Smart Traveler: A Homeschool Lesson Plan for Family Travel.

Yes. We had to keep a keen eye (and hand) on our luggage, and backpacks at all times. The seasoned, smart traveler gets pretty good at packing a carry-on. 

Yes. We explored the ruins of Ercuclano early in the morning and learned of the destruction of Mt. Vesuvius is 79 AD.

Yes. We went to the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Italy to see the absolutely gorgeous artifacts recovered from Erculano & Pompeii.

Swam in the Mediterranean. 

Walked among the Greek Temples at Paestum

Learned the History of Naples in a recently opened Naples Underground tour. 

And learned how to spot potential scammers or thieves.

Yes. We survived. We even thrived!

Our values and personal space were challenged. Our hearts were softened to the needs of immigrants and our waistlines were stretched as we had the privilege to enjoy Napolitano pizza, pasta, panini, and gelato on a regular basis.  There is much to learn in Naples with kids and it’s not all history! Come join us as we leave the textbooks behind. Grab your passport and let’s learn to be a smart traveler in Naples with kids.

Smart Traveler Life Skills Learned Whilst Traveling With Kids.

If you’ve followed our kid-friendly Italy adventures, then you know that we really enjoy the smaller, not so crowded, cities like Viterbo and Grottaferrata. They’re close enough to enjoy the sites of Rome and are great places to relax and unwind with the family at the end of the day.  These towns also deserve a few days to explore as well.

So what are we doing in Naples? It’s considered by many to be very unsafe and not worth the risk – especially with family in tow.  I Disagree! 

Naples, Italy Exudes All The Things I Want My Kids To Learn Through Traveling.

Naples is a hard place to live. There is no doubt about it. The noise can be mind-numbing, the crime, the filth, and the chaos. It’s all there, but you will have to look deeper – beyond the surface in order to help your kids (and yourself) understand how smart travelers cry “Via Napoli!”

We travel to:

Broaden our worldview, 
Grow hearts of compassion for other people & places,
Introduce our kids to what life really looks like in different parts of the world.

Life Skills For The Smart Traveler – Our Naples Lesson.

On our trip from Rome to Naples, we decided to get the cheapest train tickets we could because we needed to stay within our budget and wanted to leave enough money to cover our time in Naples which was not entirely planned yet. So for 34 Euro, we took the second class (ordinaria) train from Rome to downtown Naples. 

It took us quite a while to reach Naples as we stopped at every little train station along the way.  At the time, it was pranzo (lunchtime) so the train was filled with the locals headed home. 

The day was very warm. There was no air conditioning, and it was crowded. But, thankfully, not too crowded. We were able to all sit in the same coach and mostly together, (more on that later) we changed trains about 1 hour into the journey. We were thankful for the fresh air and breeze on the platform. Since we had bought several panini and bottled water for the journey we were well fed with our picnic we brought with us. 

We want to teach that travel is so much more than just the cruise ship ports of call or the tourist shopping streets of a city center. 

We boarded the second train and I noticed a gentleman, that had also been on the first train, get in the same car as us. The train car was rather full, so I sat with the kids next to an older grandma-type lady (always a safe choice) and left my husband to sit with a bunch of strangers Sorry! (But, we all agreed after the fact it really was the right choice).

The guy I had noticed previously sat in the group of seats next to us and inconveniently kept his carry-on suitcase and gift bag in the aisle. I thought he was being so rude! I kept wondering to myself why in the world was he doing this?. There’s plenty of room in his seating area to keep his luggage.  It doesn’t need to be in the aisle. 

Even Smart Travelers Need Coffee.

I clearly needed a coffee…but alas there is no snack trolley coming through the carriages on a second-class train during pranzo. 

I continued to silently mutter to myself,  “Why does he have that little paper gift bag so precariously placed on top of his carry-on ( in the middle of the aisle..STILL). None of this made any sense. I tried not to stare at him. It was hard. But since I was pretty sure everyone in the car already knew we were not locals (we try not to stand out, but sometimes it just happens), I did my best to keep my staring to the view out the window and my thoughts to myself.

A few minutes after we were on our way, the one guy that was sitting there got up and left. And all a sudden another guy was sitting there. Where did He come from? When I looked over again the craft gift bag was gone (yes, the luggage was still in the aisle) and now these two guys were exchanging money!!!

WHAT!!!! 

As I looked out of the corner of my eye (remember I’m not going to stare) I see these guys exchanging 2 very well-worn receipts (they’d clearly been used in this same manner quite a few times). One guy gave 10 euros to the other. The second guy said (in Italian), “No it was only 5 euro, here’s your change.” 

They shook hands, fist-bumped, and said “Ciao! Grazie!” 

