Bioparco Roma
on Wednesday, we met up with our friends at Rome's zoo, which is called Bioparco (Biopark). this gave us an opportunity to take our first tram (which conveniently uses the same tickets as the bus and the metro). of course, we arrived at the Piazza del Risorgimento just as one tram was leaving, but another immediately pulled up behind it and we got settled on board. it was certainly less crowded than the buses we've taken, but not exactly built for speed. still, it was a lovely way to see an area of the city we haven't explored on foot yet.
after fifteen minutes on the tram, we disembarked at the Aldrovandi stop, as per my Google maps instructions. we had passed a parking lot with big signs for the Bioparco at the bottom of a hill, and were now standing about halfway up the hill. i had a feeling that if we continued up to the top of the hill, we'd find the main entrance, but on the other hand, i knew that there was a way in at the bottom of the hill. so back down we went, and of course then had to climb back up the hill from inside the enclosure to reach the entrance gate. and i discovered later that there is a tram stop just up the hill from the entrance gate and it's even called Bioparco. what the heck, Google maps?
anyway, we were soon rewarded for our climb by the most impressive zoo entrance i've ever seen. Greta was more intrigued by the big PJ Masks and Peppa Pig balloons that were being sold in a corner of the parking lot, but i managed to convince her to come inside the zoo. we spied our friends in the queue for annual memberships (abbonamente) and i joined them. the membership pays for itself after two visits and i'm sure we'll go there plenty of times. our membership photos still make me laugh, as the camera captured the other people in the queue for posterity along with ourselves.
we meandered around the zoo for a bit, watching the animals. it's a small to medium-sized zoo but still has the requisite elephants, tigers, lions, and zebras, along with several kinds of monkeys, a farm animal exhibit, seals, and a reptile house (which we didn't explore on this visit). mostly, we just enjoyed each other's company. i think Greta in particular misses playing with kids her own age -- between her best buddies at daycare, friends at church, neighbor kids, and more friends in our Catholic mom's group back home, she had quite the social life. i'm looking into registering her for preschool here at a beautiful old school literally steps away from the Vatican -- more on that later!
the girls were all delighted to discover several playgrounds with swingsets, including this huge Noah's Ark themed play structure with a multi-level wooden boat, rope bridges and rope swings, tunnels and all kinds of secret little passageways.
we had a little picnic lunch near the small lake (PB&J for us, supplemented with a bag of Crik Crok chips i bought from the little cafe) and then walked on to see some more animals. at certain exhibits (like the lion and the leopard), they had signs posted quoting passages from the Bible that refer to that animal. i just love it.
we had to leave the zoo by 2:30 to allow plenty of time to get back to our apartment before the repairman came to fix the leaking air conditioning unit at 3:30, so we caught the tram back together (at the very convenient Bioparco stop, thank you very much). this tram was newer and had level floors, instead of the steep steps of the older tram, so it was much easier to maneuver the strollers. one thing Rome has taught me is to always be exceedingly grateful for accessibility. i'm not sure how people manage who really don't have another choice (i can always carry the stroller up stairs).
we made it home at 3:30 on the dot, and guess who didn't show up? oh well... (two repair men came in rapid succession the following morning though, one to change a few burned out light bulbs and one to fix the air conditioner. perks of living on a college campus!)
i busied myself making one of our favourite meals, stuffed shells, for dinner. the oven here has heating elements on the top and bottom, resulting in the most beautifully bubbly browned cheese i ever did see. the girls each ate two helpings. and we crawled into bed, happy, and full.
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| super excited to take the tram! |
after fifteen minutes on the tram, we disembarked at the Aldrovandi stop, as per my Google maps instructions. we had passed a parking lot with big signs for the Bioparco at the bottom of a hill, and were now standing about halfway up the hill. i had a feeling that if we continued up to the top of the hill, we'd find the main entrance, but on the other hand, i knew that there was a way in at the bottom of the hill. so back down we went, and of course then had to climb back up the hill from inside the enclosure to reach the entrance gate. and i discovered later that there is a tram stop just up the hill from the entrance gate and it's even called Bioparco. what the heck, Google maps?
anyway, we were soon rewarded for our climb by the most impressive zoo entrance i've ever seen. Greta was more intrigued by the big PJ Masks and Peppa Pig balloons that were being sold in a corner of the parking lot, but i managed to convince her to come inside the zoo. we spied our friends in the queue for annual memberships (abbonamente) and i joined them. the membership pays for itself after two visits and i'm sure we'll go there plenty of times. our membership photos still make me laugh, as the camera captured the other people in the queue for posterity along with ourselves.
we meandered around the zoo for a bit, watching the animals. it's a small to medium-sized zoo but still has the requisite elephants, tigers, lions, and zebras, along with several kinds of monkeys, a farm animal exhibit, seals, and a reptile house (which we didn't explore on this visit). mostly, we just enjoyed each other's company. i think Greta in particular misses playing with kids her own age -- between her best buddies at daycare, friends at church, neighbor kids, and more friends in our Catholic mom's group back home, she had quite the social life. i'm looking into registering her for preschool here at a beautiful old school literally steps away from the Vatican -- more on that later!
the girls were all delighted to discover several playgrounds with swingsets, including this huge Noah's Ark themed play structure with a multi-level wooden boat, rope bridges and rope swings, tunnels and all kinds of secret little passageways.
we had a little picnic lunch near the small lake (PB&J for us, supplemented with a bag of Crik Crok chips i bought from the little cafe) and then walked on to see some more animals. at certain exhibits (like the lion and the leopard), they had signs posted quoting passages from the Bible that refer to that animal. i just love it.
we had to leave the zoo by 2:30 to allow plenty of time to get back to our apartment before the repairman came to fix the leaking air conditioning unit at 3:30, so we caught the tram back together (at the very convenient Bioparco stop, thank you very much). this tram was newer and had level floors, instead of the steep steps of the older tram, so it was much easier to maneuver the strollers. one thing Rome has taught me is to always be exceedingly grateful for accessibility. i'm not sure how people manage who really don't have another choice (i can always carry the stroller up stairs).
we made it home at 3:30 on the dot, and guess who didn't show up? oh well... (two repair men came in rapid succession the following morning though, one to change a few burned out light bulbs and one to fix the air conditioner. perks of living on a college campus!)
i busied myself making one of our favourite meals, stuffed shells, for dinner. the oven here has heating elements on the top and bottom, resulting in the most beautifully bubbly browned cheese i ever did see. the girls each ate two helpings. and we crawled into bed, happy, and full.
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