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Days 30 & 31 in Italy: The Final Day and a Long Flight Home

It’s the final day.

We awoke and, while the boys ate breakfast, began to clean and organize before getting dressed to head out on one final excursion. We had some extra euros in cash burning a hole in our pocket and some souvenirs and gifts we still wanted to get for ourselves and others. Also, we had researched some gelato places that were supposed to be really good that we wanted to try.

We left our apartment and made our way up into Trestavere to where the gelato place was. Unfortunately, it was closed until noon, which complicated things. We went to a playground we’d found on a previous day to regroup. After sitting and the boys playing for a few minutes, we decided to start walking around to see if we saw any good shops and to see if any lunch places were open before noon.

There was no luck on the lunch front, but we did find a couple cool little shops with some gift type items that we explored. Meandering through the streets and alleys, we were beginning to get more and more sentimental of leaving, and also more and more hungry. Thankfully, right as it turned noon, we passed a small restaurant with a line outside. I recognized the name, so we decided to wait in line and we got a table.

Fresh crusty bread and olive oil. Simple and delicious.

The restaurant is called Da Enzo al 29 and we sat down outside. It was a traditional restaurant serving traditional Roman food. We ordered a bread and olive oil and a fried artichoke for the table, cacio e pepe for Allison, carbonara for me, and meatballs for the boys. I’m glad we serendipitously came along this restaurant at the right time because the food was delicious and it was one of the best meals we ate at a restaurant in our whole time in Italy. Everything was tasty and high quality, and the service was attentive (finally!).

Carbonara and cacio e pepe. (I took a few bites before realizing to take a picture.)

After lunch, unfortunately we didn’t have time to backtrack to the new gelato place because I had to get back for work. I had a crazy jampacked work day ahead and I even had to take a call as we walked back to our neighborhood and our old standby gelato shop. The boys were glad they got gelato, regardless of where it was from.

Back at the apartment, I went to work for a pretty grueling, yet productive day. Allison took a much needed nap when the boys did and, once they woke up, she started preparing for our departure by cleaning and tidying. We all had to take COVID tests for our return, so Allison helped the boys one by one take theirs. Beren was such a great big brother and said he would go first to show Silas it wasn’t scary. After he did his, he explained to Silas what to expect and that it would be easy. Once Silas took his test, Beren celebrated with him that he did such a good job.

Once dinnertime came, she ran and picked up a few pizzas for the last time from Pizzeria Remo. We ate together during one of my breaks before I went back to work. My day finished at 11 PM and we set to packing and final cleaning. By about half past midnight, we were finally in bed.

The next morning we woke up early and made final preparations. As always, it was remarkable to see the apartment return to it’s pre-us state. At around 8:30 AM we got a text from our driver who was waiting outside. We bit the apartment a fond farewell and walked out through the rain to the car. In our whole time in Italy, it had never rained on us until this last day as we headed to the airport.

Our driver was kind and gracious, and helped us with our bags when we arrived at the airport. Once inside, we were blessed by a very smooth process. I got to hand it to Delta, they allow you to load up all your test results and forms into an app which expedited the check in process and made it seamless. Making it though security was also easy and soon we were in the terminal waiting.

Since the check in process went so well, we had a few hours to spare waiting. We got some food and then the boys played in a little kids area for a while, while Allison and I took turns offloading our final euros in cash in the duty free stores.

Finally, we made our way through a few more checks and to our gate and onto our plane. On the plane we settled in. Originally the flight plan said it would be an 11 hour and 30 minute flight, so we were pleased when they said it would actually only be a little over 10 hours. Hooray!

Everything started off well with us all watching movies and such. I figured a couple hours in the boys would nap, then wake up for a bit, and then nap again before landing. This did not happen and they just stayed up. Beren had to go the bathroom what seemed like every hour. With eight hours down and two left to go, the boys succumbed to sleep. It was about time because they were both getting a little saucy in their tiredness.

All was well until Beren started squirming in his sleep and had to go potty again. He awoke disgruntled and went to the bathroom, but upon his return, wanted all the space to himself and began to throw a tired fit. In his fit, he kicked and hit a tray table with a full cup of coffee on it that splattered all over a sleeping Silas who awoke shrieking. Allison scooped him up and wiped him off to make sure he was ok. Thankfully he was. The coffee was everywhere, but we were able to sop most of it up with some of the spare pillows and blankets we had (sorry airplane crew).

After way too long sitting in uncomfortable chairs watching tiny movie screens with tiny people squirming around us, we landed in Atlanta. We deplaned and went through customs, exhausted.

Allison’s mom had come up and offered to pick us up from the airport and wake up with the boys for a few days while we recovered. My sister joined us for dinner and brought us some Mexican food from our favorite place, which we had been craving. It was so great to see familiar faces again and to talk about the trip and all that had been going on since we’d been gone.

At about 9 PM after giving the boys a bath, we all ended up going to bed. I did the calculation and we had been up for about 22 hours straight. It was a long day after a long trip, but we did it. It was good to be home.

Day 29 in Italy: The Vatican Museums

After almost an entire month in Italy, most of it in Rome, I finally went to the Vatican Museums. Unfortunately, it was just me because we underestimated how much the crowds and demand would grow over this month and the only tickets available before we left were for individual tour participants. Since Allison got her day out to visit the Capuchin Crypt last week, today was my turn.

My tour was at 9 AM, so I woke up decently early to make sure I got to my bus, so I could get to the museum, and check in on time. Other than the bus being so crowded that I felt like a sardine pressed up against the side of the can, the journey went without a hitch.

As I mentioned, being a part of a tour was the only way I was able to get a ticket. I was a little conflicted on whether I wanted to be a part of a tour or just go at my own pace, but I quickly realized, without a tour I would have been woefully lost. The Vatican Museums are vast and labyrinthine. The art and artifacts contained in the museums have been accumulated by the Popes over centuries and cover some five miles of corridors.

We began in the Pinecone Courtyard (named for an ancient bronze pinecone statue at one end of it) and learned about the Sistine Chapel. Then we began winding through hallways on our long trip which would culminate in actually viewing the Sistine Chapel. The first few hallways and courtyards we went through contained statuary and busts. Unlike other art museums I’ve been in, it really feels like a lot is just crammed into these corridors. Most of the placards were only in Italian too, which is another reason I was thankful for the tour.

In an overwhelming hallway of Roman statues.

