In August I took my 10-year-old son on a trip to Italy to see the country he was born in. We found flights out of Atlanta for under $400 to Venice and spent a week touring around Italy.

My son spent the few months before the trip learning about Italy, its history, and culture. We visited Venice, Rome, his birthplace in Vicenza, and the Dolomites in Northern Italy. My son especially enjoyed the Roman Forum, Colosseum, finding the first house he lived in, and eating pizza and gelato.

We had a great time bonding as father and son. In May, my wife and I used Pomelo to travel to Switzerland for a week. Tickets were $300 out of Chicago to Geneva. We spent time hiking in the Alps above Lauterbrunnen, toured chocolate and cheese factories, and even dipped down into Italy to spend a few days at Lake Como.

We used the trains to travel everywhere and made the most of our time, even in poor weather.