Leo’s new stroller

Do you remember Leo’s baby carriage?

Et voilà, now it has turned into a stroller!

Mr. Tall

Yesterday Leo went to the pediatrician for his monthly control. Apparently with his 70 cm height he is taller than the average at his age.

Se il buon giorno si vede dal mattino (if you can tell a good day from the morning), Leo will grow as tall as his dad…

Ps: today Leo is seven month old - happy monthyversary, Leo!

Les M&M's al Concerto di Jovanotti

Jovanotti may perhaps not be as talented as Conte or De Gregori, his voice may not be as poweful as that of Battisti or Morandi, and his texts may perhaps not be as profound as those of De Andrè or Guccini - but his songs belong somehow to us.

I always recognized myself in the words of ‘Ragazzo fortunato’, and Mathilde has loved ‘Questo è l’ombelico del mondo’ from the first time she listened to it, in Ethiopia.

But all his songs in a way or another remind us a moment, a trip, a person. And so ‘Chissà se stai dormendo’ is part of the soundtrack of our (Silvia, Fabio, Eugenio and me) trip to Prague in the summer of 1993. We all have the refrains of ‘Io penso positivo’ and of ‘Piove’, or that of ‘Ciao mamma’ in our ears. And you cannot not have a throb when you listen to ‘Per te’.

And even the most recent songs - ‘Ora’, ‘Le tasche piene di sassi’, ‘La bella vita’, ‘The sound of sunshine’ - are part of us by now.

Thanks Mathilde for this nice present, thanks for this beautiful night. I do believe that lo spettacolo più grande dopo il big bang siamo noi…

Young again for one night (2)

Let’s be sincere: our evenings have not being particularly exciting lately. I usually come back home around 6.30/7 pm and take over from Mathilde in taking care of Leo, and while I do play with him, Mathilde finishes to work. Then it’s bath-time, and while I bath Leo, Mathilde prepares his meal. Then while either Mathilde or I feed Leo, the other prepares our dinner. Dinner, and while one puts Leo to sleep, the other washes the dishes. If we still have a bit of energy we send a couple of emails or update the Blog, otherwise we go straight to bed, exhausted - I usually can’t finish a whole Economist’s article (Mathilde is a bit better than me and reads a bit longer…)

But yesterday evening we became young again: Mathilde left Leo to Claudia, our babysitter (we would need to write a post to Claudia soon) and called me: “I’ll be at the Laurentina metro station in half-hour”. And in half-hour I was there to pick her up: skirt and boots (wow!), and then direction Palalottomattica, the Rome’ sport arena. Two hot dogs (ref. yesterday’s post), and then my birthday present: two tickets to Jovanotti’s concert.

And after two hours and half of energy and fun, back home, well after midnight, eager to watch Leo sleeping in his bed, but happy to have been young again for one night…

Young again for one night

What do Mathilde and Matteo do in front of a sport arena on Tuesday night with two hot dogs?

And where is Leo? (he is not taking the picture).

Tomorrow the answers…

Leo’s likes and dislikes (2)

Leo likes:

- Chewing labels
- Observing lifting up and letting the shutters down

Ps: please note the thick hair that are growing on Leo's head. Emily, tu ne pourras plus dire que Leo est chauve!

Done

…and tomorrow I’ll go to the orthopedist to be reproached…

W la pa-pa-pa-pappa con gli spi-spi-spi-spinaci

Leo on his new high-chair

Campo Felice

The discovery of Abruzzo continues, and after the Corno Grande in September, today I discovered Campo Felice, a skiing resort just 113 Km from Rome (thanks Federico for the hint).

The ski runs are not as long as those in the Alps, but still quite varied and a few challenging enough.

Perfect snow and sunny day made the rest.

What bliss!

Leo in Paris

Frau Constance

I remember I was once flying from Africa to Europe, and I ended up in a flight with about thirty African kids, between four and eight year sold.