After all the statues and the like, we went down a hall of tapestries. Tapestries, to me, are totally underrated. First of all, they are huge, and second of all, it is remarkable the detail and realism the artists are able to elicit out of the woven fiber. I just have no concept of how you plan and execute something like that. The ceiling of the tapestry hallway was also very cool because it was flat, but painted to look like there were carved three dimensional panels and friezes. They were extraordinarily convincing.

Beautiful carving above the exit of the hallway? Gotcha again! It’s a painting on a flat surface.

After the tapestries, came the famous Gallery of Maps. Beneath its insanely elaborate ceiling are 40 painted maps of different parts of Italy, pre unification. When I wasn’t distracted by the ceiling, the maps were very interesting and, according to our guide, surprisingly accurate. The most interesting thing to me was all the maps are from the perspective of Rome being the center of the world. For instance, Naples is south of Rome, so the depiction of Naples has south at the top of the map and north at the bottom, just like it would look as if you were looking down the peninsula from Rome.

Upon exiting the maps, we went through a few other rooms before arriving in the famous Raphael rooms. The last stop before the Sistine Chapel. The rooms have different themes, but each was remarkable. We looked at the different frescoes and our guide explained what was being depicted and its significance. The first room is dedicated to portraying Emperor Constantine the Great. The second has some works depicting some biblical stories and imagery. In the third, we saw the famous School of Athens, depicting all the famous Greek philosophers and mathematicians, many of whose likeness are portraits of Raphael’s contemporaries, such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

The ceiling of the first Raphael room. This room commemorates Emperor Constantine who was the first emperor to convert to Christianity and make it the national religion. It’s a little difficult to see, but this ceiling centerpiece was striking to me and shows a pedestal upon which is a representation of Jesus on the Cross. On the floor in front of the pedestal is a broken statue of Mercury implying Christianity replacing past paganism.

I really enjoy art, but would consider myself to be somewhere between Neanderthal and ignorant novice when it comes to being able to differentiate what makes something better than something else. I will caveat by saying “better” in this sense to me means more skillfully done. I am a full believer great art can take numerous forms and it’s greatness is ascribed by the enjoyment and emotion one gets out of looking at and contemplating it rather than by the pure skill it took to produce it.

That being said, in the final Raphael room, our guide did a good job of differentiating between two separate works and why one was “better” than the other. There was a work done by Raphael on one wall and another work on an adjacent wall done by one of his students. At first glance I would be like, “Wow, they both look good”. However, our guide expounded on how clearly one was done by a master and the other was done by just a painter. He told us to look at the movement of the figures and their details, and to take notice of the emotion in their faces. He also told us to notice the perfection of the background and the forced perspective. He was right and as he spoke, the richness of the Raphael fresco became more clearly visible to me.

Finally after about two hours, our guide bid us Arrivederci to venture into the Sistine Chapel on our own, since there’s no talking or pictures allowed. In the corridors leading to the Chapel is the collection of modern art the Vatican has. It was funny because there were some beautiful pieces in the collection from some big names like Matisse and Dali, but at this point, everyone is ready to jump ahead to dessert.

You enter the Sistine Chapel from the front next to the altar. Along the walls are panels depicting parts of Jesus’ life juxtaposed with scenes from Moses’. These were not done by Michelangelo. On the wall behind you is the massive fresco The Last Judgement which was done by Michelangelo, as was the famous ceiling depicting Genesis down the middle, and portraits of prophets around the outside. It really is overwhelming and astonishing. I stood directly beneath The Creation of Adam and stared up at the beauty of potentially the most iconic piece of art in the world, and it did not disappoint. It was all breathtaking. I was less of a fan of The Last Judgement as I was of the ceiling, but it is all amazing and at a tremendous scale. I stood for probably fifteen or twenty minutes taking it all in.

As I mentioned, you aren’t allowed to talk or take pictures, so apologies for none of my crude photographic representations of the artwork.

After exiting the Chapel, you walk down some more super long corridors and wind your way through some confusing hallways. I found my way out and decided to go back around into the museum of paintings. They had a Da Vinci and a Caravaggio. I’ve become a big fanboy of Caravaggio on this trip.

I then began walking through another museum, but I had no idea what I was looking at. I think they were early Christian carvings and relics, similar to what we’d seen at the catacombs. At this point I was tired and overwhelmed and hungry, so I decided to exit rather than continue. I walked out of the museum, descended the famous double helix staircase, left.

As I walked to the bus stop, I had the privilege of actually being able to run to the bus as I approached and get on, rather than just helplessly watching it pull away. I rode along the Tiber and thought about stopping for lunch, but instead went back to the apartment and getting sandwiches for everyone.

That afternoon, Allison worked, and after a long nap, the boys and I went to the playground to pass the time before getting some gelato together.

In the evening I cooked up some mushroom risotto and a salad with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. We ate sporadically between Allison’s calls. We kept the boys up later to try the strategy of trying to make the time adjustment when we get back a little less dramatic. We will see if it works.

Tomorrow, is our last full day in Italy. We are ready to get back, but it still is bittersweet leaving. It’s going to be a wild day of packing, work, and travel prep, but I’m still hoping we can cram some memorable moments into the mix.

Day 27 & 28 in Italy: Riding a Chair Lift to the Summit

Ahh the weekend arrived again and we had the privilege to spend it in the leisure and beauty of the island of Capri. It was a crisp cool morning outside and we walked from our apartment down to the Piazzetta to try to find some breakfast. We went a different way to see a little more of the city with the rule in mind our host shared, “All stairs down lead to the Piazzetta.”

He was right. After winding through some more narrow maze-like alleys, in about five minutes we opened out onto the little square. There are about five different restaurants that open onto the square, but since it was offseason, there was only one currently open. An easy choice!

In doing research of Capri, there are three things that constantly came up: it’s beautiful, celebrities go there, and because of those two prior factors, everything is typically more expensive. While we didn’t feel this much at the supermarket the day before, in the Piazzetta, the center of the city where people go to be seen, things are different.

We sat down and ordered some coffee, some sandwiches, and some orange juice for the boys. It was tasty, but again, Silas cannot sit still and ended up getting up and running off after a cat down a random tunnel. Thankfully he came back, but then he sprinted off again and ended up falling on his face. This is when we discovered another factor about Capri, that people were much less tolerant of kids. We endured the disgruntled side eyes, though while we waited for our check. It arrived and we assessed the damage. I understand it was fresh squeezed orange juice, but 11 euro per glass seems a little steep.

