Youth

Rome with the boys—and Roz, too—is a lot of fun. They eat a lot, drink a lot, walk all over and manage to stay up much, much later than us. Steve and I can’t wait to toddle home and jump into bed after dinner—it’s after midnight, for pete’s sake-- while they are busy calling and texting to arrange a whole new session of socializing.

Yesterday morning, we all walked over to the Campidoglio, an incredibly beautiful Renaissance piazza designed by Michelangelo. There we met up with Anne Ahern for a three hour walking tour of the Forum and the Palatine. The sun was finally shining and despite the crowds—every school kid in Europe is here right now—it still felt incredibly peaceful to wander through the ruins. Up on the Palatine Hill, where Augustus and other Roman emperors built their homes, the grass was strewn with wildflowers and kids were picnicking or just hanging out and enjoying the warm weather.

This morning Ross and Roz, particularly diligent tourists, woke up relatively early after their late night to go to the Vatican. Steve and Jon are out for a walk which probably means they are “having a bite” somewhere and I am home alone quite happy doing the laundry and trying to make sense of Italian TV.