Rome the Au Pair Way

Left. Right. Left. Right. I left my wife with forty-three children…..This is the song the girls and I were singing Saturday as we walked through Piazza del Popolo righting holding hands and walking in unison. I remember my Mom teaching me this song as we walked to the Lodi pool and being fascinated that my left foot went down each time the song said left. The chant came in handy as I was trying to keep track three little girls in the heart of Rome.

To make up for the days I will not be working when I go to the Swiss Temple in December, I am spending some Saturdays with the girls. Last Saturday I took the girls to the children’s museum Explora. The girls loved it.

Afterward we met my friend Stine on Via del Corso for lunch and together walked along the Roman streets until we found a sweet restaurant. The girls were absolutely thrilled to go to a sit down restaurant without their parents. Dinner arrived (as usual was totally delish) and we had a blast eating and chatting.

After dinner we had extra money left over for gelato. Of all the places in Rome to buy gelato, the girls wanted to go to McDonalds. So we walked almost all the way down Via del Corso until we reached the McDonalds next to Fontana di Trevi. The girls enjoyed their gelato filled with M&Ms as we walked back to the train station. I on the other hand was completely stressed. Having grown up in this city the girls have no fear for the crowds of people or hundreds of winding streets. It was a Saturday evening and the streets were filled with people. I was constantly counting, making sure everyone was close. An immense relief washed over me when we reached the train station.

The girls had never ridden the train before. I handed them each a ticket and they thought it was absolutely astounding when the machine sucked in their ticket and the doors quickly slid open for them. We hopped on the train and their eyes opened wide as the screeching noises started. Joy peered out the window the whole time; she didn’t want to get off at our stop. All three girls said the train was their favorite part of the day.

I was a beautifully warm day filled with fun activities, but slightly stressful to keep an eye on everyone (which is the reason there are no pictures). I think I will wait a while before I take them back to the city by myself. Maybe next time we’ll just go for a train ride.