After saying thanks to our waiter, we ambled over to the bus stop and bought tickets for the ride up to Anacapri. On the island, there are two towns. Capri, which is apparently much more touristy, and Anacapri, which is more residential and over the ridge on the other side of the island. The bus was small and it carried us up the switchbacks to Anacapri somehow turning a one-lane road into two when necessary. It did this all without plummeting hundreds of feet down off the side of the road which was literally about six inches away, close enough for my acrophobic self to see all the way down.

We arrived and, like Capri, the city center of Anacapri is pedestrian only. There were little shops lining the road where merchants were selling clothing, lemon themed dishes and strappy sandals which are a trademark of the island. We actually watched artisans making them as we strolled down the street.

As we walked we came to a strange building which was red and stood in pretty stark contrast with the surrounding typical white. The little plaque outside said it was a house built by an American ex-pat who moved here after the American Civil War. It was famous for it’s peculiarities in design and decor. The door was open so we decided to go inside.

There was a young guy standing there who was not super friendly and didn’t speak much English. He took our temperature and then we paid him for tickets to tour the house. He seemed to be concerned about the boys being present, but nevertheless, ushered us into a dark room. There were all these projections on the walls of strange images and weird chanting and stuff. I really don’t know how to describe it other than it felt very similar to the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where they take the ferry boat through that tunnel and see all those creepy projections of animals eating each other and scary people. I know this is not the first reference to Willy Wonka I’ve made. I didn’t expect such a movie to be the relevant metaphor for numerous experiences we’ve had.

The boys were terrified. Off to the side was another room we went into with four old broken statues. There were still projections on the walls, but much less creepy projections. The little video was in English and it took a few minutes for me to realize it was from the perspective of the statues talking to us. I was able to gather they were recovered from the famous Blue Grotto on the island (an extremely famous natural attraction we were unable to go see) and telling us the history of it from their perspective. Weird.

Soon we were taken upstairs by the same guy who checked us in. There were a few rooms with random art, none of it was super remarkable, but he still seemed very stressed about the boys touching anything. He then told us that when we went up the tower of the house, it would be dangerous for the boys. We said ok and decided to go separately, but then when we were about to go upstairs to the tower, he motioned to us all to come like he hadn’t just told us it was dangerous minutes before. It was so strange and thankfully the tower was the end of the tour. When we got back downstairs, he said, “Ok tour is over.” and showed us out.

Back on the street we headed to a church which was famous for its mosaic floor depicting the Garden of Eden. In the church it wasn’t a mosaic in the traditional sense, but instead a painted mural on tiles. You walked around a little wooden platform on the periphery of the room to see it before going up a spiral cast iron staircase to behold the whole thing (Again, originally we were told the kids couldn’t go up there, but then said they could). It was an interesting piece to look at, but many of the animals and creatures had weirdly human features that were creeping us out a bit.

Garden of Eden mosaic mural on the floor of a church in Anacapri (yes, that is a unicorn)

We left the church and now, being done with the weird stuff, we were looking forward to our last planned activity, the Monte Sarlo Chair Lift. Monte Sarlo is the tallest point on the island. You can choose to hike the mountain or take a ski style chair lift. We chose the latter. It is single seats and we rode, each of us with one of the boys sitting on our lap and one non-latched restraining bar lowered in front of us. I was gripping tightly the whole time, however the views were breathtaking.

Allison and Silas ascending in the chair lift.

You scale the mountain, soaring over houses and terraced olive groves as you ascend. Being there, seeing the views with Beren on my lap was a special time. He sat calmly and we talked about what we saw. This was one of the special moments that made me so glad they were with us on this trip. It was amazing to get to take in the scene with him, chatting as we rode in the peaceful wind, and getting to revel in him imagining himself as a bird, with arms stretched out wide.

The ascent (that’s Beren and me up ahead)

At the top of the mountain, we had 360 degree views of the island and the Italian mainland, including Mount Vesuvius. There was a small garden we walked through taking in the scenery for a bit before the ride back down. In my opinion, this was one of the best things we’ve done on our whole trip thus far. At the bottom, we got some gelato before finding the bus, heading back down to Capri, walking to our place, and eating a lunch of olives, cheese, and focaccia at on our terrace.

Looking down on Capri from the top of Monte Sarlo

Later that evening, we ventured out again for pizza. Like the night before, at first, we were the only people in the restaurant. We enjoyed Naples style pizza for the first time and had conversations about which version we preferred more, Naples or Roman. Naples has a thicker dough and a more distinct crust, where Roman pizza is paper thin. Both are amazing, but I think we landed on Roman. I think. The boys were super well behaved at dinner. Beren dropped a piece of pizza on the floor and three separate forks, but overall, it was a really fun time as a family. After dinner we went looking for gelato. Unfortunately, we had no luck. I’m glad we had already gotten some earlier in the day or this would have been a disaster.

The next day was travel day once again. The morning was spent enjoying the terrace between packing and cleaning the apartment. We checked out and made our way through town and, after a few souvenir shops, rode a bus back down to Marina Grande to wait for our ferry.

Chowing down. They ate this whole thing.

We still had some time spare so we found a place to eat. It was right on the water off the side from the main strip of touristy restaurants, but the place was great. The owner was quite the salesman and wooed us all, but it wasn’t all just show. It was a family business and the food was delicious and homemade. Allison enjoyed a Caprese sandwich and I enjoyed a sandwich of sauteed spinach and octopus braised tender in a rich tomato sauce. The boys had pizza and washed it down with some gelato. It was beautiful and relaxing despite being an overcast day and we watched people line up and leave on their boat tours as we ate and eavesdropped on the tables and conversations around us. The restaurant and food were great and this was the first restaurant experience in Italy where we had genuinely attentive service.

Playing on the rocky beach waiting for the ferry.

After lunch, we got our ferry boarding passes and spent a few moments on the rocky beach looking out on the turquoise water as the boys threw stones into the sea. We rode the ferry back and got a cab to Napoli Centrale station.

Driving through Naples didn’t necessarily make us want to visit Naples. It seemed crazy and dirty. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are some endearing things about the city, but when you see a flock of pigeons and a group of rats fighting over some bread in broad daylight, it doesn’t necessarily exude somewhere you want to stay for long.

The train ride back to Rome was pretty easy because the boys zonked out on the way. We ate at Five Guys again in the train station before catching an extremely hot and crowded bus back to our home base apartment.

