Gelato and Ruins by 10AM: Ostia Antica, Roma, Italy

 

Ostia Antica 

Roma
Lazio, Italy

We hoped off the plane in Rome a little bleary at 7:45AM and waited like dopes for our second stroller, only to find out that it was quietly resting by itself around the corner from our baggage carousel.  A half hour later we were en route to Ostia with Google Maps on iPhone in hand (note to Garmin users, this GPS hates Italy!) By 9AM as promised, Sydney had his first of many promised gelatos in hand; chocolate of course.

Ostia was Rome’s main port for over 600 years (according to Time Out Rome).  While I have been to Pompeii, I don’t remember ruins this intact and two hours closer to the city.  Sure, Sydney hit the potty wall half way down the ancient road of the former town, (no small feat, that dash to the nearest bathroom).  Within minutes we were sitting on the steps of the ancient theater, explaining to Sydney how this was kind of like the performance of Rainbow Fish he had seen at the Center for the Arts in Natick.

We made sure before leaving town to hit the 14th century castle of a Pope and made sure to have spaghetti where Fellini sat while reading The Kitten Who Thought He Was a Mouse by Miriam Norton, (the cats haven’t disappeared from Rome since I was here in ‘93).  Who ever told you that kids hate ruins, never saw my boys pick so many daisies they could have made Caesar’s crown look like a bunch of shrubbery.  A three-hour nap and a night out on Rome, with of course more gelato, not a bad first day...

The Back Nine Winter Redux: Lake Cochituate State Park, Natick, Wayland and Framingham, MA

Lake Cochituate State Park
Natick, Framingham and Wayland, MA

We hadn't planned to move to Natick from Brooklyn. It was too rural, too far from our jobs and too full of adventure. Despite the long commute, it has been a blessing in disguise. Life on the lake is just minutes from the intersection of Rts. 9, 30, 27, 117 and the Pike; we are at the epicenter of the MetroWest dadventure universe. In the summers you'll catch us paddling, swimming and catching turtles on the "pond." It is a far stretch from my tiny plot of a yard growing up in Newton.



It was the winter that I wasn't expecting. There are no "ponds" to skate on in Newton. Here in our backyard our neighbor snowblows out a rink for hold family hockey games. Our babysitter is a Natick Comet hockey all-star, dragging her parents across New England and up into Canada every winter weekend. We've added ice skating instructor to her list of "mommy's helper" jobs after school. She already does a great job with his favorite Mercer Mayer books, we hadn't even checked out "Skating Day" yet.



But it's the snow that transforms this park. Lake Cochituate is a thin strip of land surrounding all of the lakes. When the it falls, we throw on our skis, head across the lake and up into Lakeview Cemetery in Wayland for a few turns of the teles down the hill. A winter wonderland indeed.

Sydneiana Jones and the Pit of Sponge: Planet Gymnastics, Natick, MA

Planet Gymnastics
7 Strathmore Road
Natick, MA

Sydney is a crazy man. This kid loves to dive head-first into a pile of sponge. He will hurl himself down a mountain without an ounce of fear in his thoughts. Perhaps it is the great work that they have done with him at our local gymnastics outlet. He has great teachers, they're safe facilities and he even gets to go with his classmates from Tobin School on the days he doesn't go to school.


Planet Gymnastics is da' bomb. But, we were going to have his birthday party at Playtown Express simply because he tears it up there, (they were sold-out till Liji's bday in March.) Boston Sports Club was also a great place to party for Ronen's 4th. But I'm so glad we picked his homebase for fun . Instead of his weekly tumbles, balance beam and trampolines, Sydney got treated like a king. While I was languishing in bed with a 102 temp and praying to the porcelin gods, Sydney "the birthday kid" was the only one flying through the air like Mary Martin in Peter Pan.


He was so princely, he even got his own throne. Sure, like any great kid he shared it with his little bro, (and even the crazy Ben and Jerry's underwater theme ice cream cake - clearly learned that from me.) It was a blast, or so it appeared as I sat through the footage, cursing into my piece of left over cake, two days later when I was finally well enough to sit at the table and behave.