The Christophers: Bowling at the White House

This past Thursday we had the privilege of taking a private tour of the White House with my aunt and uncles, in celebration of the visit of our Italian cousins from Rome- Maria, Valeria, Ricky and Carla. While we were in Italy this past summer we had the amazing opportunity to visit Castel Gandolfo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Gandolfo) where my cousins are from, the beautiful town that is home to the Pope's summer residence. We were happy to return the favor by showing them around our nation's capital. First on the list was a private tour of the White House which Aunt Donna and Uncle Mike arranged. It was beyond fantastic. We spent some time bowling in the White House bowling alley, met the head Chef in the main kitchen and tasted some food he was preparing, visited the chocolate room and tasted chocolate they were using to make holiday pastries, and toured the east wing. Maria who had never bowled before in her life was the only one to bowl a strike. Everyone had a great time.

Afterwards we took our family to the Hotel Washington http://www.hotelwashington.com/dining.php for drinks and appetizers at the rooftop bar which has a wonderful view of the city. Kristina recieved a call which turned out to be a job offer while we were there- she started here on Monday http://www.ifes.org/ - congrats Kris!

We then walked to the World War II Memorial and afterwards finished the day with dinner alongside even more family members at Old Ebbit Grill, which Juliana set up- thanks Jules! It was a fantastic day and we were thrilled to spend time with the family. Ricky and Valeria and Drew and I made a pact to visit each other once a year so they can teach us how to cook, speak Italian and we can teach them English and about baseball :). Next on our list is to go skiing with them in Cortina hopefully next winter.

Enjoy the pics!

Ricky, my cousin Valeria's husband-