The guy who received the gift bag went in one direction and the guy with the carry-on suitcase (that was thankfully no longer in the aisle) went the other way. 

And just like that, my kids witnessed a drug deal on a train on the way to Naples, Italy!

I’d like to be able to say the story stopped there, but it didn’t. My 13-year-old was watching the whole thing go down and knew exactly what was happening and kept looking at me with her eyes getting bigger and bigger. But she kept silent (for the moment). 

The grandma-type lady next to me just sat there clutching her handbag and looking down or out the window, determined to not get involved (smart woman!).  

My sweet husband (remember he’s sitting with a group of strangers), is oblivious to what’s going as his seat is facing the other direction and he has his back facing us. Besides, he’s got his hands full hanging out and keeping an eye on our luggage in the overhead luggage area a few seats away. 

And…then there’s my son…Sweet, curious, and always looking for a way to upgrade our train seats. Bless him! He boisterously tells me, Mom, we should take those seats! Look, there are 4 seats, Dad could sit with us!” Any other time he knows we would always re-arrange to sit as a group whenever possible, it’s what smart travelers do.

In my flattest, sternest, but not wanting to show alarm, voice. I said, “No.”  “But, mom-” “No! Sit down! Now!”

That went on for another round or two, and finally, I looked at him and said. “CarreFour male’ “.

He looked at me and instantly sat down. But his face said, “What?!?!?” “Where?!?!?” “Did I miss something?!?!”

My only response was, “I’ll tell you later. Shut your mouth and go ask your dad to come here when he can, and DO NOT CHANGE SEATS!” 

My husband came over a few moments later (still keeping one eye on the luggage) and said, “What’s up?”  I said, “CarreFour-male, I’ll tell you later.” He looked at me and said, “Ok!” and returned to a different seat where he could now see my face. Now we had eyes in both directions through the coach. 

You see, one of the guys from ‘the deal’ was waiting in the part of the carriage where everyone gets on and off. It’s separated by those not-so-automatic doors (at least on our train). Through the window, he kept looking straight at me. He might have been looking down through the carriage, but I’m pretty sure he was looking for a double deal if he could make one and we were his target. 

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Smart Travelers Always Trust Their Gut 

You see, in my gut, I knew that if we moved over to the empty seats he would immediately come back saying he lost something, we stole something, or some other hair-brained excuse to cause a commotion and potentially steal something of ours, or someone else.  So, we stayed put. For the entire rest of the train ride. Interestingly, no one else sat there either, except a couple of new folks after the guy finally got off at the next stop. 

We had been in Italy for three days and my kids had learned more life skills in those 3 days than any other long weekend in their lives! 

The Smart Traveler Debrief

A few hours later, we were finally in a place where we could debrief and everyone share their bit of the story or ask ALL the questions they had been wanting to ask for hours. We had a long chat about why we were able to stay safe in a potentially dangerous situation.

You see, that phrase, “CarreFour-Male”, actually means “bad [name of grocery store]”.   I said it to my son & my husband and they both instantly knew what to do.

For the record, CarreFour (a grocery store chain in Europe) is quite good. They have the best picnic food choices!

 Why did I say “bad {name of grocery store]”? It makes no sense, right?  

Do you remember in the opening scene of one of the Ocean’s (11,12,13) movies, Julia Roberts is on the phone with George Clooney and says, “The basement is flooding and the pilot light is out.”  I don’t remember how George responded, but I do know that was their code phrase for “Something bad is going down, NOW!”

I’d always wondered what our family code phrase would be.  And now we have it! Ours has a story that will stay with each of us forever, and we will be able to pull it out whenever (hopefully never) we need it.

Are you a Smart Travel Superhero? You can brush up on your superhero skills of stealth travel planning, boundless adventure, and activities with the Dream. Plan. Go! Travel Planning Mini-Course and the ‘How To Turn Any Homeschool Curriculum into a Family Travel Adventure. ‘

Your Questions Answered About Safe Family Travel in Europe.

Additional Safety Tips For Family Travel In Europe:

1. Make sure everyone in your family has travel insurance. Travel insurance can help cover the costs of medical emergencies, lost luggage, and other unexpected events.
2. Pack a first-aid kit. This is especially important if you are traveling with young children.
3. Learn a few basic phrases in the local language. This can be helpful in case of an emergency.
4. Be respectful of local customs and laws. This will help you avoid getting into trouble.

By following these tips, you can help ensure a safe and enjoyable trip to Europe with your family.

Virtual Museums & Unit Studies: The Perfect Way To Keep The Dream Alive While Planning.

Read about how we came to choose our Smart Traveler Superhero Code Word.

Grab your packing tutorial

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