Beach Day!

We decided to take advantage of the fabulous weather we are having and hit the beach. The kids too had been begging to go. It appears to be their favorite "outing;" more so than seeing art, churches, or the ruins of antiquity. We had wanted to drive to Sabaudia in order to try a different beach, and one that everyone has told us is beautiful - but then we discovered that it's 100k away and that just seemed too far to go for us today. So we went back to Fregene. I really love the feel of this beach town. It's so relaxed, and quaint. The beach itself is lined with beach clubs that rent chairs and umbrellas and serve all kinds of food so you can take your pick. It's a huge sandy beach that stretches for miles (or kilometers) although the sand is not of the white variety. It's more like charcoal gray. The water is wonderful and there are perfect shells everywhere even though this place obviously gets its share of traffic being so close to Rome.

It's clear that Avery is most happy when he is free to RUN and play and get dirty...that is, until he gets tired. The new "no napping" schedule is taking a toll on both him and his parents. Still, we had a nice time, ate pizza on the beach for lunch, took turns taking naps and went in to town (Fregene) to have gelato before heading home.

Tonight, Morris sent his "associate", Rita (from Sri Lanka) to make dinner for us and we enjoyed a lovely chicken curry out in our garden. Once everyone was sated, we had a viewing of "The Devil Wears Prada" on our rear projection movie screen.

We've lived here for almost a month now; so here is a list of the things we like most about our new home (the villa itself):

1. The GARDEN and eating outside ALL the time

2. We have 5! bathrooms, so everyone can have their own (which actually comes in handy).

3. Soon we'll have 6 bathrooms when the room in the basement is ready for guests

4. Olivia and Charlotte sharing a room - BY CHOICE

5. Our "screening room" for watching movies. Even though it only comfortably seats three.

6. Our own parking space.

7. The bidets (I know it seems bathrooms are a focus here, but the bidet is a really useful device for all kinds of cleaning with kids)

8. Only one TV with no English channels on it (yet) means no overuse of TV and no DISNEY.

9. The beautiful natural sun light that floods all the rooms. This Villa has many windows and glass doorways, a glass enclosed room (sunroom) and even glass roofs is some places.

10. The tile floors on the main level

So there you have it for this Saturday. What will we do tomorrow? We'll have to decide in the morning but the list of choices is long.