I’m not really sure where our boys get their energy. If we could figure it out, I’m pretty sure we could overcome any global energy crisis. They went to bed at a later time last night and crashed, so I thought, hooray, they’ll probably sleep in a bit. I don’t know why I haven’t learned to never to think that. They were up before 6.
Thankfully, because of our market trip yesterday, we had a pretty robust breakfast, and their early rising worked out because we were hoping to get an earlier start today. The plan was to go up to the Villa Borghese which is a large park in the northeast part of the city. Because of the early wakeup call, everyone was a little cranky getting ready and out the door, particularly Silas.
We got on our bus and settled in for the long ride. We zoomed through the streets and got to see some areas of the city we’ve yet to explore, including the US Embassy. It was funny to me observing how many more of the signs for businesses in this part of the city were in English as opposed to Italian.
We passed through the city walls and disembarked next to the park soon thereafter. The park is large and sprawling, containing a number of statues and fountains, a couple of museums, and a zoo. There are paths, both broad and narrow, cutting through the lush green spaces in various directions all shaded by large overhanging pine trees that look distinctly Italian to me.
As soon as they were able, the boys took off, relishing in their bit of freedom. It’s rare to see someone actually frolic in nature, but that is exactly what they did, sprinting through the grass and early spring flowers.
We strolled down a few paths, past some large statues and found ourselves at a playground. The boys played for a few minutes, but it was one of the more treacherous playgrounds we’ve encountered, so we ushered them along. There was also a pavilion with a number of arcade games and such, but we were able to pass by that with limited temptation as well.
A little further down, we came upon a small play area with a number of wooden toys built to look like a tractor, a trailer, and some abstract, undiscernible farm animals. As I was exploring the park in Google Maps, I actually read a review of this small playground and the reviewer described it as a bit “decrepit”. Honestly, that characterization was pretty astute. It was pretty decrepit, but of course it’s those types of things that our boys love, so they stayed and played on the tractor and “animals” for a while. Silas enjoyed riding the tractor saying, “I’m a farmer. I’m a farmer,” or singing a remix of Old MacDonald with Beren. Beren spent most of the time burying his Aquaman toy in the dirt. Aquaman has become an unexpected expert in the various Roman soil types.
The little playground was very pleasant and the weather was mildly warm with a nice slight breeze. Before too long, we decided to keep walking. Allison was hungry at this point so we followed the crowd to a small cafe we saw in the park. We ordered some focaccia paninis to take away and nearby found some benches next to a pond. The pond was filled with people in row boats paddling around with the ducks and the seagulls. In the middle of the pond is a recreation of a small Roman temple and under a tree next to the temple was a fountain in the form of a woman pouring water out of a jar, down the rocks, and into the pond, as if he pouring had filled it. Nearby there was a woman quietly singing and playing the harp to complete the ambiance.
We ate overlooking the pond, watching the Mallard ducks swim around and the people figuring out how to row their boats. It was funny because the pond wasn’t that big and would have been a romantic place for Allison and I to row together, if we were here as a couple, and if we were the only boat on the water. What made it distinctly less romantic, but much more entertaining, was the fact that there were close to twelve boats on the water at the same time and it looked more like a game of bumper boats than a romantic paddle. It brought me joy to watch the couples who thought the boat would be a lovely idea, get out into the middle of the pond and begin flailing their oars unable to move as they tried to dodge other boats.
There’s a decent bit more we would have liked to do in this part of town, but it was getting to be early afternoon and we were a pretty far way from our neck of the woods. We opted to walk to a further bus stop to get a direct ride back rather than having to transfer busses. We waited for a bit longer than expected for unreliable bus 83, but ultimately made it back, with both of the boys falling asleep on the way.
We hoped we could transfer them to their beds for nap, but that didn’t work quite so well. Beren laid quietly for a bit and Silas slept some, but they were up earlier than usual. They watched a show and ate a snack while I started a jampacked workday, which would include no dinner break.
After a bit, Allison and the boys left to visit our best Italian friend, the gelato guy. They also partook in our daily ritual of visiting the playground, while I sat woefully looking out the window on video call after video call (beautiful music plays on the world’s smallest violin.)
They came back and Allison made Beren and Silas a little dinner of what we had available. Beren has lately grown pretty picky on the eating front. This began before we came to Italy, but has not gone away, despite the fact Italy is know for delicious food and known for kid friendly food. Really it comes down to when he decides something to be yucky, it is now yucky, even if the day before, or even minutes before, it was good enough to be “all fingers up.”
So after refusing delectable pizza, pasta, and other scrumptious dishes, all with super fresh ingredients, when Allison delivered him his meal tonight he exclaimed, “Ooh PB&J and avocado! We never get fancy dinners like this!”
I continued my continuous myriad of calls and Allison bathed and put the boys down to bed. She then went out and picked up some sushi, which we enjoyed together once I was done. It was nice getting to share dinner with her after the long day and to talk and catch up. The moments we have with just the two of us aren’t very frequent, so it is always refreshing to talk and enjoy each other’s company.