Unforeseeable

During my time in Italy, one thing that's been consistent is that I never know what's going to happen next.  It was that way when I stayed in Pescosolido, it was that way when I stayed in Sicily, and it's still that way now that I'm here with the family in Rome.  For example, I just learned yesterday that the grandparents were visiting again today.  (I don't yet know how long they are staying, but it's always a pleasure to have them.)  Then, this morning after we'd been playing with the boys for a couple of hours, Mariacarla returned home from the store and announced we would be going to the zoo.  Well!  That totally changed my expectations of the day.  Since we usually stay at home -- and always wear the same house pants -- I hadn't bothered to change from the same t-shirt and sweatshirt that I'd slept in the night before.  I quickly changed and then we were loaded up with a backpack full of provisions: food, drink, warm sweatshirts, soccer balls, antibacterial gel, and mosquito spray (even in November!)

The zoo!

We spent several fun hours at Bioparco Roma.  The bliss of being outside on a beautiful day was only interrupted a few times.  First, Pietro managed to kick his soccer ball directly under the carousel by the play area.  No one was riding it at the time, so the poor carousel operator came out to help us retrieve it.  He was such a kind man; he spent at least five minutes trying to reach the ball which was nearly at the center of the platform.  In the end, he had to tie a large stick to the end of a broom in order to reach it.  That put an end to the ball games.

After that incident, we decided to eat lunch.  The picnic area is called "Oasi del Lago" but it wasn't a very relaxing oasis today.  There were peacocks everywhere.  Very, very bold peacocks who didn't run away when I shouted and clapped in their face.  Very, very rude peacocks who jumped up on the picnic table and scared the boys to death.  We had to change locations two or three times, and still Pietro, all of six years old, ended up sitting in my lap for fear that a bird would come and bite him.

Last of all, as you already know if you read my Facebook status, I lost my sunglasses.  I was holding up Pietro (I see theme emerging here) to see some little prairie-dog-type-creatures, when he gave me an enthusiastic hug and knocked my glasses right into the animal habitat.  I looked in dismay at my favorite pair (my only pair, currently) lying in the dirt.  One curious creature actually ran up to inspect.  I begged it to hand me back my sunglasses, but it didn't seem to understand.  I would have asked some zoo employee to help us, but there was none to be found.  There was, however, a convenient and unattended utility truck with a couple of brooms and a dustpan.  I don't even want to think about where those brooms had been, because I grabbed one, stuck over the wall and past the low-lying electric fence, and used it to scoop my sunglasses into the dustpan.  No one said anything, and I calmly returned the borrowed equipment and deposited my sunglasses into the bag of toys (and squinted into the sun for the rest of the day).  I washed them thoroughly later.

Who knows what adventures tomorrow holds!