We wrapped up the night playing some switch and talking to some family over FaceTime. It was a great weekend and always a relief to be back in Rome.

It’s crazy to think we only have two days left. Tomorrow, I’m venturing back to the Vatican to see the museums and the Sistine Chapel. It will be interesting to get some time to myself, since those times have been few and far between for Allison and I. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time, we are ready to come home. It has been great, but we are longing for the peace and comfort of familiarity and of being closer to those we love.

Day 26 in Italy: Welcome to Capri!

Today was the beginning of our final little adventure before we come back to the U.S. next week. We decided to go to the island of Capri off the coast of Naples.

The morning started early as we got up and dressed and finished packing. The journey is a multi-faceted one and we are only going to be there for two nights, so we tried to pack everything into our backpacks rather than lugging around large luggage and large children. At 8 AM, we were successfully out the door. Since time was tight, we decided to use an extra bus ticket we had and an unused one we had found on the ground. It was a little beat up, but we figured we’d risk it, since it seemed like a valid ticket. We walked a block and approached our bus stop only to witness the recurring cruel joke of seeing our bus drive away.

Thankfully, the next one was early, so we didn’t wait as long as usual. This was the first of multiple little graces we experienced on our trip today. I tried to validate the tickets and, of course, the janky one got angrily spat back out by the machine. It felt like we crept through the morning traffic, however before long, we arrived at Termini Station and as the bus parked, of course, it was suddenly swarmed by bus attendants checking tickets. This was the first time in our whole trip this had happened to us. I took out our tickets and told the agent I put the ticket in and it spat it back out. He looked at me, with what I feel was a look of disappointment, tore my ticket in half, and motioned for us to get off the bus and be on our way.

With the crises of being fined by the bus people over, we went in the station and grabbed a bite before catching our train. It was an easy hour ride down to Naples. We disembarked and went to the taxi stand for our third leg of the journey and third mode of transport.

We were told, and everything I read, said driving in Naples is crazy and the taxi drivers will try to negotiate with you even though there’s a flat rate to get to the harbor. The driver who motioned us to his car told us there was a strike and the “flat rate route” was slammed with traffic and he knew a better way to take using the meter. I was like, “No, no, no thank you”. But he asked me to trust him. I’m not sure why, because everything said I shouldn’t, but I did.

We started winding through the city on one of the most harrowing rides of my life. I was trying my best to not be obvious I was stepping on my invisible break in the passenger seat. The traffic signs and lines drawn on the road are merely light suggestions, because there were multiple times we were on the wrong side of the road or made two lanes, somehow, into three. It seemed there was not a moment we were not within three inches of another vehicle, truck, or scooter. This says nothing of the multitude of other cars shooting across our path as we threaded the proverbial needle.

Soon we arrived at the ferry harbor, dodging the traffic, for under the normal flat rate. Our driver said, “See! I told you, you could trust me”. He was right and I was very grateful. We got our boarding passes right on time and were able to get on our ferry and find seats in preparation for leg and mode of transport four.

It was a hazy day in the Bay of Naples and difficult to see far out on the horizon. The ferry started off and zoomed along away from the coast. After about 40 minutes, a mountain jutting out of the sea loomed in front of us through the haze, Capri.

The boat docked and we got off. Capri is up the mountain from the marina and usually there is a funicular train up the mountain, which would have been a cool fifth mode of transport, but alas, it was under maintenance, so we opted for an open air taxi.

We zigzagged up the mountain taking in the breathtaking scenery, feeling the sun on our faces and the sea in the breeze. The taxi parked outside the Piazzetta, which is the center of Capri life and the start of the portion of the city that is only accessible on foot.

Beren looking over the island from the Piazzetta.

Our host soon met us and walked us through the little alleys between the whitewashed buildings. It was mostly uphill and Beren was a champ after the long journey to make it all the way while still carrying his backpack. We arrived at our little villa and went through its little green arched door onto it’s terrace with trellised vines and a view of the southern slopes of the island. It was picturesque.

It was mid-afternoon by this point and we hadn’t eaten and the supermarket closed as we walked up. Silas was tired and had a complete breakdown. All we could find was a café and another round of pastries didn’t really cut it. The boys went down for a nap, while I logged on for a few calls. Once the boys went down, Allison ventured out for more food and, thankfully, came back with some delicious sandwiches.

The boys slept for a long time and Allison ended up having to wake them up. We are going to experiment by trying to ease their naptime and bedtime later and later over these last few days in a hope that it will make the transition back to Eastern Standard Time less dramatic when we get back home. I’m not sure it will work, but it’s worth a shot.

I finished up work and we decided to walk down to one of the restaurants our host recommended. It was a little gastropub type place called Hangout. Since it is still offseason here in Capri, not much is open for dinner. Most people visiting the island only come for daytrips from the Amalfi Coast, so at night it is much quieter and mostly locals it seems. This was good for us because we were the only people in the place and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Silas sit through a complete dinner.

The restaurant had a mashup of pub food and Italian and the boys enjoyed hotdogs, while Allison and I got burgers and fries. She had a veggie burger, while I got a burger called the Hangout (the restaurant’s namesake) which included mozzarella, artichokes, bacon, an egg, and some sort of special sauce. It was delicious.

Eating burgers and Silas with his crazy look in his eye from running around.

While the night was marked by the delicious food, it was also marked by Silas unwilling to sit down and either sprinting around fortuitously empty restaurant or screaming because he wasn’t running around the restaurant. It was tough to manage and we ate more quickly than usual to avoid further embarrassment or public repercussion.

We walked back home through the now peacefully quiet and dark narrow streets. The boys went to sleep an Allison and I enjoyed a moment together. Relishing the beautiful place and that it was finally the weekend once again.

Day 25 in Italy: Another Lazy Day

We are running out of steam. It feels like the late night at dinner on Tuesday caused us to hit a wall. The boys have not caught up on that lost sleep, which has made them more irritable and their output level even lower, and Allison and I have been challenged with demanding work weeks.

We had planned again to go to the Castel Sant’Angelo today, but it quickly became pretty clear that would not be a wise decision. Silas had a complete emotional breakdown when he didn’t think he had enough toothpaste on his toothbrush. It was at this point we knew trying to go on another sight seeing tour would be a fool’s errand.

