Hi, I'm Michael.

Today was a much better day. There weren’t as many tears. There weren’t as many fits. There were still some hangry outbursts, but overall, it was much more copacetic. Everyone slept past 6 AM. No one missed their nap. The workday wasn’t as demanding. And we didn’t have a bunch of preset expectations of what we needed to see.

In the morning we went back and forth on what to do with the day. Ultimately we decided we didn’t want the commitment of something we needed a ticket for or needed to arrive for at a set time, so we chose to go back up to the Piazza Navona area and wander around.

Rather than rushing to the bus, we stopped in a cafe and enjoyed some breakfast while we talked together. Then we rode the bus on what has become a familiar route, zooming up the Tiber and through the touristy quarter of the city.

Arriving at Piazza Navona, we walked to the piazza and gained our bearings before hitting our first stop, the Basilica di Sant’Agostino. Looking out onto the piazza, there were many more people around than when we were there two weeks ago. I have noticed how the crowds are starting to grow in these more touristy parts of town and it makes me glad we hit some of these sights early in our trip. I’m not sure if it’s a function of COVID restrictions loosening up or because we are moving away from winter and into spring. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Regardless, I think it kind of spoiled me because as we return to these areas and walk around now, I’m thinking, “What are all these people doing here.” However, I think how it is becoming now is more “normal” and before we were simply receiving the privilege of opportune timing.

The nice thing about many of these churches, however, is that, compared to the big attractions, they are off the beaten path, yet hold so many wonders to see for free. The Basilica di Sant’Agostino is a stone’s throw from the piazza and contains another work by Caravaggio along with a fresco if the Prophet Isaiah by Raphael. Additionally, it is home the the grave of St. Augustine’s mother. On top of all that it is packed with a number of other artworks and statues, and is grand and ornately beautiful.

We walked around and the boys were generally well behaved, marveling at many of the same beauty we marveled at. We’ve seen a lot of churches so far and it is always interesting how certain ones capture their attention, even though they often don’t understand what they’re looking at. To be fair, neither do I.

After the church we meandered back to the Piazza Navona area. I had read on a blog about things to do in Rome with kids about a famous toy store right off of the piazza. Based on how the article described it, I was expecting and FAO Schwarz sort of thing like in New York and was thinking this may be a fun place to take the boys and for them to pick out a souvenir of sorts.

We found the toy store and went in. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a place like this and I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way. This wasn’t a toy store for kids, but rather seemed to sell the types of toys adult collectors would be interested in. It’s always weird to see what kinds of “toys” fall into that category. The room we entered into was filled with glass cases of creepy dolls, weird troll-like statues, and animal figurines dressed in sophisticated people clothes. Needless to say, we were caught off guard and Beren was very confused.

We explored other rooms and there were locked glass cases of collector matchbox sized Ferraris, antique aluminum toys, and replica swords and daggers. Then upstairs I noticed there were stuffed animals. Finally, something normal the boys can relate to and enjoy, but when we got upstairs, they were disappointed once again. The shelves were lined with cute little animals of a surprisingly wide variety, but the shelves were also lined with signs saying “DO NOT TOUCH.” What kind of sadistic toy store allows you to look, but not touch, any of the toys?! It was like some sort of cruel and unusual punishment for children.

The boys were bummed and confused, but were able to move on with the promise we wouldn’t forget about them getting a souvenir at some point. We began walking again to another church we had on our radar.

One of the other game changing things about today was Silas decided to end his strike of refusing to let daddy hold his hand or carry him. After all this time I was able to help share the load without screaming and squirming, and relieve the never ending clinginess he’s had to Allison. It was a huge relief. On our way to the next church, he was excited to ride on my shoulders, pretending I was his horse. He would demand that I gallop and would yell, “Giddyup!”, as he relentlessly smacked the sides of my head. He then, for whatever reason, decided to start biting my hair and licking the top of my head. I’m not sure which I preferred more, the feeling the degradation of being a horse or getting my hair licked.

