Aventino

Lemon pancakes with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar for breakfast! yum. Then Olivia and I left for an appointment at the paruccherie. It was a painstakingly long process to cut Olivia's bob (and still there is a bit of unevenness), and she was not the most patient. I haven't seen any places that focus on kids' haircuts ala Snippets or Kids' Cuts. As such, the requisite video games and TV distractions don't exist here. We walked by the outdoor market on our way home and picked up some more fresh strawberries. We also successfully avoided the dog poop littered along the side-walk on Viale Bruno Buozzi.

Once at home, we got into the car (without Charlotte who went back to bed this morning) and headed into town. At first we had no destination in mind. But, it was a gorgeous and sunny day --even if the temps were only pushing 50, and we wanted to go out and do something. First, we did a quick loop of the Campo di Fiori which was very busy this morning. Then we were going to head over to visit San Pietro in Vincoli (Pope Julius II's tomb with Michaelangelo's Moses inside) before realizing that it was nearing the noon hour at which time the churches (all over Italy) close before re-opening at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. After all, the nuns have to eat. Instead, we parked near Campidoglio and took a walk around Piazza Mattei. This is one of the sweetest residential/commercial areas tucked in to the center of Rome. We discovered the Insituto Italiano di Studi Americani. Unrelated to the activities inside the Institute, the structure with it's statue filled courtyard, and decorative stairwell offered the kids a fun and beautiful place to run around. It's a perfect example of an yet another delightful chance-encounter in Rome.

We returned home to lunch, and Charlotte still in her PJs. Today I made Orate -- the poor cousin of the Branzino -- but no one seemed to notice. Josh then took Charlotte to her orthodontist appointment in Aventino. Olivia went along for the ride while Avery took a nap and I had time to catch up on my blog!

Tonight we were invited to a friend's place in Aventino for drinks (can you now see the significance of mentioning that Charlotte's orthodontist is located there? two roundtrips to Aventino in one day: but Josh survived) followed by a dinner out at a Chinese/Malaysian restaurant. Located in the south-eastern part of the historical center of the city, the Aventino (one of the seven hills) is a beautiful residential area with plentiful vegetation and interesting topography. It has more of a suburban feel yet the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum are just around the corner -- makes for a pleasant stroll after dinner.