A few final thoughts on Rome:

There’s more to see. I still haven’t been to the main basilica in Rome, haven’t driven a Vespa, and I was hoping to get back to Castel Sant’Angelo…next time.

Big D remarked, and I’m paraphrasing, how people look at the main tourist sites, but right next to the site is also something worth seeing. We climbed a certain set of stairs in the Campodiglio on this trip and ten years ago, and yet he pointed out that we never went up the stairs just slightly to the left which led to a church. He felt that way about the Sistene Chapel too; so much more to see beyond the ceiling.

We’ve relied heavily on Paul speaking Italian, and his sense of direction, to navigate Rome. Taxi drivers love him, give him tips, and it means I can just sit back and enjoy and not manage anything which is great!

That being said, I’ve been finding it easier to read Italian dinner menus versus the English translations. Pizza toppings and pasta dishes just don’t seem to translate accurately into English

Big D also has a great sense of direction. He’s gone out for runs in the mornings both in Munich and Rome, on his own. He’s been very conscious about overeating on the trip to ensure he stays in basketball shape.

Quite often when Italians find out we’re from Boston, they respond with “ah, Celtics” which makes us smile. Despite knowledge of the Celtics, we were unable to find an outdoor basketball hoop in Rome.

The moment Miss M got into the rental car she tuned the radio to 88.9 remembering the station had “fun music.” It’s funny the things they remember.

Lunch at the AutoGrill along the highway, which is a rest area shop and eating establishment on steroids. There’s always large candies and toys to buy overtired children on long car rides, but every trip to the AutoGrill has an amusing featured item on special at the entrance. Today it was a light up musical ice bucket. Lol

We had three salads (with anchovies, capers, tomatoes, olives, and a ball of mozzarella), cups of fruit and a small tiramisu. Miss M ordered from the pasta station. Each tray of food came with large hunk of bread with olives and a small dinner roll. And, espressos were included with lunch — note how the rest stop espresso is served in china with a real spoon!

Paul drove us to the La Reggio designer outlets where we picked up a few things, and then headed to Sperlonga, the next stop on our Italian adventure.