Ciao Roma

I can't believe it's August and I'm leaving Rome so soon although it seems I've been gone forever. The director of the Vergilian Society tour, Stephen Tuck of the University of Miami, Ohio, picks us up at 9. The packing got done, somehow, and three of us girls had a great 'Ciao Roma' evening last night. We wandered downtown a bit and then went to Il Buco, a great restaurant, for a last dinner. Again the waiter loved me...I ordered one thing, he shook his head and said 'no' so I just got what he wanted me to get. This doesn't happen with other people! I ended up with tagliatelle in a hare sauce, something I wouldn't order in a million years but it was, of course, delicious. For a secondi, strips of beef sauteed in red pepper and arugula. When we declined dessert, they brought over a bottle (!) of vin santo, a sweet dessert wine, and a basket of biscotti in which to dip it. They chatted us up and we ended up staying over 3 hours, finishing the wine and eating another basket of biscotti! We took pictures with the waiter and he made us promise to send him a copy! Even though we were full, we had to have one last gelato at Giolitti's, and as we walked back to the bus we gave our farewells to the eternal city. Although I'd really like to just come home, I know these next two weeks will be wonderful. I don't think we have internet access at the Villa, so I wish all of you a happy remainder of the summer and I'll see you in two weeks. Goodbye, Rome...it's been amazing.