Comparing stories

One thing Chicago and Rome have in common: we live near the zoo in both cities. So what to do with the kids on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning but take a stroll to the zoo and see the animals. It's nice to have a membership because then we can go as often as we like and just see a few exhibits. The kids had been before, but this was my first visit.

In the afternoon, Josh took Olivia and Avery on a bike tour of Villa Borghese while I took Charlotte to swim practice and worked out while she trained.

We had plans this evening to meet an longtime business colleague of mine and his family for dinner. His wife and two girls are spending the year in Florence (while he visits a

couple times a month from New York) and they had come down to Rome for the weekend to celebrate the youngest' 12th birthday. Charlotte would accompany us but we thought it best for Avery and Olivia to pass on the 8pm dinner. Our plans were almost scuttled when yesterday, our babysitter (a friend of Morris's) called to say that she didn't want to come tonight because her weekly charge, a cute 2 year-old, was just diagnosed with chicken pox and she didn't want to bring the infectious disease in to our home (Given our children have all been vaccinated, I'm not sure it would have been problematic, but better to stay on the safe side). Fortunately, the 19 yr old daughter of a friend of ours agreed to come over.

We met our friends at their hotel, The Hotel de Russie, which is an absolutely gorgeous place right of the Piazza del Popolo. After a cocktail, we cabbed/drove over to the restaurant. The original plan had been to walk there but we were running late and apparently my sense of distance was skewed because it would have required 30 minutes.

Ristorante Montevecchio is a small, charming place with just half a dozen or so tables inside. Because of the inconsistency of the weather recently, the outdoor seating area was closed. I had read a good review of the restaurant and hoped it would live up to its billing. It did. We had a lovely round of antipasti to share: grilled octopus, fried mixed vegetables, and a tuna carpaccio with pomegranate. It was so good we ordered another round. The host recommended a good vino rosso from Lazio and everyone was very happy. Then we all had a pasta dish before finishing with desert. I must say, though, you get a hint as to why the Italians are thin: the portions are not too generous!

It was great fun to compare stories: life in Rome versus life in Florence; Rome International School versus Florence International School; weekend trips from here and weekend trips from there. Of course there were screwy Italian stories to share too -- the difficulty of getting their wireless internet working properly and the difficulty of getting our Sky TV subscription. But the consensus was that life was great in Italy. The ingredients fresher and therefore the food better; the schools more relaxed and therefore less pressure-filled for our young kids; the landscape stunning and more interesting than the States. My friend's wife is German and has only been living in the States as an adult. If it were up to her she would stay in Florence, but of course, her husband and his business are in New York and so they are planning to return next summer, just like us.

It was sweet to see the girls socializing just like the adults. Their girls 15 and (almost)12 with Charlotte. It was unfortunate, however, to get the call from the young, sweet babysitter saying that Avery refused to go to bed and Olivia was tired but couldn't sleep because Avery was making so much noise. These kids can really smell fresh blood, can't they.

After dinner, we took a stroll around Piazza Navona before everyone headed back to their respective abodes for the night. It had been a very fun evening.