Tag: Rome

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.

Well, our glorious week of sleeping in has come to an end as the boys have fully adjusted and woke up before 7:00. This morning, they were as they are most mornings, like a pair of ravenous wolves, ready to devour all they can lay their grubby little hands on. This was a particular challenge today because, after getting back late from Cinque Terre last night, we barely had enough food and leftovers in our minifridge for an adequate dinner, let alone breakfast. So after a little while of distracting them with a show to wait for things to open, I couldn’t stave off the wolves any longer and I decided to take action.

Allison was still snoozing a bit (it was her day to sleep in, as we typically trade off when the boys wake up early.) But they were hungry and something needed to be done, so I got dressed, got them situated, and headed out. I went across the park to try another local bakery. This place was awesome and people were lined up all along the counter drinking their espressos and cappuccinos gearing up for the day, so I joined in. I saddled up to the counter and downed a quick espresso while the gentleman behind the counter gathered the pastries I ordered. I then went to the small supermarket next door for some apple juice and yogurts. There seem to be little supermarkets like this scattered every few blocks. After a few minutes I checked out and was back home and to my surprise, the boys were shocked by how quick I was. I felt proud of myself that I was able to squeeze the coffee in too.

After breakfast, in an effort to try to be a little more reserved in our endeavors, we decided to see one of the sights in our neighborhood, Testaccio, before heading to the market for more food. On the southern side of the neighborhood lies the Non-Catholic Cemetery, housing the remains of some notable figures of the likes of the poets and authors John Keats and Mary Shelley. The cemetery is is packed with trees plants and ornate headstones. It’s quiet and serene with narrow little paths down the aisle of graves. The rear boundary of the cemetery is the Aurelian Wall which was built to defend the city in the 3rd century AD and there’s a slight slope to the cemetery coming down from the wall, with all the headstones facing the same direction, so it feels like being in some sort of stadium of the dead (too creepy?).

One separate section of the cemetery is much more open and here is where the grave of Keats is found, which really is beautiful, as is his epitaph, which has no mention of his name. The other notable thing in this section is the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius which was build as the tomb of its namesake, a Roman magistrate, and was finished somewhere around 12 BC. Rather than being destroyed when the Aurelian Wall was built, because of it’s size and positioning, it was instead incorporated as part of the wall and is why it has been so well preserved. I think it may be the oldest thing we’ve seen so far!

Another strange thing we saw that seems to be common in Rome are cat colonies inhabiting ancient sites. The cemetery was no different, with cats roaming around and Beren finding the secluded section where dozens of little cat houses were set up, presumably by volunteers. I’ll try to explore more about the phenomenon of the cat colonies in coming weeks and report back. We also saw some green parrots, so we got some fun and exotic animal experiences all around.

After the cemetery, we went over the market to get some calzones and suppli for lunch. Once lunch was finished, Allison continued to shop for groceries for dinner, while I took the boys to a nearby playground. Allison met us at the playground and it seemed to be playtime as usual until an unfortunate incident. Silas needed help off of some of the playground equipment, so Allison went to help him. She helped him down and turned to say Ciao! to another little boy on the equipment. She then quickly turned back around, forgetting Silas was at her feet. Unable to stop her momentum, she trampled Silas and went sprawling over him onto the floor of the playground amidst a collective gasp from onlookers. I rushed over and, thankfully, they were both ok. Silas got his hand stepped on and had a little scrape and Allison was ok other than bruised dignity. Silas was pretty shaken up and crying, so we quickly vacated the premises, but I do have to note everyone was very kind making sure they were both ok.

Back at the apartment, we patched Silas up and all took a nap or worked. Later in the afternoon, I started my workday, one that would take me all the way to midnight. Allison went to the park with the boys before making a dinner of ravioli and veggies. With the constant bombardment of carbs, we have been in serious need of some veggies. We all gobbled them up. Allison and I also got to enjoy some of the local wine we bought at the market. Allison bought a liter for 7 euro and since it came from a tapped barrel, they filled it up in a water bottle that we can take back and get refilled. Economical and environmentally friendly!

It was a long day, but a good day. The boys finished it off with some gelato, as any good day should be. I think tomorrow we will finally go out and brave the Colosseum!

