Lost in Venice When Kids Save The Day Travel Lesson | Newsletter Dose of Vitamin A reveals how one map swap turned sweltering chaos into a parenting aha on letting children lead.
Confession time.
We arrived at the “most romantic city on Earth”… and promptly spent two hours hauling suitcases through 102-degree Venetian alleyways and bridges—while Google Maps insisted our Airbnb was located inside a brick wall.
Picture it: cobblestone labyrinth, sweat-soaked T-shirts, 37 bridge steps up → 37 bridge steps down, my husband yelling, “Forget this Airbnb! The first hotel we see, we’re checking in!”
Then my kids, Adrian and Julia, suggested a tech intervention:
“Mom, ditch Google—try Apple Maps.”
Click. Ping. One left turn, a hidden side canal, and boom: the secret courtyard door appeared like a scene change in a romantic comedy. (Thanks, Apple!)
P.S. Meet my trusty navigator, Adrian, and me — suitcase-free at last! (Julia and John politely declined photo ops, so it’s just the two of us this round.) Turns out our elusive Airbnb was only a 2:47 minute stroll from this gorgeous bridge all along.
Since you will ask, shop my earrings here. (Plus, you’ll get get a sneak peek of our notorious Airbnb.)
Bonus observation: Piazza San Marco was spotless—no souvenir hawkers crowding the flagstones, no peddlers on the bridges. I joked they must’ve polished it to a Bezos-worthy shine for his upcoming wedding
Big Idea lost in Venice With Kids | Travel Lesson
When the grown-up plan glitches, pause, pivot, and let the kids lead.
Try This at Home
Ask sooner—sometimes ask the kids. When your grown-up brain is fogged by stress, their clear little minds can spot the shortcut (and save everyone a suitcase-dragging meltdown).
Switch the tool. If your homeschool routine, workflow, or mindset hits a wall, try a new “map.” (Different app, new schedule block, fresh perspective.)
Let kids lead. Inviting their ideas builds resourcefulness—and occasionally rescues the adults.
Listen on The Anya Garcia Show
How I Refused to Let My Negative Thoughts Live in My Head Rent-Free
Listen here
⚠️ WARNING: May cause sudden bursts of clarity & confidence.
Weekly Dose of Vitamin A
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Real talk?
During our Europe trip, I was about five seconds from declaring pizza the official food group of the trip! Lol.
Also to note, travel (and motherhood) rarely looks Pinterest-perfect—but the sweaty, lost, laugh-until-you-cry moments are usually where the magic hides.
New on The Anya Garcia Show
This week we’re serving eviction notices to the negative thoughts squatting rent-free in your head—and showing you how to keep them out for good.
ICYMI [In Case You Missed It]
- NASA Study: Children Are Born Creative Geniuses
- Bad Start, Messy Middle – why chaos is your proof of progress
- How To Manage Multiple Kids Without Loosing Your Sanity
Euro Summer Takeaway
Travel itself will test you—trains get missed, taxis refuse curbside hails (this isn’t NYC), and Google Maps sometimes sends you straight into a wall. It stretches your patience, your packing skills, and definitely your step count. But it also hands you front-row seats to the world of wonder.
So dress light, tuck a pocket fan in the bag, and refuse to sweat the detours or meltdowns. Every bridge you haul a suitcase over and every wrong turn you laugh through becomes part of the legend—and the hidden courtyard you finally reach makes the climb more than worth it!
P.S. I road-tested four travel fans before we left—this little hero was the only one that actually kept us cool.
Okay, my sweet friend—Wait… did you actually read this whole thing? Or did you master-skim like a pro? Either way, I’m thrilled you’re here.
Hit Reply and tell me: what “we’re-totally-lost” moment somehow flipped into a win for you? (Extra credit if there were cobblestones—or kids—or 102-degree Fahrenheit!)
Right beside you every step—lugging suitcases up every bridge and laughing the whole wobbly way.
Anya
P.S. Think your suitcase could tackle Venice’s 437 bridges? Mine did—after two weeks of brutal cobblestones (Prague wins that contest), plus an unexpected Swedish rain shower—and not once did an agent say, “Sorry, that’ll have to be checked.” Overhead bin approved, ankle-friendly, still rolling. Curious? Meet the guy → linked here.
🎥 Peek behind the scenes on my YouTube channel → [Watch now]
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