travel with our child, no matter how old she is? By the way, Lucia is 14 weeks old and already has been on an airplane. I’m sensible so I know that backpacking through Laos and Cambodia might not be the best trip to take with a toddler or young child. But why can’t we spend a week in Costa Rica? Why can’t we rent a villa in Italy? I refuse to believe that my travel days are over, and I know my husband feels the same way. There are plenty of resources available for traveling families, the first being BootsnAll. There is an entire forum on the message boards devoted to Traveling With Children. Through BootsnAll, I came across the article, 6 Ways that Traveling with Kids Can Actually Improve Your Travel Experience by Karen Banes, which made me feel a whole lot better.

My motto has become: Have kid, will travel. Don’t tell me I can’t.

Posted by Francesca

Posted by Francesca

Posted by Francesca