This next church was a little busier and less intimate than the first, but was still interesting. The Jesuit Church of Saint Ignacio wanted to have a dome when it was built, but apparently ran out of money and was built with a flat roof instead. However, not to be deterred, the ceiling was instead painted using forced perspective to create the illusion of a vaulted ceiling and a dome. That is, if you stand in the right spot.

The ceiling is pretty remarkable and the vaulted part is a colorful, intricate masterpiece. The dome illusion is also pretty cool, but felt more like a novelty. When you looked from the correct angle it did look legitimate, but it loses its luster when you see it from another. I would compare it to being a little like the feeling when you learn how a magician does a trick.

We thought about trying to get lunch, but rather than be sucked into a more touristy stop, we decided to head back home before the boys were too tired and may fall asleep on the bus. We made it back and I grabbed meatball sandwiches and suppli from our neighborhood favorite, Il Trappezino.

After lunch, the ultimate goal was achieved and both boys napped. Allison and I enjoyed a few minutes together chatting about the day before I started work.

I had a decent gap for dinner, so once the boys were up again, we all went for a stroll outside with the rest of the local community to grab our nightly gelato. We couldn’t decide what to do for dinner, but we needed some food resupply anyway, so I stopped in the supermarket while Allison and the boys went to the playground.

At the playground, it was an encouraging evening. Allison made acquaintances with another parent and the boys played well with some of the other kids zooming around and racing their toys.

After a bit, we came back and were unsure on what to do for dinner. Since I just went to the store, we decided to eat in. I made a quick breading and fried the remaining calamari from the night before and then steamed some green beans and made a quick white wine butter sauce for some fresh pasta I had bought. It turned out pretty well.

Coincidentally, in the weeks before coming to Italy, I watched a Master Class on intuitive cooking. The teacher of the class focused on more Asian and Latin American food, but started out in food trucks and talked a lot about working within constraints and by feel. Watching that class when I did was fortuitous because while our apartment is well equipped, there are some significant limitations to what pots and utensils I have. I only have a stove and a microwave and no formal tools to measure with. Despite all that, I’ve felt a resurgence since we’ve been here in my desire and enjoyment to cook. The class put me in a good headspace to accept these limitations and I feel like it has been much more fun and pure to cook by feel and figure out how to make it work. It also helps that the ingredients at our disposal have been of phenomenal quality.

I ate quickly and headed back to work while Allison showered the kids and put them down for bed.

Finally it’s the weekend. We don’t have to hurry up and get back to go to work. We can use naptime and bedtimes as time for Allison and I to spend together and recuperate. We are looking forward to that and all else the weekend has in store.

I know I’m like a broken record everyday commenting on how early the boys woke up. This may just seem like another mundane and insignificant detail among the plethora of other mundane and insignificant details I choose to include in our daily recaps. However, I have done it with purpose because I knew at some point, the late bedtime here, the missed nap there, and the consistently extremely early rises would coalesce into a major plotline at some point. Today was that day.

Both were up early again and today was my day to get up with them. I could have, slept much longer, and probably needed to, and I was resentful of this fact when I arose. I am sorry to say I went into deadbeat dad mode and turned on a show for the boys to watch while I snoozed.

Before long they were hungry, but we had almost nothing to eat. Usually, in the States when I say this, it’s hyperbole because we really have stuff we just don’t have something that’s wanted. However, when I say it here, it’s literal, because we are purchasing food day to day. So I took the two butts of a loaf of bread and made toast with jam. Then when they were still hungry, they each got peanut butter on a spoon, and then another one, and then another one, until they were satiated. But there wasn’t anything left really for Allison and me, and we were both still grumpy.

We didn’t have much of a plan for today, so once Allison was up, we tried to scrap one together. We decided to make our way up to a similar area we were yesterday at the Villa Borghese, but enter the park from a different side after seeing some things along the way.

We made our way to the bus stop and, as always, saw the bus we needed depart as we approached. But we turned lemons into lemonade and decided to use the 20 minutes until the next bus to grab some breakfast pastries. It worked out and we finished eating them at the bus stop right as the bus came.

We rode along the Tiber and were dropped off a few blocks from our first sight, the Mausoleum of Augustus. Unfortunately, it had gates all around it and seemed to be under renovation, so we only saw the outside of the large round monument in which the former Emperor was buried. We continued walking and came out into the large open space of Piazza Popolo.