A good night of sleep! Hooray! The boys seem to be getting accustomed to the time change, which is a relief. I honestly didn’t know how long this would take, but I was prepared for the worst. And, since we have been walking so much, for the first time in their lives, I’ve been waking them up rather than the other way around. Any bets on how long that will last?

Once we rolled out of bed, and had an espresso and some breakfast, we got ready to catch a bus down to the Via Appia (Appian Way) to the Catacombs San Callisto. So far our experience getting on the bus has been interesting to say the least. Usually, it has consisted of me looking up where we want to go in Google Maps, finding multiple bus route options, and then us sprinting to various stops only to see the bus we need driving away as we approach. Finally, we pick a stop to stand at and then grumble for 15 minutes or so while our boys probably wonder how their parents lost their minds. Then the bus arrives.

Once on the bus, they are very efficient and get us quickly where we need to go, however, there isn’t any indication of what the next stop is. Somehow, it seems like everyone else has some sort of homing pigeon sense of where they are because they will casually press the stop button and get off when they need to. Then there’s me, looking like a lunatic, hunching over at each stop to see the name of it out the window so I can count how many we have left.

The bus ride down to the catacombs was nice and took us outside of the city center for the first time. We passed through the Aurelian Walls and onto the Via Appia. It is one of the first paved roads built by the Romans to move military supplies and is also famous for being the road along which Sparticus’ army was crucified after their failed revolt. There are walls on each side and the road is narrow, without sidewalks. When we got off the bus, it was like the feeling in that scene from Indiana Jones where the big boulder is rolling after him and he had to find a gap in the wall to dodge it, except in this case the boulders were cars, hurtling toward us down this narrow walled, ancient road. Thankfully we found our gap in the wall and it opened us up onto beautiful countryside with rolling hills and towering pines.

We purchased tickets and began our tour of the catacombs. The particular set we went to were started in the 3rd century as a place to bury Christians instead of in pagan cemeteries. Numerous Popes and early Christian martyrs were buried in there and while we only toured a small portion, they apparently stretch for for like 20 km and at one point around half a million Christians were buried there.

Going down into them was a surreal experience. The hallways are narrow but tall, stretching up two or three stories, and the walls are lined with sepulchers, the small slots carved into the walls of rock where remains of the dead were laid. The air was cool and dry as we meandered through the dark galleries of graves looking at early Christian symbols carved into the rock and admiring frescoes of the last supper and the good shepherd adorning the graves. At each turn, there were paths, not part of the tour, that you could look down gazing at the sepulcher lined walls fading away into the darkness. My favorite part, however, was after our tour guide finished a particular stop on the tour and as everyone stood in silence taking in the scene, Silas yelled, “Yay! He’s done talking!” That’s my boy.

Once again, as I spoke about in my last post, being present in such a hallowed place stirred the emotions. Many of the people once buried there lived in a time and place where Christianity was not accepted and many of them paid the ultimate price for their faith. I am fortunate to not live as a Christian under those circumstances.

One thing our guide mentioned that stuck with me was after the dead were laid to rest in the catacombs, their families would still descend to visit their remains while they mourned, and they would bring bread and wine to take communion. They did this in light of John 11:25-26 where Jesus describes himself, after raising Lazarus from the dead, as the resurrection and the life. He is the one who connects the living to the dead, the dead to the living, and brings the dead back to life. By taking the symbolic body of Christ in bread and the blood of Christ in wine, it was the closest connection they could make while still living, with their passed loved one now living in new life.

After we reemerged from the catacombs we walked for a little ways down a path along some olive trees and went in a church that happened to have another random Bernini statue in it (apparently his final one). Then we looked up the nearest bus stop that was a moderate walk away. Once again, I unknowingly chose a path down a busy road with no sidewalks, no shoulder, and with walls and/or brush lining either side. We made it to the bus stop in time for the next bus, but only after some panicked walking, yelling, and Silas getting bushwhacked multiple times in the eye and face.

Once we made it back, I went to work and the boys went down for a long nap. Today was the first day I had to make the context switch from vacation to work and, thankfully, it went pretty smoothly. A double shot of espresso can do wonders. The boys and Allison went to the playground and I was able to meet up with them to go grab pizza from the corner spot for my dinner break.

