Tredici giorni da non dimenticare mai (5/29/02)

I will probably have to divide this message into multiple parts, one to be sent perhaps tomorrow, since I am now in Chicago and this airport Internet place is not cheap. We have a four-hour layover before we catch the flight to Salt Lake City, and home.

I said I would not be writing on Sunday, a day which proved to be very uneventful. We spent much of it just relaxing around the convent, and that was good enough for both of us. Monday was hectic -- the worst day of the trip, actually, but even it ended up being pretty good by the time it was over. Sheila wanted to sleep in, so in my infinite wisdom I left early in the morning for Rome, where I wanted to see the Vatican if I saw nothing else. I made it, but the trip took more than 4 hours each way and I was only able to spend about 40 minutes there; all I saw, in fact, was St. Peter's. Then I had to rush back to Bolsena to pick up Sheila, because we had decided to leave for Rome that day. A bus to Orvieto was scheduled to leave Bolsena at 4:10, and we barely made it; in fact, in our haste we left behind our 220-volt converter, which we would not be needing beyond the following morning anyway. In Rome we were wined and dined by my old high-school classmate Mimi Kent, along with her husband Lucio and daughter Amelia, who gave us a whirlwind tour of Rome, which at that time was in the middle of a torrential downpour. I have always considered myself very fortunate where friends are concerned, and I offer Mimi as Exhibit 3,409 in support of that contention. She and her family were one of the highlights of a trip that was chock-full of them. She has also been one of the recipients of these e-mails. All are invited to stand up now and applaud Mimi, who is likewise invited to take a bow. Grazie tante, amica mia; you done me real good.

That being done, I will have a couple more posts to send after we get home. I had hoped to spend an hour or so on the Internet today, but in view of the cost, I won't. But there are some details of this brief sketch that I want to fill in, and I think it will be worth your while to stay tuned.

Ciao a tutti voi,

Garry