As an alternative, we decided again to just stay local. We walked down to what has become our go-to breakfast spot for pastries and coffee. Everyone got their usual and, in his tiredness, Silas used his finger to surgically extract the custard filling out of his donut. We are very ready to just enjoy a huge steaming cup of coffee again back in the States. Sometimes, especially on the backend of this trip, one little espresso or cappuccino is not nearly enough.

From breakfast, we wandered over to the playground. The boys played with the motorcycle and Silas enjoyed swinging, as he usually does. Allison and I enjoyed sitting together on a bench and talking a bit about our upcoming trip to Capri and Beren’s overly abundant earwax.

The weather was wonderful. As we’ve gotten later in the month, it is starting warm up. Today, the sky was clear and blue, with a slight breeze, and an enjoyable warmth.

We had been at the playground for over an hour when Beren was playing with a toy next to a lamppost and a pigeon sitting on top of it pooped directly on his head. I’m still not sure if he noticed it or not, because another parent told him and then brought him over to us. It’s been in these moments that people have been really kind. Another nearby mom saw what happened and pulled out some wipes to help us clean it up. Beren was not very phased, and even maybe a little amused, and went right back to playing once it was clean.

Soon, everyone was hungry again. We looked at restaurants around and decided to go to a nearby Asian restaurant that had sushi and was open for lunch. The walk was a couple blocks and we seemed to be the first ones there and were the only ones there for our visit. We ordered using an iPad at the table. The restaurant was clean and swanky, but still really affordable. The sushi was also really good and they didn’t skimp you on the portion of fish in each roll. I’m surprise it was so empty because it was a great lunch experience. They even brought each of the boys a balloon to keep them occupied.

On the way back home, Silas had a hard time hanging onto his balloon and, I have to admit, it was entertaining watching him constantly drop it and then Allison chase after it down the sidewalk. He just refused to hold it anywhere other than the very tip of the ribbon.

The boys took a decent nap while I buckled in for another full day of meetings. Allison was kind and brought me snacks and dinner throughout the day. In the evening, when the boys got up, they mainly hung around the apartment playing while Allison finished some of the laundry in preparation for our final adventure.

The boys took a shower and went down around their usual time and Allison and I finished our work and I was able to do a little reading before bed. I’ve read much less than I was expecting, but by the time everything else is done and I get around to it, I end up dozing off about a paragraph in.

Tomorrow we make the trip to Capri. It will be an interesting journey getting there, but I think we’re in for a treat. Maybe gelato?

Day 23 in Italy: A Morning at St. Peter’s and an Evening with New Friends

Most things have been checked off our Italian adventure to do list, but there was still one big, famous area before today we had yet to explore, Vatican City. Unfortunately due to some scheduling conflicts, coupled with the boys limited attention span, I am the only one who is going to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (next week), but we still wanted to go see the city and St. Peter’s Basilica together.

It was a relatively easy bus ride up to the tiny foreign country. When we arrived, I didn’t totally know what to expect, since I’ve never crossed an international border on foot. However, in this case there weren’t any customs or anyone really checking anything. You sort of just walk in. At least that’s what we did.

We took in St. Peter’s Square with its large central obelisk, flanking Bernini fountains, and encircling columns dotted with statues. It’s a really large open area so, naturally, Silas and Beren decided to sprint away.

It took a few minutes to orient ourselves to where we should go to enter the church. We soon found the queue on the far side of the square from where we entered. Thankfully, it was not too long at the time and after only a few minutes we were scaling the steps to the basilica.

I don’t know why, but unlike other places we’ve gone, I didn’t research much about St. Peter’s beforehand. I knew it was going to be grandiose, so I think I just wanted to have the experience of taking it all in and formulating my impressions based off of that.

My initial impression upon entering was: grandiose is an understatement. It is ginormous. The ceilings and walls are intricate and gilded with gold where they are not painted with colorful frescoes. There are statues and paintings everywhere and the floors are inlaid with beautifully textured marble.

Off to the right after we entered we viewed the chapel that houses Michelangelo’s statue Pieta. It is behind a clear partition and groups of people were clamoring to see it, as were we. It was a beautiful statue and I’m constantly amazed by the movement and detail that these sculpting masters are able to elicit from the marble. Like, how does someone do that?

Bear and I in front of the crowd in front of Michelangelo’s Pieta

We walked slowly through the rest of the church, trying to take in as much as we could of all the statues and art in the overwhelming place.

Despite the grandiosity, or maybe in part due to it, I experienced very conflicting and strange feelings in the church. I felt as if I should be in awe of what I was seeing, and in an earthly sense I was, but in a spiritual sense, I felt put off. The building felt like it was a magnificent celebration of man, the popes in particular. There were statues and art of the deeds of Jesus and other biblical figures, but there seemed to be just as many (or more) glorious statues of various popes and their deeds. It was hard to stand in this beautiful place and not feel as if it were a massive contradiction.

To me, it felt like important aspects of Jesus’ teaching and character were disregarded. There was nothing meek nor humble about the place and many of the artistic depictions were confusing in their own regard. For instance, there was a large carved relief of Pope Leo the Great confronting Attila the Hun, trying to deter him from invading Rome. In the sky above Leo are representations of Peter and Paul coming out of the clouds to Leo’s aid, both with swords in their hands raised to strike.

Pope Leo confronting Atilla the Hun with Peter and Paul coming out of the sky.

I could be wrong, but the only time I’m aware of Peter or Paul using violence in scripture was, in Peter’s instance, when he drew a Roman soldier’s sword in Jesus’ defense to cut off the soldier’s ear. For this he was scolded by Christ who, in His great mercy, then healed the soldier. In Paul’s case, I know he condoned terrible violence in persecuting Christians, but he was transformed when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and, as a follower of Christ, repented of those ways.

My impression of this artwork felt like a microcosm of my greater impression of the whole building. It was immensely beautiful and impressive, but Christ’s actual teachings and ethos of meekness, humility, and generosity were wholly disregarded in favor of self-aggrandizement.

In saying all this, I acknowledge I don’t know the hearts of those who commissioned and did all this work. I am certainly a sinner myself who is not the judge of all this. These are simply the honest things I felt.

Not sure what this is, but I have to admit, this piece blew me away. The marble throughout is so colorfully alluring and the symbolism of the skeleton holding the hourglass was something we hadn’t seen before.

The boys started to get hungry about halfway through, so we started to move more quickly. We made a quick stop in the gift shop before finishing looking at a few final frescoes.