We hadn’t walked very far yet, but it was at this point that the accumulated fatigue set in for the boys. They both wanted to sit down, so we did, and ate the rest of our left over pastries. We took in the sight of the large Egyptian obelisk that is the centerpiece of the Piazza and the two twin churches on its south side. On the north side there’s another church and this is the one we came to see.

The church is named Santa Maria del Popolo and is a gorgeous church that is home to a number of interesting things. First off, it is another church with graves in the floor that are carved in the shape of their inhabitants, except in this case many of them are so trodden and worn down that no one knows who the people actually are. Also, the church houses two paintings by the Renaissance master Caravaggio. They are remarkable and totally free to see (not counting the one euro they make you donate to activate the lights.) Lastly, the church is apparently built on the Emperor Nero’s grave. Nero was infamous for blaming and executing Christians for the fire that he started which burned down Rome. Apparently, there was thought to be a heavy demonic presence around his grave because of the atrocities he committed and this church was erected to overcome them. The story of all this is depicted in gilded panels in and arch above the church’s altar.

It was inside this amazing church that Silas began to lose it. In his tiredness, he would not obey. He began running through the pews and even tried to skirt his way past a rope up onto the altar. When Allison scooped him up, he started screaming, which in this setting, is not what you want. She begrudgingly took him outside and we had to take turns looking at the sites inside.

One thing I will say, is that generally older people have been super kind and accommodating to the kids, however, if you put some sort of Renaissance piece of art in the room, this is no longer the case. It’s like they become preteen girls at a Justin Bieber concert and will push and jostle you to the side like the riff raff you are, small kid or not.

Once we were done, we climbed a set of stairs up to the Villa Borghese. On this set of stairs both Silas and Beren sat down in protest on seperate occasions and demanded we carry them. As we made our way up the hill, there were two grown men in Roman Legionary costumes blocking the way. You could sense what their schtick was a mile away and with two young boys, I knew we were doomed.

We approached and they put a little fake laurel on Beren’s head right as I thought, “at least this will be a cute picture.” It was a cute picture, albeit a little more violent than I necessarily want for my four year old, but I knew after the picture would come the shakedown. Sure enough, the guy puts out his hand. I though I would be generous by giving five euro. I mean, I took the pictures. All they did was sacrifice their dignity by putting on cheap costumes and carrying tiny swords to pose for about 10 seconds, but the guy demanded another five for the other guy. I said no and he then said to give him the coins in my hand. I said no. So much for the lighthearted fun a few minutes prior.

At the top of the stairs, there was a nice view over the city. The garden in this part of the park was picturesque and was highlighted by a clock that runs by water. It was at this point though we were barely holding things together. Silas was either running away or freaking out when we tried to take away the large stick he was going to gouge his, or someone else’s, eye out with. We decided it was time to go home.

Despite out best efforts, Silas fell asleep on the bus again, but we were able to transfer him to bed successfully. Beren, who stayed up on the bus, went down pretty easily after a little “I’m hungry” tantrum. Phew, we did it. Remembering we were out of food, I went to the store.

When I got back 15 minutes later, to my dismay, Silas was sitting in Allison’s arms on the couch. I guess the transfer wasn’t as successful as formerly thought. Allison had to go to work, so I tried to keep the little dude quietly busy for the time being while Beren still slept. He was noticeable tired and very irritable, but we had some nice moments snuggling on the couch.

Beren took a good nap, thankfully, and once he got up we got ready and went to the park. Getting ready in this regard was good for Beren, but screaming and weeping for Silas (there is a trend beginning to emerge.)

At the playground, it was crazy as usual, but the boys enjoyed themselves sprinting around. It’s interesting because this seems like the only place to go for small kids to get energy out for those that live in the area, so I’m starting to notice the same groups of kids and parents out there every day. It’s like a daily block party and I’m the random American guy wondering around chasing my kids in their midst. I am constantly very proud of Silas and Beren when we are there because some of these kids, and parents, can be rude and they constantly steal toys. Whenever this happens Beren and Silas are so kind and never get upset. They just share and then patiently take the toy back when the other kid is done.

