Saturday in Rome: recharging the batteries

The thought had been to hire a car and go out of Rome for the weekend but it all seems too hard with a baby - and Kathryn is tired, Sophie is out-of-sorts and there are thunderstorms predicted north of Rome.

I had a bit of much-needed sleep-in today but not so for Kathryn; I could hear baby noises while I rolled over and got a bit more shut-eye. The luxury of being a Nonna as opposed to a Mama!

We went to Mò Mò Republic for lunch with Kathryn's friends Per and Carolyn and their 3 kids and Per's mother who is staying for 4-5 weeks from Sweden; Mò Mò is an over-the-top villa surrounded by extensive gardens with play areas for the kids, sofas and a pool.

We arrived early and Sophie was grumpy so we hoped that walking around would provide an opportunity for her to get a sleep. 

Opposite Mò Mò is a run-down institute: part of the Hospital San Camillo–Forlanini complex which is one of the leading oncology centres in Italy.

We walked in and along some of the old corridors (nobody there to stop us): originally this was used as a sanatorium. 

It has certainly seen better days but must have once been an amazing building; it is a simply enormous complex which apparently was built in 1934 and named after Carlo Forlanini who was an Italian physician (and the elder brother of aviation pioneer Enrico Forlanini - never heard of him!); Carlo specialised in the research of tuberculosis and respiratory disorders and devised the artificial pneumothorax for the treatment of TB, no longer used. The grounds are park-like and are quite extensive but sadly not maintained.

We walked home after lunch - a long distance but our tummies were full of pasta. Sophie had again enjoyed herself eating pasta and bits of fruit.

We stopped along the way in Piazza Testaccio as Sophie had woken.

She played on the ground on her mat and crawled about picking up leaves and practising her standing with the help of the park seat (attracting curious looks from other kids playing nearby and adults walking through).

We have arrived home and will most likely stay in and have an early night. Kathryn and Sophie have Skyped daddy in Panama (who flies out to Cuba tomorrow) and just now they have both ‘conked out’ and are asleep on their bed (7:45 p.m.).