February 2018: Rome Diary – Day 7

With two days left in Rome we had managed to get through most of the things on our lists. Earlier in the trip we had considered a day trip to see the ruins at Pompei, but as the trip wore on, we felt less inspired by that idea. Spending a good chunk of the day on a train didn’t sound all that appealing. The deteriorating weather also played a huge part. The time, effort and expense of getting to Pompei just wasn’t worth it. Plus we weren’t sure the kids would be all that excited about seeing “more ruins”.

With that we had decided to see some of the spots we had lower on our todo list. After breakfast we took the bus to Castel Sant’Angelo.

Exploring the Castle

The castle was nearly 2000 years old and has an interesting history. There was an audio tour we could access via your phone, but I just couldn’t get it to work. It was likely an IT fail on my own part as some of the instructions were in Italian and some where in English. We ended up exploring the place on our own.

The building is a lot larger than you’d think from the outside, and the round shape made for interesting routes through the building.

Located not far from Vatican City, there were Popes that had used it as both a refuge and a prison at different times. It took us more than two hours to explore the whole building and it culminated with spectacular views of the city and Vatican City from the roof despite the rainy weather.

Another Lazy Afternoon

We headed back towards the hotel and split up for lunch. By that time the rain was in full force and we retreated to the hotel for the afternoon. The cold and rain zapped all our motivation to be outside. I tested the gym again with the boys for a little but we mostly watched TV and relaxed.

For the evening we had planned to split up for dinner again. Tomatico and my wife were to meet with her co-worked who lived in Rome. The coworker was apparently quite a foodie so they were excited to try out fancy and exotic new restaurant. My youngest and I went back to the sports bar with the great chicken and loved it :). We even got some gelato for dessert (shocking, I know). They loved the restaurant they went to. Tomatico said it was some of the best pasta he’s ever had.

The next day would be our last full day in Rome!