We would have stayed longer, but Silas filled his diaper, so we left, picked up some gelato, and made our way back to the apartment. I tried to provide some snacks while I began making dinner. From here on out, everything was kind of a disaster. Silas was just so exhausted and, as I was cooking, he kept coming over and trying to open the refrigerator to get some yogurt and then going bananas when I said he couldn’t have any and that he needed to move away to not get hurt.

Eventually, I got dinner on the table. I used some of my fish broth I made the other day to make a calamari risotto with some sautéed veggies on the side. It turned out great and was creamy and delicious.

After dinner, Silas tried to get at the yogurt again and got his hand lodged in the fridge door. This was the last straw. He flailed and screamed, seemingly consolable. Finally he calmed down and was able to take a shower and get ready for bed.

The same mood carried into bedtime, but translated over to Beren. After some corrections and consequences, everyone settled down and went to sleep. We cleaned up, finished up work, and sat staring into the distance as we recollected the day.

I’m really hoping the sleep factor will balance itself out. It makes a noticeable difference from day to day, for Allison and I too. When we are able to nap or sleep in a bit, it’s like we are different people, more patient and kind with each other. Let’s hope maybe, just maybe they’ll sleep past 6:00 tomorrow? Fingers crossed.

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.

I was looking forward to being in Rome for the Ides of March, the infamous day in 44 BC when Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus, Cassius, and other members of the Roman Senate. It’s one of the most famous dates in history and we are here, where it happened. In fact, one of our first days here, our bus happened to drop us off across the street from the ruins where the act took place. (Fun tidbit: This set of ruins is presently home to yet another feral cat colony.)

Usually they do a ceremony in the Forum where people place flowers on his tomb and they do a reenactment at the ruins where the deed took place, however, when I awoke this morning and did a little research, it seems that the events were being curtailed still due to COVID. Bummer. But, unfortunately, with Allison’s work today and watching the boys, I doubt I would have been able to make it anyway. A reenactment of a historical figure being systematically stabbed to death by dozens of his peers doesn’t necessarily seem like something the boys are ready for.

Nevertheless, I kept the significance of the date in mind as we got up and I ran out to grab a quick cappuccino and some marmalade filled cornetti for the family. I also picked up some yogurt and baby wipes, being the modern hunter gatherer that I am.

We knew that we needed a bigger restock on food today, which probably would mean going to the market, but before all that, we wanted to see if we could venture back up the Aventine Hill to the Basilica of Santa Sabina we tried to go to yesterday in the hope that today it would be open. So after our quick bite, we headed out the door to scale the hill once again.

It was another beautiful, sunny, and mild day out and, to our delight, the church was indeed open. Inside, we were the only ones there in the vast open space. We walked around and took in all the strange little peculiarities. The site is said to have been built on the the previous site of a temple to the Roman goddess Juno and off to the side of the church interior is an ancient Roman column coming up out of a hole in the floor and thought to be a remainder from that ancient temple. Also, in various areas about the floor were graves. I’m not sure who all of these people were, whether bishops, monks, or otherwise, but their tomb stones depicted them as they were by means of etchings, carvings, and even an elaborate mosaic. It was very cool, but also a little unnerving to see the form of the dead person lying beneath your feet.

We also had a chance to admire the doors again, which we researched more and found that the carving of the crucifixion is the earliest still existing artistic depiction, which is pretty cool. Looking at it again, I was able to discern a few of the other panels with scenes of Pharaoh being swallowed by the Red Sea and the Transfiguration. It really is quite beautiful.

We left the church shortly thereafter, and walked up the road toward another peculiar site, the Aventine Keyhole. We didn’t try this yesterday because there were other things to see that Allison thought would be less lame. Fair enough, but we’d checked those things off, so to the keyhole we went.

