The Chinese Eiffel Tower

Yesterday we finally collected the plane tickets that for best part of a year have seen us in close contact with Sinead, our exceptionally patient travel agent. Like many other things these days, (like the money we used to pay for them for example!), even these are virtual. They are called E-tickets, meaning that we won't have any coupons to bring with us and guard with our lives because the tickets are registered in the airline system. Despite the lack of physical token, the moment was quite exciting, at least for Brendan and me.

While we were finalizing the last details with Sinead, our daughters completely ignored us, Nina playing with her Nintendo and Sara going through all the brochures she could lay hands on. After having studied them all, discarded safari in Kenya, skiing in Austria and city-breaks in Europe, she came to show me a brochure on Dubai with fairy tale hotels and ads for shops that sell diamonds by the kilo: "Look mummy, it's lovely! Can we go there?"
"Maybe another time", says I.
"Why?"
I decide to ignore the question and the impulse to strangle her, how can she be so ungrateful?

Walking back to the car, Nina always without raising her eyes from the Nintendo and Sara with the Dubai brochure under her arm, I ask them: "Aren't you excited about the trip? It won't be long now?" Silence, sideways glances and then "NO! I don't wanna go where there are crocodiles and poisonous spiders, I like Dubai, and Spain where my friend Alex says you can buy cool things!" Only six years of age and yet such a well defined personality, a real Bond-girl, Dry Martini, shopping and swimming pool. One of her favourite things to do at the moment is to go shopping with her Italian grand-mother and stop for coffee and cake, or an aperitif, depending on the time of the day. I already feel sorry for the poor unaware six-year-something-old who one day will lose his head for her.

I ignore the little pest and turn to my eldest: "How about you Nina, are you happy about the trip?"
"No. I like staying in the same place, not moving all the time. I'll just get used to a place and we'll have to leave again! And anyway, HOW DO YOU THINK TO MANAGE TO TEACH ME WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN SCHOOL??"
A bit deeper concerns the ones of my eldest, but concerns nonetheless. Revelation struck: my children don't trust us neither to keep them away from crocodiles or with their education! So much for the unforgettable experience.

Appealing to all my superhuman motherly love I tried to put myself in their shoes and see things from their perspective. It's true, at that age they like routine and stability. They are not in that almost autistic phase anymore, where everything must be done ALWAYS in the same way and if you try to put their jackets on before tying the shoelaces the go berserk. But they are attached to their friends, the Simpsons at 6 o'clock, the school and all the little things that make their world. Nonetheless, with the family divided among Ireland, Sardinia and France they are used to travel. We have also taken them hillwalking in the Rockies, to Stuttgart for the Weinachtsmarkt and to Scotland looking for Nessie. 8 months on the road though are admittedly something else.

In the end we understood that there'll be 4 of us in the party and we can't drag the children around like a piece of luggage. They should have their saying, within reason! We said to ourselves that maybe the solution was to involve them more in the planning, ask them what they want from the experience, what THEY want to see. At that point Nina finally raised her gaze from the video game and told me: "You know when people go to Paris go to see the Eiffel Tower? I want to see the Chinese Eiffel Tower!"

I saw the light! We opened up the guidebook together and decided that the Chinese Eiffel Tower are the Great Wall and the Giant Buddha in Leshan! For Sara we are still working on it, given the type it will be harder, but at least we managed to get her to admit that she wouldn't mind to see the Pandas in Chengdu and swim with dolphins in Australia...so good of her.

Listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers: Round the world, Nina's choice!