‘Oh my God - I thought - this is going to be a long flight…’

I couldn’t be more wrong. During the eight hour flight I could not hear a pin drop. All the kids have been quiet at their seats for the entire duration of the flight, sleeping, playing with a toy, or reading something. Not a scream, a moan, or a complaint.

Since then I have become a profound admirer of the African educational system. To the extent that I promised myself that whenever I had had a child, I would have sent him or her every year for a few months in a Masai camp, so that he or she could learn behaving.

But once again I was wrong. I recently discovered it is actually not necessary to send our child to Africa to teach him to behave. It is sufficient to send him for a few days to Paris at Constance’s.

Leonardo just came back from Paris a few days ago, and while before leaving he was somehow naughty, often whimpering when we put him to bed or waking up during night, since he came back he seems another baby: he goes straight to bed at 9 pm without complaining or opposing resistance, he does sleep soundly the whole night, he eats everything we give him. In sum, as good as an African kid.

We don’t know what Constance did to him during his stay in Paris, but whatever you did, thank you Frau Constance - German discipline in a French cover...

The new Country Program Manager for Iran

As Pakistan and Afghanistan were probably not challenging enough, as of today I am given the responsibility for Iran as well.

What to say? That I hope that these would represent credits in my favour, and that on the next rotation I will be assigned the Maldives (and perhaps be outposted…)

The best sea food meal in a long time!

Discovering the Pontine Marshes

Today les M&M’s took a day off, left Leo to Claudia, our baby-sitter, got into their car, and drove south.

And driving, driving, they reached the sand beaches of the Agro-Pontino (the Pontine Marshes), a former marshland drained and reclaimed under the Mussolini’s regime in the 1930s, and now a suggestive plain separated from the sea by sand dunes. Pretty wild (at least on a February's Monday).

And driving further south, they finally bumped into the Mount Circeo, an isolated mountain promontory, today national park, but in the past said to be the home of the sorceress Circe. Here the legend says Odysseus accidentally landed on his way back to Ithaca, and then spent a year after having saved his crew from Circe’ spells.

Charmed, we will probably return for a relaxing week-end in the summer…

Leo e zio Riccardo

“If you don’t behave, the evil witch will come”. “If you don’t finish your soup, I’ll call the Babau”…

Each family has its own deterrent to enforce discipline among their children.

In our case, our Babau is ‘zio Riccardo*’.

“Leo, if you don’t go straight to bed, you’ll see zio Riccardo!”

And zio Riccardo came to visit us on Saturday. Thank-you zio Riccardo for having passed by. Have a safe trip back, and see you in Beirut, hopefully soon J

(*) Ref. Our Guardian Angel; Riccardo la Bestia; Voices from the Thar Desert; Bambino e Trinità; Matteo and Riccardo.

When you start getting older

When, at your birthday party, you realize there are more children than adults among your guests. And when your child receives more presents than you!

The end of my marathon runner career?

At the beginning it was just a light pain, a pinching on the external part of my knee, and did not pay much attention, because when you prepare a marathon you learn to cope with pain.

But then, suddenly and unexpectedly, the pain burst, as if someone threaded a knife on the side of my knee, and could not bent it anymore, could hardly climb or get down the stairs, and had problems even to walk.

The first time it went over in a couple of days, and I didn’t bother too much. I reduced a bit the number of kilometers and the intensity of my trainings, to give time to my body to recover. But the second time I got scared.

And unfortunately the orthopedist’s diagnosis confirmed my fears: ilio-tibial band syndrome. Prognosis: 20-30 days of rest and physiotherapy (but it may take months to be completely recovered).

With six weeks left to the Rome marathon, this basically means I will not be able to run it.

And I don’t know what bothers me more: the fact that I will not be able to run this race that I have been meticulously preparing for almost six months, the fact that I had to interrupt the preparation just when I got very fit (last week I was literally flying) - and who knows how long it will take to be back in good form, or the fact that this is an unequivocal sign of the fact that we are getting old…

Il tempo passa, noi restiamo...

Washington, February 2005

Rome, February 2012

Chance encounters

Snow in Rome (3) - Federica’ shots

I conclude the reportage of the snowfall in Rome by posting these pictures by Federica.