A little ways down the road is a building/compound belonging to the Knights of Malta, the group made famous during the crusades. I don’t know much about them or even that they still existed, but extending from a door in a large ornate wall was a single file line, which we proceeded to stand in. There was something amusing about seeing a bunch of fully grown adults wait in a parking lot to look through the keyhole. Soon it was our turn, we approached the keyhole and looked through, and to be completely honest, it was pretty cool. Through the circular keyhole you look into a garden and a long corridor of trees and there, in the middle, perfectly framed by the trees, is an unobstructed view of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Now it was time to descend the hill and head off to restock at the market. I had decided that I wanted to make some fish piccata. I got some white wine and then headed off to the fish monger. I approached and was trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I approached and said, “Buongiorno!” Immediately, the man I said it to motioned to a woman nearby and said, “English.” At least I now have confirmed my accent is bad.

All the fish were whole, so I picked one and they scaled and fileted it for me onsite. They also asked me if I wanted the head and bones and I said sure. The woman was then nice enough to tell me how to make a soup with them. I then went to the produce stand for some aromatics and some veggies. I haven’t mentioned much about this yet, but people smoke a lot in Italy. The woman at the produce stand was actively smoking a cigarette while picking out my produce. She had it dangling in her hand as she helped weigh my strawberries, carrots, and fennel. She was kind enough, though, even though I didn’t know much Italian. She was asking me if I wanted certain things big or small, so I asked how to say big in Italian. She turned, with an amused face and said, “Grande”. I responded with, “Oh. It’s grande here too.”

After a few more minutes I paid and walked away as someone else approached. I think I may have heard the word “stupido” as they began their conversation. I’m assuming in reference to me.

Back at the apartment, we ate some lunch and then the boys and I took a nap. When we awoke, we watched some TV and then went to the playground. It was madness with kids flying around every which way, all zooming around on tiny push toys. It was a great energy burn for the boys and after a bit, Allison had a break in the day, so she came to the park and then we walked to get some pre-dinner gelato.

It seemed like everyone was out and about on the piazzas, enjoying the evening and the community. There was an energy in the air and it was fun to be a part of it while eating our tasty gelato.

We walked back to the apartment once again and I made dinner while Allison went back to work. The fresh fish was delicious with the sides of Roman zucchini and orzo pasta. After dinner, the boys showered and went off to bed where they crashed quickly. I spent the evening making my first fumet (fish broth) with the aromatics and remains from the fish. I’m hoping to use it in a risotto or something later this week.

Another good day in the books. It has been a lot and tiring, but outside of work, exploring, and hanging with the boys, we don’t do much else but sleep. Taking naps when the boys take them has seriously helped, as has the well timed afternoon espresso shot.

We’ve seen a lot of stuff so far on our trip to Italy across three different cities. Over the past two weeks, about seven of those days have been in Rome and we’ve used them to see many of the big sights. Don’t get me wrong, there are still many big sights to see like the Vatican, the Forum, and Campo di Fiori, but since we’re going to be spending the vast majority of our time remaining in the Eternal City, I feel like now is the time we can begin wandering to more of the off beat attractions the city has to offer.

Today was the beginning of that exploration. After breakfast at the apartment and a lazy morning of doing laundry and getting ready, we headed out on a walk to the nearby Aventine Hill.

Right next to a busy road that leads along the River Tiber there’s a gate that leads up a series of switch backed ramps and staircases to scale the hill. As you go up this hill, you get a great view of the city. This is the same place that leads to the Aventine Terrace we went to our first week. We arrived in the same garden of orange trees that is behind the terrace, but this time, rather than coming for the views from the terrace, we really came for the church adjacent to it, the Basilica of Santa Sabina.

We didn’t realize what this was the last time we were here, but after some research we found it is one of the oldest Christian churches in Rome, dating back to the 400s. It is one of the few examples of what early basilicas looked like and houses several examples of very early Christian art. Needless to say, we had to go in.

We walked into the foyer and one of the walls is lined with early Christian etchings and symbols. I’m not sure if they’ve found these at times when they’ve restored the building or if they’ve always been there incorporated into the wall, but it’s really interesting to see the early Christian symbols, especially since we can’t read the writing. We saw many similar symbols when we went to the catacombs which were started around a similar time. Also in the foyer are a set of carved wooden doors with panels depicting several biblical scenes, including one of the earliest artistic depictions of the crucifixion. The doors are immense, which make the carvings at the top a little hard to fully see, but the detail is pretty remarkable and it is fascinating to see what scenes were chosen and how really early Christians depicted them.