Come one, come all for your St. Peters shot glass!

Outside we ate some crackers on the steps, but this didn’t satiate everyone long, so we began to look for somewhere to eat. Beren suggested we should get Old McDonalds, so we told him we would if there was one close by. There haven’t been many around, but of course, in this case, there was. We ate and Silas spilled a bunch of drinkable yogurt on himself. He also proceeded to dip his french fries in his Sprite and then eat them, but he seemed to enjoy it. McDonalds will always be McDonalds, but I have to say, the ones it Italy are pretty nice. They’ve always been clean and the staff has always been very kind, helpful, and professional.

Silas enjoying his nasty Sprite concoction.

Allison’s sentiment of Silas’ concoction and of “Old” McDonalds in general.

Back at the house, the boys took a long nap and Allison and I were both able to do some work. When they woke up, we got dressed and went to the park for an hour before getting ready to go to dinner.

Before long, it was time for us to leave to make our way up the Aventine to our new friends’ house for dinner. It was a well lit and easy walk.

We arrived and were warmly welcomed. The kids reintroduced themselves and they collectively began to test out every toy in the house. Allison and I were poured some prosecco and we sat down and began to chat. Before long, the kids ate around a table set up in the kitchen. They had a first course of peas, followed by meatballs in red sauce.

We sat and continued talking until it was time for us adults to eat dinner. We enjoyed some homemade hummus along with marinated olives, followed by a delicious fresh orecchiette pasta in a flavorful tomato sauce with some of the meatballs as well.

The conversation was varied and came easily. We talked about kids, work, travel, and the pandemic, just as we would with any of our friends back home. We laughed about cultural differences and enjoyed learning about each other. I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was struck by how similar the conversations, thoughts, cares, and worries were here in Italy compared to those back home.

After dinner we all enjoyed some strawberries and cream for dessert, while the adults enjoyed a glass of Mirto alongside. I had never even heard of Mirto and found is a liqueur made out of the myrtle plant and popular on some of the Mediterranean islands, particularly Sardinia. It was delicious and unlike anything I’ve ever had. It was sweet and fruity with a distinctive taste almost like rosemary.

We ended up leaving around 10:30 PM. The boys had a blast, and Allison and I enjoyed ourselves immensely. We were blown away by the warm hospitality and the delicious homecooked dinner.

The boys were wiped when we got back home and we all went to bed quickly, reminiscing the memories of a wonderful day.

Day 22 in Italy: Lots of Time With Toys

Today was a more relaxed day compared to most we’ve had. We were coming off a weekend that had been fun and refreshing, but still pretty busy and packed with comings and goings. We are getting into the late parts of our trip and are beginning to run out of steam a little quicker than in the earlier weeks. So from the get go, today was a lazier one and more focused around what Beren and Silas wanted to do.

We doddled around the apartment in the morning playing games, eating breakfast, and watching some TV. About mid morning we finally were all up and ready. Ever since we were preparing to go to that weird toy store we went to a few days ago, Beren has been asking about getting a toy as a souvenir. We told him that they would have the opportunity to get something and every day he has reminded us he still needs to get something and would ardently ask when that would be. With no firm plans scheduled, today was his lucky day.

We Googled some toy stores nearby and made sure they were non-weird. The closest one was back up in Trestavere, the neighborhood across the Tiber from us. We told the boys where we were going and we went out walking with them jumping around from the excitement.

It was a modest 15 minute jaunt to where Google Maps told us to go and we began looking for the store front. We thought we missed it, but realized where it was and why we missed it. It was still shuttered up, despite saying it should be open online. We quickly went into crisis aversion mode with the boys. By the grace of God, there happened to be a playground right across the street and attention was diverted in that direction.

Allison and I were wondering about what we may have done wrong or why the store wasn’t open. It should have opened about 20 minutes prior. After chatting a bit, we remembered something we read before coming to Italy, that operating hours are more guidelines than promises strictly adhered to. We stayed at the playground for a bit betting it would open soon. Sure enough, it did.

The boys went in and could barely contain their excitement. It was a pretty posh little toy store, but was perfect for their ages. We gave them guidelines on size and told them they could each pick out one toy. Beren ultimately selected a sack of marbles. A wonderful, classic option. Silas had more trouble deciding. He had grabbed a pig figurine, but seemed unsure of it and continued to look at other toys, however, he never put down the pig. Every time we asked him if he wanted to put it down for something else, he said no. When all was said and done, the pig was what he walked out with, not without some tears and hesitation. But, as we walked away from the toy store toward an early lunch, he seemed to become more endeared and named the female pig Mr. Oink Oink.

We were very hungry and the only place that seemed to be open for lunch was Tonnarello, which happened to be where we ate the last time we were in Trestavere. It was really good before, so we decided to go for it again. We got some focaccia, calamari, and fried artichokes followed by some meatballs, codfish balls, and rigatoni pesto. It was a filling and delicious lunch. Afterward we walked back.

Beren enjoying his free lollypop he got at lunch.

The boys went down for nap easily and I took one too. Beren woke up pretty early, ready to play with his marbles and, shockingly, played with them quietly for the next hour. It is always amazing to me how simple toys are often the best ones because they are so imaginatively stimulating. I played with him for a bit until Silas woke up. We ate a small snack and went over to our local playground where we are becoming regular fixtures.

Silas on his unicorn. He can really zoom on this thing.

It was much cooler this evening, but the boys didn’t seem to mind and played for about an hour and a half. They rode little toys, swung, and navigated tiny kid sharing dynamics. Beren seemed interested in learning how to ride some of the bikes scattered around, so we practiced on a few different toys. I think this will be something we try to begin learning when we are back home. Soon it was time for our nightly gelato.

The boys got mango and I got pistachio. Before coming here, I always thought pistachio to be a weird flavor and never understood why someone would get something like that for their ice cream. It’s a classic staple in Italy, and apparently the way you tell a good gelato shop from a bad one, so a week or so ago I decided to try it. It was delicious and, not being someone with a sweet tooth, hit the spot perfectly. Now it’s my default. I’m not sure if that will carry back into the States though.

We ate in the Piazza Testaccio, right outside the shop before walking back toward home. Usually, we go home after gelato, but as we passed the playground, Beren jokingly acted like he was going to go in, so I said go ahead and we played for another 30 minutes. I’m pretty sure our total playground time for the day clocked in somewhere around three hours.

