Befana: Eli's last hurrah

Above: Eli enjoying a ride on the carousel.
Below: Eli plays in the fire truck inside the Explora Museum.


Above & Below: Eli and Caroline at the Explora Museum.


Above & Below: Fantastic pics of the Pantheon courtesy of Sam.


Above & Below: Views from our apartment in Rome.


Above: The Befana Feste in Piazza Navona
Below: Eli and Sam and Caroline ride the carousel.



Here we are finally getting the chance to catch up on our blog entries. I thought I'd start with our trip to Rome at the beginning of January where we got to celebrate Befana with Eli. Befana is primarily a children's holiday for Italians. It's the twelfth day of Xmas, January 6th. Italians have traditionally exchanged gifts on this day instead of December 25th (but now the British/American holiday traditions of Santa, etc, are becoming more popular). The Befana story has it that the three wise men stopped at a good witch's house for a respite on their way to meet baby Jesus. After their stay, they invited the witch to come along on their journey, but she declined. Once they left, she immediately regretted her decision and set off to find the baby Jesus on her own. Since she didn't know how to recognize the baby Jesus, she gave gifts to every baby she met on her way in case he/she was "the One". So now the witch comes on the night of Jan 5th and leaves candy and gifts for all Italian children.

In Rome there's a large fair in Piazza Navona to celebrate Befana and we had fun taking in the scene. I must say I'm getting pretty good at finding us accommodations wherever we go. This three night stay in Rome may have been the best yet. We stayed in a very elegant apartment on the fifth floor of a building with a view of the Tevere toward St. Peters. The apartment had a beautiful wrap-around balcony to take in the view. With comfortable accommodations, it was easy to take it slow and concentrate on Eli's fun (his last hurrah before baby brother arrived).

The first day we ate at a restaurant called La Campana. Really great food! I had artichoke ravioli in a pink sauce and Sam had papperdelle with a rabbit meat sauce. Both very tasty. We each followed that up with a fried seafood mix with a fried artichoke on the side - both of which were as light and fluffy as can be.

That night, and every night of our stay, we headed to Piazza Navona for the fair. Eli fell in love with the carousel. We rode the horses three or four times every night. There was food and trinkets and street performers galore.

The next day we went to the Explora Children's Museum. It was a hit! We expected a bit of a shabby science museum, but instead we were treated to a very modern toddler's play space/museum that's on par with some of the larger Children's Museums in the states. Eli played to his heart's content and then we went out for some Neopolitan pizza at Pizza Re. Heavenly!

Our next morning was spent at the zoo in the Villa Borgese. The zoo was a bit shabby, as expected, but Eli happily got his first live glimpse of all the animals we've been reading about in his books. He had a blast. That night we went for a nice hearty meal a very neighborhoody place around the corner from Piazza Navona. After dinner I finally got to try the famous Tartufo dessert at Tre Scalini. It's shameful that I've been here a year and half and haven't tried one yet - especially considering the gelato buff that I've become. Delicious!

Our last day in Rome was spent in doctor's appointments, but it was nice to see the doctor again and get a 36 week update on the pregnancy. Tutto benisimo.

After we got home from Rome it was time to start nesting and getting ready for the new baby. More to come on that topic in our next post.

Love to all...
The Savages