After seeing these things, we were excited to explore the inside of the church, but alas, we didn’t realize it was closed on Monday mornings. Guess we’ll have to come back.

With this small disappointment, we made our way back down the hill. The boys were running down the path enjoying themselves until the slope got a little steep and Silas was betrayed by a dislodged cobblestone. His momentum carried him face first into the ground, giving him a pretty good bump. Poor little guy. It was a hard fall, but he recovered quickly and still insisted walking the rest of the way down.

Close by we entered another church, this one called the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church. We came here to find the legendary Mouth of Truth or Bocca della Verita, but oh did we find so much more. Inside the church we had the fun little surprise of seeing the skull of St. Valentine housed in a small glass box. There is supposedly some dispute on whether this is the skull of the real St. Valentine since there are others out there with the same claim, but whether it is or not, any time you see a skull in a small ornate glass box it’s pretty interesting regardless whose it is.

Then in the front of the church, there was a man standing next to a small set of stairs. After providing a small offering, we were able to descend down into to see the crypt of someone who I believe was a former Pope (I feel like these are starting to become a dime a dozen in churches here, but still cool.) The room has a small crypt at the back and the walls are lined with empty shelves carved into the rock which originally held relics associated with the buried individual. The most interesting things in the room to me were some old stones that are a part of the church foundation, but date much earlier to the 2nd century BC and were thought to be left from the Altar to Hercules which was originally on the site. The other interesting thing was Silas sticking his finger up through a hole in one of the stone shelves and going “weeoooo weeeoooo”.

Back upstairs outside the front of the church in a little gated area stood the Mouth of Truth. Beren was very excited for this part and had been looking forward to it all morning. The Mouth of Truth is an enigmatic, ancient circular carving of a pagan god with holes for eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Not much is known about it other than the legend surrounding it. Legend has it, when you approach the face you are supposed to stick your hand in its mouth. If you are untruthful, you will lose your hand.

It was weird because there were little places where they asked for an offering as you approached The Mouth, but come on, this is a depiction of a pagan god. We happily sidestepped that. We all put our hands in, and were a little nervous to do so, but were all deemed truthful!

Once out of the church we made our way across the street to quickly look at the Temple of Hercules Victor, which is the oldest temple still standing in Rome dating back to the 2nd century BC and legend says neither flies or dogs will enter it. It’s closed off so we were unfortunately unable to test that. On our way we stopped at a Roman water fountain for a drink.

This is where I will finally do a short and exciting aside to talk about Roman drinking water. First off, it is delicious right out of the tap. This was one of the things I missed most when we were in Florence because the water up there was funky. All around the city, there are little fountains for you to refill a water bottle or grab a quick refreshing drink. The strange thing is, unlike American fountains where you push a button, these are always flowing. There is a constant stream of water coming out of the fountain and disappearing into a hole in the ground. So when you want to fill a bottle, you just stick it in the stream. But if you have no bottle, that’s when the fun begins. There is a little hole on the top of the spout and when you plug the bottom, it redirects the stream upward where you can bend down and take a sip. Ingenious!

This had been a jampacked morning and we were hungry. We made our way across the Tiber into the winding maze of alleys that is Trestavere. We stopped in another beautiful church along our walk as we waited for places to open for lunch and ultimately found a place where we enjoyed some traditional Roman fare outdoors under an umbrella.

Lunch was delicious and filling and afterwards Allison and I lugged the boys back to the apartment for nap. As with most of our afternoons, we took a little nap too before I started work.

When the boys got up, they went to the playground with Allison, which reportedly was very busy. They tried to play with some of the other kids, but communication proved to be a bit difficult. Beren did muster up the courage to say Ciao to a little girl, though.

After that everyone came back and Allison ran down to the corner for a couple pizzas to bring back. We ate together before I went back and finished my workday. Thankfully, because of daylight savings time, it now ends more around 10 PM than 11 PM.

