The most wonderful time of the year

A friend has told me several times that spring is the best time of year in Rome.  Spring is certainly spectacular.  We missed it last year because we left in March and didn't get back until August, just in time for school to start.  In spring the leaves come back to the trees and the wildflowers bloom.  I particularly like the bright red poppies that grow like weeds in any place they can, on top of walls, between train tracks, in parks and open spaces.  They are everywhere and so happy looking.

When things started to open up a bit we went to the Circo Massimo VR/AR thing.  Circo Massimo is a big open space in the historical center where ancient Roman's used to race chariots, summer concerts are held, and where Jack's PE class goes to exercise.  His campus is nearby.  It is big enough for a tennis court, but rather small for running around.  It is a lovely open spot in the city between the Palatine and Aventine hills.  There isn't much there really, a few ruins including a Medieval tower, a tall Cyprus tree where there used to be an obelisk, and a large open space where kids play ball, and people exercise and walk their dogs.  That's where the VR and AR comes in.  It was fun to see what the site might have looked like when the stadium was there and the chariots were racing.

In the spring the Spanish Steps are lined with pink and white azaleas.  It is a tradition that goes back 80 years or more.  Each year the blooming flowers are brought out from the city nurseries to decorate the steps and taken to their off season home a few weeks later.  I'm told that it is to commemorate the birthday of Rome on April 21.  Rome is officially 2774 years old this spring, but it's really just an estimate.  This year the flowers came out, but the other traditional festivities were cancelled.  

One thing that didn't change was the long slog through spring time school.  Even with the breaks in February and April it felt like a long time until the end of school in mid-June.  The kids were able to attend school in person for most of the year.  Jack was home the most, a few weeks in the fall and a few in the spring, plus a day a week for most of the year.  The HS seniors didn't take their IB exams this year so they finished early and graduated at the end of April.  With the seniors gone the other students were able to attend full time through the end of the year and the school could still comply with the 75% capacity requirement for high schools.  "Labs" were mostly allowed to continue in person and somehow My Boy's drama class fell into that category, so he happily walked to drama after days of online school.  They even put on a play that was streamed online.  It is better in person, but it was fun to see the kids perform.  My Boy is part of the tech crew that helps with props, lights, etc.  He isn't interested in performing in front of the audience but really likes being part of the production team.  My favorite part was a little glimpse of My Boy at the end, after the bows, sweeping up a prop that was intentionally broken during the play.  It's sweet.

screenshot from the play stream

It reminded my husband of the guy from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons when we were kids.

Middle school was mostly open and in-person.  Evelyn played on the middle school soccer team this year.  Pandemic soccer was interesting.  They had to wear masks during after school work outs and didn't have games with other schools.  They would team up with the HS girls to get enough players to scrimmage.  On other days they would play co-ed games with the boys' team.  During the weeks school was at home practices continued with virtual workouts and skill drills.  She did these from the nearby park or on our tiny balcony.  It was OK, but much better to be in person.  Even with the limitations she had a great time.  She needs the time outside with friends.  Since she took the late bus home we were able to stop by our favorite gelato place where she stops for the usual.  She doesn't even need to order anymore.  It's always the same and the nice women who work there know exactly what she wants, fior di panna con panna.

Some days we don't go anywhere or do anything.  At the end of the week the kids need a day to do nothing after a busy week of long school days.

When the museums reopened I went to the Capitoline museum with a friend.  We hired a tour guide to tell us about the museum and the things on display.  The museum started in the late 1400s when the pope started collecting the Roman marbles that littered the city and coverted a palace to a museum.  Below one of the buildings is a long hallway that connects the two parts of the museum.  The arched hallway is open and overlooks the forum.  It is quite a spectacular view.  This corridor and the arches are Roman.  The palace museums and piazza above are mostly Medieval and rebuilt.  Michelangelo was commissioned in the 1500s to rebuild and revitalize the Medieval buildings which had fallen into disrepair.  Prior to that, the Capitoline hill was the center of ancient Rome.  Temples for Juno, Vulcan, and other ancient deities were on site starting in the 8th century BC.  These structures are long gone.

Ancient and more recent layout of the Capitoline hill

Each spring the rose garden is open.  It is also the time for the prestigious Premio Roma, an international rose competition.  There are roses that have been there for a long time, then there is the competition section for the roses to be judged.  This isn't just a quick thing.  Two years before the competition the new roses are planted so that they have time to grow and establish themselves before judging.  It is truly spectacular.  There were many beautiful roses, but I had a few favorites.  The best section overall was the section for the competition on fragrance.  It smelled amazing!  Some of the classically beautiful roses didn't have a lot of fragrance, but these more than made up for it. 

The garden is on the side of the Aventine hill overlooking Circo Massimo with a view of the Palatine.  There is a sad history to the spot.  The garden was formerly the site of the city's Jewish cemetery.  The cemetery was moved out of the historical center and the garden established in the 1930s during the rise of fascism in Italy.  The original garden was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt after the war.  The layers of history continue.

Roses with a view of the Palatine

The best smelling Roses in the garden

With things opening up a bit we were able to get together with friends who live on the edge of town near the Appia Antica, one of the ancient roads leading out of the city.  When we visit we often take a walk or bike ride along the Appia.  It is beautiful and open.  Our friends have extra bikes so there is one for My Girl to use.  She loves to ride, but we didn't bring our bikes with us.  The kids really enjoy visiting the friendly farm dogs who wander the neighborhood and the goats are fun too.  There are some fences, but few enough that the goats are free to roam.  Some wear bells on wide wooden collars so you can hear them coming and going.

We took another Saturday afternoon to ride bikes around Villa Borghese.  It's a beautiful park and a nice place for bike ride.  The park seems big when you are on foot, but less so when riding.  There are several stands where you can rent bikes by the hour.  The day we went the park was busy.  After a winter and much of the spring inside everyone seemed happy to be out.

Our church youth group usually has a summer camp for the teenage girls, but none of the girls in our congregation could go, so the leaders improvised a weekend of glamping with the four girls and their moms.  We had a great dinner together with massive plates of pasta, played games, and stayed overnight at the leader's house.  The games were well chosen since not all of the girls speak the same language.  We played Pit and a dice game that worked well.  Anything with reading or too much talking would have been tricky.  The next day we went to the zoo at Villa Borghese.  The zoo originally opened in 1911, but has had its ups and downs since then.  It was extensively renovated in the late 1990s and reopened in the early 2000s.  The girls loved the reptile house and aviary.  The giraffes, tigers, hippos bears, and orangutan were also favorites.

Spring time also brings tax day.  John has been in California for tax season since January and planned to return a few days after the deadline.  Unfortunately, the deadline was extended by a month so it was another month without him.  We've done OK with a lot of Facetime calls, but it is more jolly around here when he is home.  Definitely more singing and impromptu dance parties.