Saturday started with the familiar breakfast and then a cab to the Appia Antica area for e-bikes: Richard, Tara, and Caitie taking on one of the oldest roads in Rome. The ride was bumpy in patches but quickly became one of the best side trips of the week. There is something hard to beat about moving along a road that has carried people for more than two thousand years.

The roadside tombs made the Roman idea of memory feel concrete: families placing monuments where travelers would keep passing their names. Then came the less solemn part of the ride, where tour guide Ricky P missed the turnoff not once but twice and heard about it, especially from Caitie. The accidental detour still produced a dog-petting stop and one of those views — fields, ruins, distance — that a camera cannot quite hold.

The aqueduct park was enormous and humbling. So was the heat. By the time the bikes returned, the shaded cafe at the rental place felt like rescue: prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches, tomatoes, focaccia, olive oil, balsamic, and a cold IPA. Richard later split off for the San Callisto catacombs, where the underground air was blessedly cool. The final night brought Villa Borghese, Pincian Hill, the Spanish Steps, a phenomenal dinner at La Nonna in Trastevere, gelato, and the clearest lesson of the trip: next time, stay closer to the parts of Rome that felt alive at night.