Euro-kids

This is my last day with the three belle bambine. We went to the pool at 9 this morning. It turns out that we 1.) were not supposed to be there until after 11; 2) aren't supposed to eat or drink on the pool deck; 3) should have paid an entry charge and 4) needed to show our IDs to half of the pool so that they would know we weren't terrorists. Basically, on our first trip to the pool, we broke 5 of the 6 published rules. Oh well!

In the afternoon we took a walk, all five of us in nice dresses. As a group, we really turned heads -- sometimes because of how cute the girls are, and sometimes due to the unholy wailing coming from indignant little people in the stroller who preferred to walk. We meant to play in the park after finishing our errands, but the pool made the girls a little tired, so instead we stopped into a cafe. I have never heard three girls under five squeal with such delight 'Cafe!' I think they assume that 'cafe' is a synonym for 'gelato.' This was fine by me -- Emilia and I enjoyed a delicious Sicilian pastry with cream in the center (almost like a cornetto a crema, my favorite breakfast ever) and a cappuccino while the girls stuffed their faces full of mini cakes and strawberry gelato. It was another fun, long day. My hat is off to any and all parents reading this blog -- kids are a blast, but they sure do take a lot of energy! Here are some last photos of the fabulous Woods kids: Olivia and Isabella eating gelato fragola; Emilia and Sophia, like mother, like daughter; Isabella and Sophia playing along a fence.

Gelato with the bambine!

Today we were very good in church and so we had some gelato -- here are the photos of our delicious outing. Olivia waits expectantly for her ice cream; Olivia devours gelato; Emilia demonstrates proper gelato-eating technique to Isabella; birds-eye view of Sophia taking a sip of water. For the rest of the day, we decided to hang out at home (it was too hot for the park, really) and to play with finger paints and these markers that let you draw on the window. It was lots of fun. It was a bit surprising, though, to suddenly realize that I'm entering a new era. Now that many of my friends have kids, there's no avoiding the fact that we're the adults. Olivia came up to talk to Emilia today, wiggling around to try to get our attention. We were sitting on a lounge chair, in sundresses, with our hair pulled back in a more utilitarian than fashionable manner. As Emilia reminded Olivia not to interrupt and I inspected the finger paint on my knees, I suddenly realized that this was a familiar scene -- but now, instead of being the antsy four-year-old, I was the 'adult' chatting! Luckily, I then got to splash around in the kiddie pool and play with play-doh and laugh with my friends about silly things, and I remembered that I'm still under 30. Whew.

Lazy Saturday, Caserta style

I have completely enjoyed and appreciated the amazing art and sites and cities I've been able to visit in the past month. But relaxing with friends is still my idea of the perfect vacation. Today was wonderful -- good friends, delicious summer food, sultry weather and three funny children. Here are the promised photos of the belle bambine -- Olivia after her first swim lesson, looking like a small orange burrito in front of her mom, Emilia; and the twins Isabella and Sophia engrossed with playdoh on the porch. After Olivia's swim lesson at the American base, we went grocery shopping in what seemed like a small slice of the US -- prices in dollars, American brands, the ability to return items. It was surreal. I wonder how they get everything here. Are we really using our tax dollars to airlift fruit loops and Oscar Meyer wieners to American families stationed overseas? I wonder whose job it is to take care of the Ore Ida french fries shipment each month...

In the afternoon we had a delicious lunch and joined the girls for their siesta (yay!) because Mom, Dad and Kate had all stayed up too late the night before. For the rest of the afternoon we played on the swings, enjoyed dripping sparkles all over the house from some bangles I brought from India, played with Play-doh, and otherwise relaxed and had fun. It was so great to unwind and chat with friends big and small. Tomorrow, it's off to church and then the park -- a stunning expanse in front of an 18th century castle. If we are good in Church, there might even be a trip to the gelateria. (I plan to be perfectly well-behaved.) I can already tell it will be a great day.

In lovely Caserta, a Casa Woods

The Italian train service staff were on strike today, but they graciously scheduled the strike in advance so that you knew which trains were running before you bought your ticket. Thanks to this clever and thoughtful approach, I made it to Caserta today only 15 minutes behind schedule. It is so nice to be among friends, and not only because I feel safe walking around barefoot for the first time in 15 days or so. Emilia and Frederick live about 40 minutes from Naples. They are both FANTASTIC cooks and they have three charming daughters -- Olivia, who is 4 and much taller than last year, and the twins Isabella and Sophia, who now have a mop of black hair and a significantly larger vocabulary. I have yet to spring the finger paints and play-doh on them, mainly because I was afraid to be tossed out of the house before nightfall, but I hope we can get into messy fun things tomorrow. I will also take some photos to share how adorable they are. I almost fell over laughing today -- Isabella and Sophia use the (clean) bidet as a mini-sink to wash up before dinnertime. There is nothing funnier than seeing this brilliant American approach to European plumbing, especially by such small citizens. I think the soap they were using was bigger than their heads! I'll try to catch them with a photo tomorrow,