Still with energy to sprint back home after hours at the playground.

Finally, back at home, we heated up some leftovers for dinner and took a shower. Allison’s work calls conveniently ended right when the boys were getting ready to lay down for bed, so she was able to tuck them in and sing My Beloved, which is currently their demanded lullaby.

After they were down, I braved the cold and went back out for pizza. I placed a take out order and waited for a few minutes marveling as I watched them make the pizza in a huge wood-fire oven.

When I returned, Allison and I enjoyed them together. We got a Verdure and a Diavola. The former was a veggie one. While the latter was covered with spicy salami and was the clear winner. Personally, it was one of the best things I’ve eaten here so far.

So, while we saw no remarkable sights or did any remarkable things, it was a really good day. One that contributed as many good memories and moments as any other. I enjoyed my time with the boys on the playground and talking while we licked our gelato. They are funny, kind, interesting, and intelligent people to talk to and spend time with and I love the opportunities to get to hear their thoughts, questions, and perceptions of the world.

In the midst of everything else today, we finalized plans and will be taking a trip to the island of Capri this weekend. From the looks of the pictures, I think we’re in for a treat, and some serious leg workouts. We also finalized plans to go have dinner at the home of Gianluca’s family tomorrow night. I am nervous, but very excited. It will be fun to get to know them better and get to experience their hospitality. I don’t really know what to expect and am just hoping we, at a minimum don’t break anything or make complete fools of ourselves. I guess we’ll see!

Day 21 in Italy: We Made a Friend! (Other than the Gelato Guy)

The weekend is so great. It is strange to think, even though we are finishing our third week in Italy, this is the first, and most likely the only, full weekend we will spend in Rome.

We began the day and had a goal of going to see the Roman Forum, which we didn’t have time to see when we last went to the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. However, since Rome seems to be getting busier by the day, it’s getting tougher to book something the day of, so the earliest available times were in the afternoon. No big deal, we decided to just flip the day and get ready to head out to the playground in the morning.

After grabbing a quick breakfast, we settled in at the playground. Beren found his favorite motorcycle toy and Silas found an unbalanced toy baby stroller, which kept making him fall. Allison and I settled in on a bench and relaxed. It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky. It was a little warmer and breezier than the previous day, which made it a wonderful day to sit at the park.

As the boys were playing, we noticed another nearby dad speaking English to his kids. He noticed us too. Before long, he leaned over and asked us where we were from. We told him we were from the U.S. and struck up a conversation. He said his name was Gianluca, and he and his partner were both from Rome and had grown up here. I mentioned he spoke very good English and he laughed and said he worked for a company based out of Boston.

Allison and I enjoyed the conversation immensely. It was mentally and emotionally stimulating to talk to another adult person face to face outside of the two of us. We met Gianluca’s children and before they left the park, he graciously asked us over to their house for dinner before we leave. We exchanged numbers and are currently trying to coordinate a day. In coming to Italy, this was something we thought would be a moonshot, but were hopeful we would make a connection. We’re excited to hopefully get to join Gianluca and his family for dinner!

After the park, we excitedly came back to the apartment for lunch and nap. While the boys were napping, we talked about going to Venice again. As part of our conversation earlier at the park with Gianluca, we had asked him if there was anything we should do before we leave. We mentioned being on the fence about Venice and asked his opinion. He spoke kindly, but his sentiment seemed mixed. Instead he suggested that we think about Capri on the grounds that it’s closer, exceedingly beautiful, and more relaxed. So we did some quick research and decided to alter our plans.

The boys were tired and we ended up waking them up from their naps. I went in to Beren and said, “Hey buddy, it’s time for us to wake up to go.”

He stretched and said, “To the Palatine Hill?”

And I replied, “Uh, actually yeah.” I never expected my four year old to remember that.

It was 3:00 PM on a Sunday and we couldn’t find a place open to get bus tickets, so we risked it for the biscuit and just hopped on a bus hoping we wouldn’t get caught. We made it and began walking along the opposite side of the hill than we did last time. Soon you start to be surrounded by ruins of ancient Roman apartment blocks and shopping areas, then we rounded a corner and the ancient Forum, then center of Roman life, law, and politics came into view, illuminated by the afternoon sun. We wound our way through the large cobblestoned roads through the ruins. Allison’s magical elastic ankles seemed like they were bending at all angles on the uneven path, but somehow they made it without ever giving way.

An afternoon stroll on the Palatine Hill

I did not appreciate from the pictures I’d seen of the Forum prior to this, the scale and breadth of the complex. A lot of it is just scattered ruins with only a few columns of temples and arches dotted about, but the columns that are still standing are huge and imposing. To imagine this area at the height of its splendor and power is with all of the buildings and temples would have been overwhelming.

We wandered in and out of all of the roads and ruins and quickly the boys got tired, so we had to stop and grab some snacks out of a vending machine before continuing. Even then, Silas refused to go on and would exclaim, “No more walking!” The last half of exploring the Forum consisted of us carrying the boys either in arms or on our shoulders trying not to trip on the rocks.

My point of view as Beren rode my shoulders around the Forum.

There were a lot of people around and lot of seagulls too. There were more than a few times, as the seagulls swirled overhead, I thought it felt a bit too much like a Hitchcock movie out here. To paint the picture, these seagulls are not the small, skittish seagulls I’m used to. These seagulls are giant brutes with three or four feet wingspans.

We watched the seagulls for a bit and then Beren pointed and said, “Look! That seagull is giving the other one a piggy back ride.” We looked to a couple seagulls in the distance. Indeed giving the other a “piggy back ride”. We then decided to move over to a different rock out of view to sit down and let the boys play in the dirt.

They were enjoying themselves playing, when all of a sudden a barbarian seagull swooped down from behind smacking me in the back of the head with its wing on its decent. It landed a few feed away from the boys playing on the ground. I think it thought they had food. It opened its wings and its mouth and started making a menacing squawking sound sound as it started inching toward them. The boys looked up at it, not sure what was happening. With me still bewildered by being unwittingly struck in the head by the winged beast, Allison stood up to protect our children and confronted the seagull until it flew away.

We decided it was time to leave and get gelato. We found a place close by before walking back to the bus stop and coming back to the apartment before dinner.