We planned this trip to Italy as an adventure. So far it has lived up to that expectation in some challenging ways and in many many good ways. To keep the adventure theme going, we realized this evening it is supposed to rain in Rome all weekend. We knew this was a possibility, even an inevitability, at some point, but with most of the activities being outside, we were still concerned with what to do. So we looked for places it won’t be raining and, in the name of adventure, we booked train tickets and an AirBnB for the weekend in Manarola, a small coastal town part of the area referred to as Cinque Terre along the Italian Riviera. Our train leaves tomorrow at noon!

It’s day three of our Italian adventure and, while we did have another rough night, we at least didn’t sleep half the day away. The boys bedtime is essentially the same as their nap time back in the States, so for the past two nights they have gone to sleep only to wake up a couple hours later ready to party. As you can imagine, when we usher them back to bed, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Today was the first day we were planning to go out and see some of the sights. It was also the first day we were up early enough to have a proper café experience. About a block away we found a place. Allison and I enjoyed cappuccinos while the boys drank their freshly squeezed orange juice and ate their cornetti (Italian version of a croissant). The air was crisp and clear and we enjoyed people watching for a few minutes while having small talk with a patron near us. I will say, I’m still trying to figure out the whole restaurant and café ordering process. It’s not culturally intuitive to me and I often feel I look like a complete dunce. At least I’ve been able to complete the transaction. I guess I’ve got some time to practice.

We then took our first bus ride and it was a wild one. Beren did his best impression of a pinball as he bounced back and forth off of every seat and passenger around us as the bus careened through the city. Thankfully, we soon disembarked and, after a short walk, arrived at the Pantheon. The ancient temple is nestled in the surrounding buildings and is in impeccable shape considering how old it is (AD 126). It was originally built as a pagan temple to Roman gods and emperors, but has acted as a Catholic church since the early 600s, which in my opinion feels a little weird. The Renaissance artist Raphael has his grave in there, which is pretty cool, and it was neat to look at the giant hole in the roof, called the oculus, and the series of rain drainage holes in the beautiful marble floor. Maybe we’ll try to come back on a rainy day to see the drains in action!

While the boys had been awesome on the bus and at the café, of course in the Pantheon, where they were supposed be quiet, Silas insisted on trying to run past the velvet ropes and Beren’s persistent cough flared up, echoing around the quiet dome filled with people trying to be reverent and still fearing a global pandemic. Needless to say, we took in the sights quickly and were then off to Piazza Navona.

The Piazza is a large open space closed to cars and built on the grounds of an ancient racetrack built by the Emperor Domitian. It’s dotted by three beautiful fountains, sculpted by Bernini, and an Egyptian obelisk with a cross on top (also weird?). Without the traffic, the boys enjoyed freely chasing the pigeons, which has become a favorite Roman pass time of theirs. Silas affectionately calls them chickens.

Next we walked past the Column of Marcus Aurelius and on to the Trevi Fountain, while stopping to ogle at the interior of a few churches along the way. Just walking through the city is a pleasure. Every little alley is picturesque, despite the fact at any moment a car or scooter could come shooting down one of them and pass inches away from demolishing your toes. The Trevi Fountain was also beautiful, but this was the first place that felt crowded and we were getting fountain fatigue, so we didn’t stay too long. At this point, we were pretty hungry anyway and stopped nearby at a restaurant called Piccolo Arancia (Little Orange). It was pretty good, but soon we were rushing to get back for Allison to begin work.

Back at the apartment, I tried once again to put the boys down but Silas, who fell asleep on the bus, refused, so he watched Peppa Pig. Tomorrow I’m hoping for 2/2 at nap time. Despite that, it was fun to hang out with my little guy and reenergize with an espresso while enjoying the early evening breeze through the window.

Later the boys and I walked to a small supermarket nearby to buy some snacks, wine, and ingredients for dinner. This was the first time we’ve bought wine in Italy and, at least at this supermarket, I was shocked by how affordable it is. I mean to be fair, it’s supermarket wine, but the average price was like 3-4 euro per bottle. It was in the wine section I thankfully remembered I have to haul all this home on the stroller, so I continued on with only two bottles. At checkout, I was asked if I wanted two bags. I said yes, thinking the clerk meant to double bag the wine, but instead he took two bags and tossed them onto my scanned groceries for me to bag everything myself into those two bags which I now hoped would be sturdy.

