Father's Day with Monsters - Bomarzo

As much as we wanted to sleep in this morning, Avery was intent on not allowing us to do so. He and I came downstairs to get everything ready for a Father's Day breakfast. We set the table outside, prepared the pancake batter (with fresh squeezed lemon and ricotta), sliced fruit and made coffee. Just as everything was set, it began to rain. So we pulled in all the cushions and dishes and reset the table inside.

Fifteen minutes later, when Josh came downstairs, it had stopped raining and he asked if we could sit outside. So, we reset the table again -- this time with better luck. We had planned, weather permitting, to visit Bomarzo today with another family and their boys. It looked sketchy, but we decided to go for it.

Bomarzo is a town in Umbria -- about an hour's drive north from Rome -- but it is most well-known for its Parco dei Monstri. The park was designed by architect Pirro Ligorio, the same man who built the Villa d'Este, and who also took part in the completion of the Basilica San Pietro. Prince Pier Franceso Orsino, nicknamed Vicino, commissioned the design of the park to commemorate the passing of his beloved wife, Giula Farnese, and it was completed in 1552 as a "Villa of Wonders." The Park fell into disrepair until the grounds were purchased by Giovanni Bettini in 1954 and restored.

Upon arrival, we had a picnic lunch while waiting for our friends. Unfortunately, we ate our sandwiches in the parking lot because we didn't bring enough cash to purchase the entrance tickets. Once inside the gates, 24 characters, and structures carved from the rock can be discovered. The kids could wander and run around. Josh took it slowly. We strolled in the park for about an hour or so, and then still had time to let the kids play in the playground located by the entrance gate, while the adults sat and chatted at the picnic tables (the ones we would have used for our picnic if we'd had enough money to buy our tickest when we arrived).

Afterwards, we drove back to Rome where we dropped Charlotte off at a year-end Italian language class party for the middle schoolers at a friend's house. It was a pool party and despite the clouds the kids played in the pool before cooking Italian recipes with Miss Ivana, and then watching La Bella Vita. When I picked Charlotte up I told Ivana that I had just seen Roberto Benigni who I knew was from her home town in Tuscany.

Once I had Charlotte in the car, we swung by the villa to get the rest of the gang and then headed over to meet Jules, Carol and their boys again -- this time for a pizza dinner in Testaccio. (We'd been together earlier at Bomarzo). It was a very casual place, and fortunately we weren't there too long because, once again, the Indians were getting restless -- literally, our kids were unable to sit still for a moment. Still, we pressed on to Gracchi for gelato after dinner before calling it a night. Unfortunately, Avery's behavior lost him gelato privileges, and that caused a disturbance all its own. It had been a full weekend for everyone.