After a final breakfast at the wonderful Cafė Carducci in Verona, we all headed for the train station. The kids’ train to Milan hit a snag, as a portion of the track en route was closed for some reason. So, they put everyone on a bus. Two buses later, the kids arrived in Milan, where they’ll fly out very early the next morning.
Our train to Rome was uneventful, arriving in Rome at 3pm. We checked in to Hotel Pace Helvezia, which is very centrally located. It’s across the street from Palazzo INAIL del Brasini, and a short walk from Trevi Fountain. It’s an older hotel, but nice. The view from the rooftop is stunning.
After settling in (and a short rest), we walked to dinner at Il Chianti Osteria Toscana. It was recommended by someone, but I don’t remember who. It was good! I had rabbit in a white wine sauce, and Teresa had spinach ravioli.
After dinner we walked to Rinascente, a huge department store with a massive multimedia display on the side of the building. The main reason we were there was to head to the basement, where you can see a portion of the last remaining still-operating ancient Roman aqueduct—Aqua Virgo Aqueduct—which feeds Trevi Fountain. While there we bought a snowglobe as a gift.
We got gelato at Il Gelato di San Crispino, which was highly touted. It was underwhelming. The gelato was fine (we’ve had better), but the service was terrible. The worker was disinterested, and did a bait-and-switch. We ordered piccolo (the smallest size), and before we realized what was happening, he’d already scooped up medium size. We wouldn’t return.
The walk back to the hotel was very crowded. A mass of people everywhere. We walked past Trevi Fountain, but the crowd was about 50 people deep, and as packed as the front of a sold out concert. We made a plan to come back first thing in the morning.
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