The Natural History Museum

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was really tired, and I'm still kind of jet-lagged, that's why I've been taking a lot of naps lately. So yesterday started with Dad going off to his first day of work here in Italy. But for us it started when we went to the market in the morning to get some picnic food for lunch. We got a different kind of meat (salame instead of ham) and a different type of provolone cheese, along with some bread. After that we walked to one of the nearest parks and had our picnic lunch, it was REALLY good. There were lots of pigeons there trying to get our food, there were so many that every few seconds, one of us had to get up and shoo them away. After that we took Griffin over to the playground to get some of his energy out. There was a large school group there (there are almost everywhere) but they soon left and Griffin got the playground all to himself for a while. When we were done we walked about a block to the Natural History Museum. It was pretty weird. First we got our tickets and were directed into the basement, where there were only two exhibits. First we saw a big platform covered in dead stuffed animals. After that we went into a dark room were we were positioned in front of 12 TVs showing wildlife. Surrounding the screens on all sides were mirrors. So it looked like there was an entire globe of TVs, surrounded by thousands of us on all sides of it. This was my highlight of the whole day, it was really awesome! After that we went to another room that had a screen and a joystick. You can navigate around the alps and look at different rivers and towns. It was still a little creepy though because we were the only people there. After we left there we thought, really, is that all? But then a school group came and we followed them, and after a while and going we're we were told not to, we made it to a hall full of manakins in Etruscan clothing and read stuff about them. After that we walked through a hallway that had animal eyes on the roof and both walls, it was super creepy. After we got out,the first thing we saw was a big water buffalo with three vultures behind him. After we went through a whole room filled with paintings of animals staring at you, we saw a big dinosaur skeleton in the other room. But it was blocked off so you couldn't go in. We then went further down the staircase until we got to a hall with lots of wild animals. After that we got to an exhibit about genetics, which we learned about in school last year. Then we got to an exhibit about cells, which was a good review from science last year. Then we went down some more stairs to a Madagascar area. Lots of lemurs and frogs. There is still no one else there. After that we looked at some rocks and smaller dino bones. Then we saw a really gross cabinet full of dead bugs. There were more animals to look at, then we left the museum. We spent a little more time at the park before we went home. When we did we played some UNO before we made dinner. After the UNO game Dad came home. And after dinner he brought out some gelato he got for us on his way home from work, it was awesome gelato. After dinner we settled down and put Griffin to bed. Then after an hour or so I headed off to bed as well. Sorry about not having pictures, I should have some next time. Feel free to comment, I'll post again soon.