Week 48 - Finally at the hairdresser's

Finally we had time to go to the hairdresser's one afternoon when it had rained so much that we couldn't go horse riding. We went to Ostia where we have a hairdresser where you don't need to make any appointment, you just go inside and wait. But it was closed. So we found another one and as we looked closer at it we found out that it was a Chinese one. The girls didn't want to go there in the first place, they were a bit suspicious and thought that they were able to do only chinese haircuts. But in we went and I must say that it was much better than our usual one. And very inexpensive it was, as well.
Here's a photo of me and Carlotta with our new haircuts. Sofia didn't want her photo taken, but she was very cute. She let them thin her hair out quite a bit because she thought it was too puffy.

Week 47 - Carlotta's first riding competition

On Saturday it was finally time for Carlotta to have her first riding competition. The first time is always the most exciting one! It was a dressage competition. She partecipated with the pony Angel and everything went well. She won the sixth place and was so happy about the day and said that she would have liked to do it all over again.

Week 46 - Week-end in Turin

We had a nice week-end in Turin this week. Armando ran the marathon there. He had won a free registration to the marathon and a night in a nice hotel in the centre of Turin.
I had never been to Turin and had imagined it would be a bigger and more chaotic town. I was surpriced that it had this small town feeling and that you could easily walk and see the whole town by foot. It's also a very elegant town with all its chocolate shops and beautiful cafés. When we arrived there on Saturday it rained a lot. One good thing about Turin is that the whole centre of is full of arcades to walk under, so you didn't get wet.
The Egyptian museum in Turin has a very big and important collection. We went to see it on Saturday when it was raining and the whole family found it interesting. Especially the sight of the mummies was quite an experience.

We got to know a nice couple at the welcoming cocktail in the hotel and had a nice dinner with them in a Sicilian restaurant near our hotel. They had a 10-year-old boy and although he wasn't quite the same age as Sofia, Carlotta and Daniele, they also had a good time with this family. Hope to see them again at another marathon trip!

The marathon was on Sunday and the weather was good that day. I ran the 7,5 km Stracittadina run that started right after the marathon. No one of my children wanted to join me, so I went alone. I hadn't been running as much as during spring and summer, but I managed to run quite a bit of it. When I got tired I walked and took some photos of the beautiful park we ran through. 

I think also the surroundings of Turin would be worth seeing, but maybe another time! Sunday evening we had the flight back to Rome.

Week 45 - Walk on the beach

This week there was a weather alert in Rome and the schools were closed one day. It did rain, but fortunately it wasn't as bad as the weather forecast had foreseen. The next day me and Carlotta had breakfast and a walk on the beach in Ostia. The sea is always affascinating and beautiful, also in autumn and winter.

Week 44 - Halloween

Carlotta had a Halloween competition with the ponies at the riding school. Then me and Carlotta went trick or treating with a friend of hers and had dinner with them and Sofia remained at the riding stables where they had a Halloween dinner.
We made small ghosts and hung them in our apricot tree.

Week 43 - Beautiful sunsets

This week the sky turned really beautiful when the sun went down. All those colours! Our riding school is a good place to see beautiful sunsets and here is one of them.

Week 42 - Week-end in Alviano

Time to catch up with this year's week photos!
Week 42, which was in the middle of October, we came back from Chicago and me, Sofia and Carlotta spent the week-end in Alviano in Umbria where Sofia had a show jumping competition. We found a flat a couple of kilometres from the horse stables, where we slept together with our friends. We saw beautiful sunsets, I went out jogging in the countryside once, we cooked good meals in our flat and also had dinner in a nice restaurant nearby.
Sofia got two third places and one day went not so well, but we had a good time.

Merry Christmas

I have sent self made christmas cards every year with a printed christmas photo of my children. But this year I just didn't make it. My eldest one, Daniele didn't want to pose for the photo amd I was too busy working to insist or to create something from other photos that I have of them, so this was what I came out with this year. I had some fun testing the bokeh effect. And this year I sent out my Christmas greetings only electronically. But I guess it's better than nothing! Merry Christmas!

Week 41 - Chicago

This was the week we went to Chicago. Now it's time for me to tell and show more of our trip there. In the photo above we are up on the sky terrace of America's highest skyscraper, the Willis Tower. There is a glass terrace where you can see the whole city under you. Quite scaring if you look down, but we all managed to go there, although I'm very afraid of hights.

Our flight to Chicago with Swissair was very nice and comfortable. We watched lots of films, I read my book and once in a while they brought us something to eat - dinner, swiss chocolate, ice cream, ecc. The food was very good, too.
Our hotel was a small Best Wetern hotel and we had a big room. There was a self service breakfast with cereals, pancakes, peanut butter, maple syrup, muffins, ecc. in a small room and you could eat it in the cosy lobby or you could take it into your room or, if the weather had been warmer, out in the garden.

One thing that surpriced me was that people were so friendly in such a big city. There were different situations were their helpfulness really surpriced me. They also have a very nice way to wish you a nice day when you go to a shop, to a coffee shop or a restaurant and that puts you in a good mood.
So what did we do in Chicago besides eating delicious hamburgers, cakes and muffins? We also tried the Chicago deep dish pizza in a famous restaurant near our hotel, which included a lot of waiting, but the pizza was very good. It's a very thick pizza with lots of ingredients inside.

Then we went shopping.

Watched Armando's marathon.

 Went to the free Lincoln Park Zoo while Armando was having a rest in the hotel.

 Watched the skyline from different places and angles.

Went to see the Bean, or the Cloud Gate and other interesting statues and monuments in the Millennium Park.

And just strolled around the city.

On our last evening we had dinner with other Italian marathoners in the Chicago House of Blues.

Week 40 - Sofia's 14th birthday

This week was Sofia's 14th birthday. We made a cake for the riding school and had a little celebration there after our lesson. We had to interrupt our riding lesson as it started raining hard, so we went in to the clubhouse for a piece of cake. Then in the evening we went out eating to our usual Pizzeria near our house and came home for the birthday cake and the presents. Sofia likes the birthday cakes I make most and has become very good at making them herself. We made it together. Maybe it wasn't the most beautiful birthday cake in the world, but it tasted very good!
Sofia is right in her teens now and not always easy to reach and talk with, but I'm so glad that we have a common hobby, horse riding, so we can spend lots of time together. Also the relationship between her and the horse and all her riding friends is so positive, I hope it will last!

Week 39 - Club competition at the riding school

This summer had been very variable and unusually rainy here in Rome, but September was beautiful, warm and sunny. This week we had a nice Sunday at our riding school with a little club competition and lunch afterwards. We spent the whole day there.

Week 38 - Back to school

Schools started in Rome on the 15th of September. This year Carlotta went to the 4th grade of the Elementary School. They had moved to another building and Carlotta doesn't like changes, so she was a bit nervous about it. Sofia had a bigger change because she started High School (liceo). The only suitable linguistic high school is in Eur, so it will be much more complicated than last year. The distance to school is about 15 km and the biggest problem is that the buses don't go very often. Daniele continued in the same high school as last year and started the 3rd grade there. His school is closer and Armando works very close to his school, which makes it very easy for him to get to school in the morning and even back home as Armando comes home for lunch.

Week 37 - Sperlonga

The firts week of September I booked for two nights at camping site in Sperlonga and went there with Sofia's and Carlotta's friends. Sunny weather, lovely beach, beautiful sunsets and an ice cream in the centre of Sperlonga. We really needed it before starting work and school! More photos here.