Fede, has anyone ever told you you have the photographer ‘touch’?

Snow in Rome (2)

I don’t know why, but snow pulls out the ‘childest’ part in each of us: with the snow, everyone becomes child again, and cities transform themselves in enormous playgrounds…

Snow in Rome

Giardino degli Aranci

Snow in Rome is somehow magic.

And it little matters the troubles that it creates.

It little matters for instance that I got stuck in the traffic jam for six hours and half, proceeding at the speed of 800 m (800 m!) per hour. Or that we don’t know whether Mathilde’s tomorrow flight to Paris will be able to leave (and even in case it will, whether we would be able to reach Fiumicino, the airport).

Perhaps because so rare, perhaps because so abundant, snow in Rome is still somehow magic…

Circo Massimo

It’s snowing!

Leo’s likes and dislikes

Leo likes:

- Having his bath
- Looking at himself in the mirror
- Dancing (or, better, being in the arms of someone who dances)
- Portuguese
- Lights
- Apples and pears (but it seems he is allergic to both)

Leo does not like:

- Being dressed
- Being undressed
- Being kissed
- Staying on his belly
- The noise of the mixer
- French beans (green beans)

By the way, today Leo is six month old. Happy sixiversary, Leo!

Twins

Leo and Riccardo. Both born on August 2. Twins de facto. And hopefully future good friends…

At Steve McCurry’s (2)

Believe it or not, Leo has been very attentive, interested, and excited during the whole exhibition.

I dreamt of a career as football player for him, but perhaps he will end up being a photo-journalist…

At Steve McCurry’s

Today we went to the MACRO, the Rome’s Contemporary Art Museum, to a photo exhibition dedicated to Steve McCurry. Even those who do not know McCurry by name, they must know him by fame: he is the author of the famous portrait of the Afghan girl with the green eyes that appeared on the National Geographic cover 17 years ago.

And have to say that the exhibition is really worth: literally a journey, made of more than 200 pictures taken over 30 years, through the colors, the cultures, the recent history of several countries - from Afghanistan to India, from Pakistan to Myanmar, to Kuwait, Cambodia, Tibet, and many many others - with, as guiding thread, human beings and the human condition.

With over 200 pictures displayed, it was difficult to pick our favourite one. Mathilde liked this one, taken in the Hunan Province in China, which portraits Buddhist monks on training. I had few that, for a reason or another, I liked very much - but the one that stroke me the most is this one, shot in Peru. The image on the web does not reproduce the dramatic power of the real photo, but I can assure you I shuddered in front of it.

If you are in Rome, we do recommend you to go before it ends - it is on until April 29. And if you come to visit us, we will be happy to take you to see it and to see it again... J

The saga continues - Episode IV: A New Hope

Patroni Griffi - Ministro della Funzione Pubblica

From today’s La Repubblica: “Stop alla burocrazia. Semplificazione, la promessa di Patroni Griffi: certificati anagrafici in tempo reale. Il provvedimento domani al vaglio del Consiglio dei ministri. Alla vigilia del varo del decreto sulle semplificazioni il ministro per Funzione Pubblica Filippo Patroni Griffi, entra nel dettaglio del provvedimento: lo scambio dei dati tra le amministrazioni per via telematica consentirà di avere in tempi reali alcuni importanti atti di stato civile, dal cambio di residenza alle trascrizioni degli atti di stato civile, come il matrimonio e la nascita”.

There is every indication that our Minister Patroni Griffi is a secret follower of our Blog...

Problem solved

Dear followers, it seems our technical problem has been solved. You should be able to post again your comments now, and we should be able to respond to them.

Please, let us know if you still encounter difficulties in posting or reading comments on the Blog.

The world is small

The world is small. No, we are not talking about Anne, our neighbour at the Dorchester House in DC, who came to visit us for a few days.

We are talking about Anne, who came to visit us for a few days, who - while wandering about Trastevere - accidentally met a friend of her from the US who had not met for more than two years.

The world is small indeed!