Recently, my son and I spent a little more than a week in Italy, where I launched my new book at an event in a 300-year-old castle built atop even older foundations. Although we severely missed our better half, we came to feel at home.
We got very comfortable in our small town. They knew us at the cafe downstairs and even at the restaurant in another square, down below "our" square atop this hill town.
We knew all the cats that wandered the square and we could recognize our town easily from a distance thanks to the onion-ish dome on the church.
Because I rarely stay in hotels for long stretches -- not more than a night or two usually -- I never get all that attached to them. Sure, there are some that I like better than others, but this time it was different.
We saw the same few hotel employees -- a local dad and his adult son and daughter -- for more than a week. My little one was doted on and had a wonderful time. Over the course of our stay we even fell into something of a routine.
The result is that we really felt at home, not only in the hotel (did I mention the hotel is also in the castle?), but in the town, except that our family was only making a 50 percent showing.
And, apparently, we got noticed, too.
A number of people told me that it was extremely rare there to see a dad and son hanging out so much -- playing in the play area (what a relief it was to see that when we got to town!), checking out the fountain in the garden, calling to the cats, tossing pebbles down the well and waiting to hear the plop, smashing open newly fallen chestnuts with our feet, scanning the panoramic view, trying to name the towns dotting the hilltops.
Traveling alone with a little one for a week isn't always easy. We were together -- literally -- 24 hours a day. With another adult, you can split up now and again and have some alone time if you need it, but this time that wasn't in the cards.
But it was a great bonding experience for us and I know that even if my son doesn't remember all the details when he's older, his visit is inside him now, forming part of who he is and who he will become.
Next time, however, we need a room for four.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
