You would have thought we are on a cruise, water bound, with nothing to do but sleep late and wile away the day. We got up mid-morning and ordered room service for lunch. Yawn…stretch. Dan touched up, as in ironed, his conference clothes, looked over his briefing, and somewhere south of 2:30 we showered, got dressed, and went out for a wee bit of fresh air. You could say we are heeding Murphy’s advice to relax and “enjoy life like an Italian.”

We decided to grab a cab to Trastevere, one of the neighborhoods in the center of town, (€13) and just stroll around. We had overcast skies and a soft breeze, perfect jacket weather. We strolled along the Tiber river, which runs through the center of Rome, and popped in and out of a couple small churches where we lit candles for Aunt Jerry. But mostly we just people-watched. Right off the bat we saw a guy juggling in front of four lanes of traffic stopped for a red light. Then there was a barefooted dog walker dressed in a sarong and granny sweater with his canvas man-bag, three guys sleeping it off on a pedestrian bridge, and about 1.5 zillion tourists referring to their maps. That we could relate to. The ancient is mixed with the old and new in an agreeable way somehow with monuments, ruins, and relics around every corner. Strolling around was a nice way to top off a lazy day.

Our hotel has a shuttle that runs from two locations in the city, so we hooked up with one of them and got back to the hotel in time to change for the welcoming reception and dinner at 6:30. The reception and buffet dinner were fun for me because I got to see a few of Dan’s Agility Logistics peeps from around the world whom I’ve met a few times and I chatted with a few new people. I was surprised so see three other spouses, two of whom I know, one from Northern Virginia and one from Portugal. True to form, Dan and I were among the last to leave just before 11:00. What we were thinking? We’ll regret that in the morning when we have to get up.