When we got back, Allison took the boys out for an early evening gelato (when in Rome!), while I worked on dinner. I used up the left over fettuccini to make alfredo and a simple salad. We ate and then tried to read the book of Romans to the boys as they squirmed on the couch, got bored, and then went to bed.

While we’re in Italy, I’m excited to continue reading through Romans. I enjoy getting to read the words of Paul in the same place as those who they were intended for. Despite the fact I am much removed from that time, it is amazing how relevant the words still are and to think about how they were read by others in this same city I’m currently sitting in almost 2000 years ago, carrying the same transformative power now as they did then. Being a history lover, there is something about being in particular places that transcends time. Being in Rome does that for me when I think about all that has happened here. When standing, looking at the Pantheon today, I thought about all of the other people throughout history who stood like me at different points in time, maybe on the same spot, and took in the grandeur just as I did and maybe felt similar things to what I felt. People ranging from Constantine to Michelangelo to Napoleon and so many others in between. It’s invigorating to think that we are are all connected by that place and that feeling regardless of time.

Overall, today was much better than yesterday. We got into a little groove and, rather than thinking, “Can we do this?”, I was grateful we get to do this! I’m sure there will be other difficult days ahead, but I’m sure there will be more like this one too.

We made it! After months of planning, and constant alternating between excitement and anxiety, we boarded a plane, flew for 9+ hours over the Atlantic and landed in Rome.

Overall the flight was mostly uneventful. Being the first flight of that duration with two young children, it could have gone either way, but as we boarded and got comfortable, the boys spread out and went to sleep. Allison and I tried to sleep, but were less successful.

We landed at 11:00 in Rome. Silas developed a cough while we were on the plane and as we approached customs, we were “randomly selected” to take a rapid COVID test. Thankfully only Allison and I had to take it and we were both negative. Other than that we made it through customs smoothly and our prearranged car was waiting for us.

After a short commute from the airport we arrived at our apartment adjacent to the Piazza di Santa Maria Lberatrice. Since our place wasn’t ready yet, we dropped our bags and explored the neighborhood. The boys played at the playground which, in addition to a normal playset, is covered with what seems to be one of every push toy ever created by man. In exploring the neighborhood, we ate our first suppli, which are a Roman street food. They are balls of rice, tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella that are then breaded and deep fried. Needless to say, there will be many more suppli in our future.

Later that evening we went out for another walk before dinner. Back at home, we typically eat pretty early and are usually the ones dining alongside those taking advantage of the early bird special. This is likely going to be one of the bigger things we’ll have to adjust to because Italians eat later and rarely are restaurants opening before 7 or 7:30 PM. So while we waited we went for a walk along the River Tiber. We walked past the Aventine hill and then crossed over the river to meander through Trestavere. It was beautiful to get our first glimpse of the city in the twilight and to walk the narrow alleyways seeing the city awake from its nap as tables were being set out and strings of lights were coming on over outdoor restaurant patios.

Finally it was time for dinner and the walk had definitely fueled our appetite. We stopped at Pizzaria Remo, a small pizza place at the end of our block and enjoyed our first taste of authentic Roman pizza, margherita and salciccia e funghi (sausage and mushroom). After dinner, came the time the boys had been waiting for, gelato time! We found a gelato place close by and the boys got cones with chocolate while I got ricotta alla’arancia (with orange) dipped in chocolate and Allison got a mix of a chocolate cherry flavor with a marsala wine flavored gelato apparently churned by hand. They were all delicious!

Before coming, I tried to learn some Italian, which I’m very grateful for. It’s made figuring things out a little less intimidating. What’s funny is that, while I am trying to speak Italian when I can, it’s pretty clear, probably because of my accent, I’m not, so those I’m conversing with end up talking to me in English, while I fumble through Italian and it becomes very ironic. But I’m still going to try and continue to learn while I’m here because it’s fun and why not.

Overall, the first day here was pretty magical. I’m looking forward to all that’s to come.