On December 26, I planned to see Castel St. Angelo, which is what I did. The walk to the Castel took me through most of the ancient center of Rome, so I made plenty of stops along the way. I ducked into a little deli to get out of the rain (it rained for about an hour that day), and I got an amazing panini with prosciutto and did some people watching. Italians are such fun people to be around: There was a stream old locals in and out of this little deli, and everyone was joking and greeting each other. If only I could understand Italian! 

Castel St. Angelo was originally built to be the tomb for emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D., and, in the great Roman style of reuse, it was turned into a fortress in the fifth century and a castle in the fifteenth century. The place is a hulking monstrosity that is obviously very old. You enter the complex and ascend a spiral ramp that was used by funeral processions carrying the caskets of Roman emperors. After wending your way through rooms, including Hadrian's burial chamber, you emerge onto a veranda that encircles the structure and gives a great view of Rome. From there, you can go up one more story and see a papal apartment and a treasury room that held the riches of the papal state. One of the coolest things about the fortress is that it is connected to the Vatican by an elevated walkway, allowing popes to flee to safety when Rome was under siege, which I guess was a pretty regular event. 

I did some more sightseeing after the Castel, and then went back to my hostel. I was having dinner at the nearby pizzeria when I noticed a tiny Asian women struggling to open her bottle of Coke. I offered to help, which started a conversation between us. She was only in town for a day and was staying at my hostel, and she wanted my advice on the best way to see the highlights of Rome that evening. She had a route plotted on her tourist map, but I could see she had no idea how to get around, so I offered to walk with her to see Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. It was fun to show someone around, although I felt bad that she would only get to see those few sights, missing out on so, so much of Rome's beauty and history. One day in Rome is just not enough!