It was another typical Italian morning for us, except for the shocking absence of eating a cornetto. The boys were up early and hung out eating breakfast as I snoozed a bit. Soon enough, though, we were all up getting ready because we had tickets for the Colosseum at 10:00. About an hour before, we were out the door. We picked up our bus tickets from a local Tabaccheria, and were at the bus stop in plenty of time. It was a really cold morning with fast, biting winds. We got to our stop and I looked at my phone to see what the bus line options were. I saw a little warning sign saying some of the bus services may be limited, so I clicked in for more info and, after some translation efforts, discovered there was a 24 hour bus driver strike taking place.

We waited. A little longer. A little longer. Finally, our bus came. With the limited bus supply and the always abundant demand, were packed in there like sardines, however, the other riders were very generous, with one man giving up his seat for Beren and another giving up her seat for Allison and Silas. In a few minutes we stepped off the bus and took in the imposing sight of the Colosseum. Once again, we braved the frigid, whipping wind to stand in the line, but made it in quickly, and Allison got in free because it was International Women’s Day. Bonus!

For me, walking through the ancient structure really spurred the imagination. I’ve never seen the Pyramids or anything like that, but seeing something of this scale, age, and architectural detail built without modern machinery is impressive, especially considering all the practical elements too, since it was used so frequently. On the other hand, unfortunately most of the things that happened within the Colosseum during its heyday were pretty atrocious and are compounded by the equally atrocious fact that people loved coming to watch them. That part is hard to imagine or I rather don’t want to.

Silas insisted in climbing every steep stair, but wanted to be carried in all other cases. Beren enjoyed looking at the models of what the Colosseum looked like back in the day and some of the animal bones and pottery that they’ve found there, but once we got out and were actually able to see the arena, they took it in pretty quickly and then were ready to go, exclaiming they were hungry. To their luck, Allison and I were too.

We found a cafe across the street and enjoyed a brunch in the shadow of the infamous arena. It was quite the view (which showed up in the price), but it was such a fun time in such a neat place.

Afterward, we tried to decide what to do next and ultimately Beren’s bladder decided for us. The only bathroom we could find was inside the entrance to the Palatine Hill, so we showed our tickets again and, after Beren relieved himself, decided to stay for a bit longer to look around. I’m very glad we did. We climbed the hill and started by exploring the ruins of the Flavian Palace. It was built for the emperor Domitian in the late first century and continued to be used by emperors following him. What is left is still a sprawling complex on the top of the hill with views of the surrounding city.

On this part of our journey, the boys were well behaved and Beren busied himself with covering an Aquaman action figure he had with dirt at every stop we made. The one behavioral exception was when Silas took off at a sprint, crossed a barrier, and then ran across an ancient palace courtyard. We also took off at a sprint trying to retrieve him on the other side and thankfully did.

We then saw the house of Caesar Augustus, situated between the ruins of a temple to Apollo and the traditional site where legend says Romulus built his hut when he founded the city. This was a strategic location apparently because Augustus, in continuing to establish his legitimacy, wanted to associate himself with both figures. After a short walk through some gardens, we made our way down the hill and saw the Arch of Titus, which provoked I’m me weird, mixed feelings. The arch is ornate and impressive with intricate friezes, but was built commemorating his conquest of Judah and Jerusalem, including burning and destroying the temple.

By this time, we were tired and ready to go back after a packed morning. We walked to the bus stop and remembered, uh-oh, bus strike. We were hopeful and waited and waited, but unlike the morning, the bus never came, so Allison strapped on the baby carrier for Silas, I put Beren on my shoulders and we walked the 2 km home.

Later in the day, I went to work, and Allison went to the supermarket. When the boys woke up from their nap, they enjoyed olives and cheese. The workday was productive and not as jampacked as the prior day, thankfully. Since we’ve been eating so much Italian food, we decided it would be nice to find a little change of pace, so we tried a sushi place close by and it hit the spot.

Tomorrow begins our next side adventure to Florence. All of us are currently trying to fight off a little cold Silas brought over, so I’m hoping another good night’s sleep will knock that out and get us ready to explore a new city. I’m also hoping the bus drivers will be back at the wheel so we can get to the train station.