A picnic in the park

We’d been meaning to pack up dinner and head to the park for weeks. On this sunny weeknight, we finally did it. And Molly joined us with little Sabina.

Dinner was delicious with lemon chicken and peanut dipping sauce plus Molly’s rice salad and good ol’ chocolate chip bar cookies.  The girls played together, sort of.

Separately, Phoebe does her impression of Cindy Lou Who. Quite good I think.

The great lake

If it’s summertime in Rome, we must be at Lago di Martignano.

It’s a favorite for our group of friends and on this particular weekend in July we spent the day with Dan, Amy, Zoe and Max.

We always have a nice lunch at the restaurant. After that, only nap time (or dinner time) could persuade us to part with the cool water for home.

Alas, it happens every time. Oh well, there will be more sunny Saturdays, this is one thing you can count on in Rome.

A day in Sabina

On a sunny weekend in July we were invited to lunch at our friends Molly and Giuseppe’s gorgeous villa outside of Rome.

Delicious food – pasta with fresh basil, tomatoes and home made olive oil — and fun with friends followed.

What better way to spend a day?

Next stop Corniglia

Then we were off in the other direction, to Corniglia.

Another great hike followed by dinner, where we met the only Italian who doesn’t like babies. He was our waiter. That’s really all I have to say about that.

After dinner we swirled through the town’s basil festival then raced to the train station in time to catch the last local. Then we were the Americans running up and down the stairs, darting back and forth between the platforms asking fellow travelers advice in Italian, asking in English. We finally settled on a track, the correct track, and made our way back easily after all.

Every day was sun-soaked. We walked, Phoebe rode and sometimes slept.

When we arrived in Manarola we bought two colorful prints (awaiting frames in Rome) from a lovely art store. Then it was gelato time.

Phoebe had just started walking that week and was a hilarious site to see, teetering through the villages, ice cream dripping from her happy little chin.

Finally we strode the easy 20-minute path to scenic Riomaggiore where frozen lemonades were quickly devoured along the boardwalk.

When we’d visited all five villages, we spent time at the Vernazza beach. Phoebe loves the water, waves and sand. And who can blame her? It was a great trip.