Sunday morning I woke to the news that all of Lombardia and most of northern Italy was on lockdown. The “red zone” which was previously limited to 11 towns where the outbreak was concentrated, was expanded to include Lombardia and other provinces here in the north. As of yesterday morning, the ENTIRE country has been placed on lockdown. The number of cases has risen to 9,172 and sadly the number of deaths has risen to 463.
Sunday morning our world changed in the Milan metro area in ways that we would have never anticipated. Cases of the Coronavirus were diagnosed in towns outside of Milan and those towns were put on lock down, no one in and no one out. As I digested the news, more news arrived. The governor of Lombardy issued an ordinance for the whole region: no university classes, no school, no sporting events, no performances, no cinema, no religious meetings and no public or private meetings of any kind. Then it snowballed into museums, libraries, public offices, etc., all closed.
Traveling with kids can be quite a challenge at times. When traveling through Italy, adults dream of visiting museums, shopping, long walks in historic downtown areas and enjoying a glass of wine at a quaint outdoor cafe. Let’s just say that it’s best to embrace the fact that your young ones have a short attention span and their hearts and minds may not be as intrigued as yours when visiting great works of art or historic sites. Therefore, finding fun activities for your kiddos is essential to making a memorable family vacation. With a little planning you can include kid friendly activities into your itinerary. If you’re visiting Milan, Italy here’s a list of fun and inexpensive things to do with your little world traveler.