Sunday began with the breakfast rhythm that would become familiar: pastry and cappuccino near the hotel, with Caitie making it very clear when she had been left out of the first breakfast run. From there the group walked across the old center toward the food tour, eventually finding the guide and stepping into the day’s real agenda.

The tour moved through the Campo de’ Fiori area and the ancient layers around the Theatre of Pompey: pesto, truffles, balsamic vinegar, cured meats, cheeses, wine, pasta, pizza, tiramisu, espresso, and gelato. Rome was not presenting itself as a museum only; it was presenting itself as a place where history and lunch keep interrupting each other.

There was also a brief phone panic at the gelato stop — because no family trip is complete without at least one missing-device emergency — but the day recovered. Dinner at Bottega Tredici near the Jewish Ghetto became one of the clear wins of the entire trip. Afterward came ruins, the synagogue, Largo di Torre Argentina, pastries on the walk back, and a late return that everyone would feel the next morning.