Parents, travellers, bloggers: Elisa and Luca tell us about their life intertwined with work and their fairytale travels, along with their child.
Is it possible, for a couple of seasoned travellers, to make their life as an endless journey?
Yes, this is what Elisa and Luca – founders of one of the most followed travel blogs in Italy - managed to do. Rock’n’roll heart and gipsy soul, Mi prendo e mi porto via was created in 2011 from their desire to share the great passion for travels and to talk about every corner of the world with a perspective as local as possible.
Mi prendo e mi porto via is not only a couple blog: it’s meant for all those people that suffers from the “wanderlust syndrome” and offers, beside hundreds of detailed articles about almost every destination, themed features such as In viaggio con Manina, dedicated to family journeys. Yep, because two years after the founding of the blog, Elisa and Luca became parents and today, along with their 10 years old son, travelling in three is an increasingly exciting adventure.
The blog takes off
The idea was born out of desire to share experiences and to be helpful to people. “In 2011 nobody would have guessed that this could become a job – says Elisa -. Until 2017, in fact, being a blogger was not recognised as a job, but only as a hobby, and no one believed that you could make a living out of it. We went on, steady, because we wanted to be of help to others and to communicate what we really loved: travelling!
I must say, though, that some particularly enlightened tourism bodies have paid attention to bloggers from the beginning and over the years have become increasingly receptive to the need to tell, introduce, and involve people through the narration of content creators. So, little by little, new collaborations arrived, and our travel-related activity has become more and more intense".
Parents, travellers, bloggers
Luca and Elisa keep travelling to this day: since their child goes to school they try not to be away for too long, but when work calls the suitcase is ready.
How can you balance the job of two travel bloggers with family?
“Our blog deals mostly with couple travels, therefore we often have to leave. We try as much as we can to find the correct balance obviously, but it is our job. On the other hand, this life allows our son to have amazing and extraordinary experiences, literally; at his age he has travelled more than all our family members combined. The three of us reached incredible places: from Easter Island to Lapland, from Australia to USA, he set foot in 40 countries at least.
Living so many adventures together turned him into a very independent child, with an open and receptive mind – and this is priceless”.
I viaggi di Manina
Every place we visit is unique and every country hides some treasures: but each family has its own favourite journeys.
“Our son is a great Australia lover: he would love to go back there every year. We already had two trips to Australia, all together, visiting different areas, but as soon as possible we would like to go a third time because it’s a huge country. He also loves Maldives and its undersea life; he adores animals, especially sea ones. This is why we loved so much Cook Island, in New Zealand Polynesia, less known than the French one but equally beautiful for his sea and undersea lives and local culture.
Easter Island as well: this year we made a long journey from north to south in Latin America, flying from Chile, and we visited this wonderful island. Meeting with the Mohai, in a land so faraway from us, has been an experience that we will never forget”.
New parents travelling
When you become parents the way of travelling changes and you must get used to organising with the babies. For every travelling mum and dad there’s a first time. Which advice would the two experts give?
“Simple: what we feel and do is the best example we can give to our children. If we are calm and serene, they will be as well. Our attitude towards travel will greatly influence their behaviour.
Another piece of advice I would like to give to those travelling with small children is to use the baby carrier - sling or pouch - being careful to choose an ergonomic one that allows chest contact with mum and dad, and not world facing.
The right supports are allies of travelling parents, they avoid carrying bulky equipment such as strollers, they make the child feel very close to the parent and therefore reassure him.
Travel light: children don't need a lot of things. We often see mothers and fathers with huge and tiring bags to carry. Let's make our lives easier: we have changed the child in any situation, without any problem.
In general, experience leads us to say that if children get used to travelling from an early age, everything will be much easier. They will become much more autonomous and will easily adapt to any new context.
And they are the ones who teach parents to experience the journey differently and to be more aware."
There’s always a wishlist
Just browse the Mi prendo e mi porto via website to feel like packing your bags right away: there are so many recommended destinations and itineraries; it seems like they've already seen everything. However, the world is gigantic and the longing to explore is endless: where would Elisa, Luca and Manina like to go in 2024?
“We have a destination in mind, but the travel still need to come alive. One thing is certain: in 2024 we would like to do the same thing we did in the past two years, namely destine the summer months to a long trip with our son, take a moment as family and leave for an itinerant journey of at least two months. In 2022 we travelled around the world: we started from Malaysia, then Vietnam, Australia, Hawaii and Denmark right before going back home.
Last year, instead, we went to Latin America: Panama, Colombia, Chile, and Easter Island, to finish off in Bolivia in the spectacular Salar de Uyuni.
This year we would like to explore Asia and go on an adventurous gran tour never done before. I will not be specific though: details will be disclosed later, little by little, on our Instagram account.
Little world explorers’ suitcases.
Let’s add some amazing journey, trip and hike on this new year’s good resolutions.
Moments of discovery and fun to experience together and to look forward to right now, defining destinations, planning itineraries, fantasising over ideas and visiting tips.
Let’s take some time to carefully choose the clothes we will put in the suitcase: we want them to be comfortable and refined, suitable for a visit to the museum and a run in the park. The perfect destination for this research is the Primigi shop: from apparel to shoes, everything is high-quality and designed to give children moments of happiness, fun and discoveries, with style!
**Article written in collaboration with Giovani Genitori
