Birthday a Roma!

Sunday was Cecily's big day, the day she turned 10--in Rome!  This might sound fabulous to most people, for the Cecily, it was the worst possible way to spend a precious birthday.  As she complained prior to our departure, "I ALWAYS have to spend my birthday in places like LONDON, and PARIS, and ROME! While completely without foundation, this complaining resulted in Cecily becoming "dictator for the day" and determining our every move for 24 hours.  First on her list, was a trip to the zoo.  Many people are surprised to find out that Rome has a zoo, but the 42-acre facility with more than 1,100 animals is actually a Rome institution, having been around since 1911,  I would not call it a state-of-the-art facility--zoos in San Diego, Portland and St. Louis that we have visited--were far superior but having visited the Pittsburgh zoo last year, I would say that Rome is slightly ahead of that facility (which badly needs an upgrade.)  At any rate, the zoo was interesting, and the girls enjoyed themselves learning about endangered tigers, watching Japanese macaques play in a swimming pool, watching grey seals perform tricks for fish and observing a variety of cool crocs and alligators.  Dad enjoyed the two enormous hippos, lazing in their pools behind a three-foot high fence, and we all were weirdly mesmerized by an Abbysinian Corso eating a mouse, and a Chinese crocodile just 18 inches long eating a duck.  The electric wire behind the face--the one that is supposed to keep aggressive hippos in check--was, in typical Italian fashion, "non-functione."  Probably because the zoo is out of the central city, there were few tourists in evidence, which made the experience more authentic.  We rode the bus with lots of Roman families, the grounds of the Villa Borghese (a big inner city park and art museum) being a Sunday-gathering place for family-time.  This represented our first serious attempt to use the bus system for transport.  With Google Maps' help, we managed, although the challenges of interpreting the bus system aren't for the faint of heart!  (More on that in my next post.)  After our day at the zoo, we tried to end our day with a bike ride through the park (Cecily has originally demanded a horse carriage ride, but decided to trade out for a 4-person bike with 4-sets of pedals. Unfortunately, our transaction was terminated as the proprieter demanded a driver's license as security for handing over the bike.  Since we typically leave all but the most essential cards and docs at home when traveling through this city somewhat prone to pickpockets and petty criminals, we were stymied. Cecily put her disappointment aside and we dragged our tired feet back to the bus stop.  We ended up at the tube stop to make a scheduled change, only to have the bus be first late and finally cancelled, leaving us to trudge our way home in 90 degree heat for the 25 minutes to our house, where we whipped up Cecily's birthday dinner--spaghetti and tomato sauce. Believe me that no self-respecting Italian would ever eat tomato sauce from a jar, and based on the one brand we found on the grocery shelf, that would be a wise decision.  As for Cecily, she didn't care.  It was  a day, exceeding all her expectations and concluding with her most desired present--a package of brightly colored Sharpy-brand markers--apparently, the coolest thing among fourth-grade girls at Crooked River.  Oh, and Meredith?  She was just glad to finally change her shirt--soiled by a bird flying overhead!