With each of us working during the week, we haven’t had many chances to go out for dinner and do a full meal, so we wanted to take advantage of that tonight. We walked to a traditional Italian restaurant near our apartment called Da Bucatino. We sat outside under some umbrellas and it rained pleasantly while we ate. The boys made little “museums” out of their bread crusts and we enjoyed our huge bowls of pasta and tiramisu.

Sophisticated Beren enjoying his water from a wine glass.

Excited to eat my pasta with my adult bib! (Before picture)

People eat late in Italy, so the kids are already a ticking time bomb, but this is compounded by the fact that, once you order and get your food, the waitstaff don’t check on you again. The reasoning is so you can enjoy for as long as you’d like without being interrupted or pushed out. It’s nice in theory, however, so far in reality this seems more of a function of only one person serving a dozen tables rather than being thoughtfully courteous. Once you order and get your food, we have found out, don’t expect to get anything else, because it is challenging to get anyone’s attention after that. Getting someone to come to your table feels like hailing a cab. They may be waiting a table right next to you and won’t even glance in your direction just to check and acknowledge you.

Finally, my hailing technique was successful and we were able to head out from our two hour dinner. Thankfully, all things considered, the food was pretty delicious, the wine was good, and the boys were well behaved.

Allison and I finished the night together hanging out on the couch, watching TV, and reminiscing about the day.

Day 20 in Italy: Back into the Catacombs and into Trestavere

Another day in Rome! It was a little cloudier and cooler today and there was a chance of rain. We contemplated what to do. We thought about trying to go the the Castel Sant’Angelo, but we didn’t get tickets in time, so we changed gears. After visiting our first set of catacombs in the first week, Allison had been talking about wanting to see more. What better place to be when there’s possibility for rain than underground in a 1,600 year old crypt?

We ate breakfast at the apartment and then headed to the bus stop to catch our bus. It was a pretty long ride through a more suburban residential area with blocks of apartment buildings and people out at the cafes and picking up groceries from local fruit stands and butcher shops. We arrived at our stop and walked a short distance up the road to our destination.

The Catacombs of Domitilla aren’t far from the Appian Way where the catacombs we previously visited were. There was a small garden with picnic tables surrounding the building and, when we got there, we were the only ones there. We waited for our tour in the gardens. The boys liked running up the stairs and through the plants. I thought we would have a very intimate tour, but a tour bus arrived minutes before our tour began and we were lumped in with them.

This set of catacombs apparently cover the most territory and are highlighted by an underground basilica that is still used for services. In fact, as we began our tour, there was a mass taking place. The room is made of stone and had short columns that held up the original ceiling. Along the walls were fragments of tombstones and epitaphs with writing and symbols on them that had been excavated from the catacombs. We passed through the room as the parishioners were praying with open arms and continued down a stairway into the narrow, dark, damp tunnels.

It was a similar experience to the first time, but still difficult to describe seeing all the open slots where remains of these early Christians were placed and feeling the quiet and peace of the place. This time around, I enjoyed our tour guide much more than last time. She did a good job connecting us to the place by telling some stories and describing what it would have looked like at the time. As a part of this tour we also got to see some of the best preserved early Christian art painted on the ceilings and walls of some of the tombs. In one vaulted hallway there were grapevines painted on the ceiling, which immediately brought John 15 to my mind. In another tomb we saw a painting of Peter and Paul, as well as Jesus seated and surrounded by his disciples.

It’s a place where I really would have preferred to sit and pray rather than tour. After weaving our way through, we came back upstairs to the basilica. The mass was no longer going on and we took seats on the wooden bench pews. Our guide then directed us to a particular epitaph of an 11 year old boy buried in the catacomb. The epitaph was very interesting, but what I was most struck by was the figure of a person etched on the tombstone with their arms open, receiving God’s presence and grace. The figure on this ancient Christian gravestone was making the same gesture that we still make when we invite God’s presence and grace through prayer. It was the same gesture people were making in the room just a few minutes earlier during the mass when we passed through.

After the catacombs, we looked up a bus to take home. The timing was tight and the map was confusing. It was a haul lugging the boys. Allison carried Silas and Beren rode my shoulders as they clamored for an apple that they were passing back and forth. It was tight and we were able to get to the stop right as the bus we needed closed its doors. I slapped the back and thankfully they reopened and we were able to get on, spared waiting another 20 minutes.

We got back, ate some lunch together and the boys and I took a nap. When they woke up, they played some Mario Cart with Allison before we got all ready again to go out for our evening stroll. Tonight we decided to wander up into Trestavere.

After crossing the bridge, we walked up and found one of the outdoor apertivo spots we saw our first night here. We sat down and ordered some drinks. Allison got a Aperol Spritz, I got a Negroni, and the boys got some pear juice because they didn’t have apple or orange. We were still a little early for the normal food menu, but they were really nice and made us a margherita pizza. The boys enjoyed the pizza and were wooing the waitresses. Their charm did the trick because one of the waitresses ended up bringing them a pair of chocolate dipped cookies to enjoy on the house.

Of course, at dinner Silas filled his diaper. There aren’t many public facilities we’ve seen, so after we left Allison pulled a supermom and changed his diaper down an alley between a parked car and a small wall. With that crises averted we joined the throngs of people who were out now flowing like streams down the alleyways of Trestavere past the street vendors, trying to pick a place to eat. We were in search for gelato. All the streams converged on to a piazza where we found a place. We each got our cone and sat on steps of the central fountain watching a man spray paint pictures of the Coliseum. This was until a pair of semi-rowdy drunk guys sat down next to us and we decided it was time to go.

Upon our arrival back home, Allison showered the little people while I made a quick store run. The boys went to bed and I cooked up some pasta we had to top us off after the pizza and gelato. I’m glad we’ve been walking so much because, if not, I’m pretty sure we would have gained about 30 pounds by now.

It was nice to have time with Allison eating together and relaxing. We spent the time talking about the day and planning out the next week. There’s still a bit we’d like to do and, it’s weird to think, but time is running out. We’ve been on the fence about visiting Venice next weekend because it seems daunting at this point, but we decided to go for it. I’m sure we won’t regret it. On the docket for tomorrow is to go back to the Palatine Hill and finish up seeing parts of the ancient Roman Forum that we didn’t get to see last time.

Day 19 in Italy: Just Winging It… and Seeing More Churches

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.

One of the chapels that struck us most. Apologies for no pictures of the Raphael or the Caravaggio.

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.

Looking (not touching) in the toy store.

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.

Pasta with white wine butter sauce and green beans. Fried calamari not pictured.

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.