Thursday, May 3

Tour: Day 13

We say goodbye to Pat, Caterina, Alexis, and other tour members at breakfast. We head to the train station (the one Rick stopped in when a young traveler, met a man in a doctor's lab coat asking for blood and got right back on the train!) It’s much better these days. We’re at ease waiting for our departure.

We arrive at Hotel Smeraldo, once again. They remember us! Caterina’s right once again: Italy’s about relationships. Our room is ready, though it’s only 11 a.m. We go to Roscioli, right across from the hotel, for take-out pizza. The hotel allows us to go into the breakfast room to eat it and even turns on music for our pleasure! I think I will miss this ease and purposefulness the Italians have for making a moment pleasurable!

There’s an on and off soft rain in Rome. But we get out anyway. We climb the Emmanuel Victor monument to see some glorious views of Rome. We find ourselves simply enjoying walking the city without a strict agenda.  I actually find the city beautiful with this gentle rain glistening on the pavement. We’ve had spectacular weather for this trip so these few drops don’t diminish anything.

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There’s a small trattoria near Hotel Smeraldo that we want to try: S.Anna Trattoria. It turns out to be a perfect place for our final dinner on this trip. The friendly Sicilian waiter recommends seabass baked in salt and tells us how he taught his girlfriend how to make this dish. We chat with him about Sicily and our time spent there on a Rick Steves tour.