After a wonderful first day in Italy, the first night did not exactly match. The cough Silas developed on the plane ride over made its way to Beren and he spent much of the first part of the night continuously hacking while he tossed and turned. Eventually, he moved in with Allison and I took his place joining Silas. Everyone thankfully calmed down a little after midnight and we got some much needed rest. We needed it much more than I think any of us realized because when I awoke the next morning and glanced at my clock, I expected to see 8:00, maybe 9:00, but instead saw 11:00 staring back at me. Initially, I was a little frustrated to have wasted the whole morning, but I guess that’s why we decided to stay a whole month. There’s also nothing that quite demonstrates la dolce vita like your whole family sleeping in to 11:00.
Once we got up and moving we thought it would be good to stock up on some foodstuffs and diapers. Our apartment in Testaccio is situated about four blocks from a large, open air market so we meandered our way to it. I just love markets like this. It’s in a covered building, and laid out in a grid of corridors with their ends open to the outdoors. We made our way through the stalls of fresh spring fruits and vegetables laid out, past butchers stands and pasta stands, taking it all in. It’s sensory overload in the best way. It’s always a little challenging when you’re in a large tourist city what things are touristy and what things are actually authentic. This market feels like the latter, especially as you’re buying produce next to an old Italian grandma, while another gentleman walks past you with a whole side of pork slung over his shoulder.
We bought an assortment of fruits and vegetables, along with some fresh fettucine and parmigiano reggiano. I’m excited to continue going to this market in the coming days and exploring more of the fresh spring produce, especially artichokes. Rome is famous for them and there were stacks upon stacks of them at the market, but I need to figure out how to cook them well. I’m sure I will share more on that in the days ahead.
On the way back from the apartment we grabbed some more suppli (aka fried rice balls from heaven) and ventured out with a couple sandwiches, one containing octopus in a tomato sauce (polpo en sugo) and a meatball one (I forgot the name). Both were stuffed in soft, delicious ciabatta bread.
After lunch we wend out for a quick walk before Allison began work and made our way up the Aventine hill. At the top, there is a peaceful courtyard with a terrace overlooking the city. You can see various monuments and domes of churches, including St. Peter’s Basilica. As we gazed out at the city we soaked up the sunny, mild weather and the tremendous view.
Today was the first day we began our work routine. When we got back from our walk, Allison went to work, while I put the boys down for there nap, which Beren ardently refused to my dismay, so we just played some games together in the meantime. When Silas woke up, we went to the playground for a bit before coming back and making dinner in our apartment using all the ingredients we bought earlier at the market.
The boys finally went to bed around 8:45 PM and Allison finished up her “workday” around 11. It was a good second day, but a long second day. It is becoming abundantly clear we were accurate in labeling this an adventure, not a vacation. Everyone’s schedules are a little out of what, but hopefully that will continue to hone in. I’m excited for what tomorrow has in store!