LUCCA TO
ROMA
December
25-26
After our
long lunch we stagger back to the Palazzo Roberto/Donaldo and spend the rest of
the day trying to digest the midday meal.
It is a cozy time for contemplation and quiet. There is room in the apartment for all of
that. In the late PM we hit the streets
for the Passaggiata. In the US on
Christmas Eve you won’t find much going on in the street, but this is Italy and
Lucca and the main drag is jumping. Lots
of stores still open after 7 and it looks like all of Lucca is out for the
stroll - very pleasant way to spend Christmas Eve.
On
Christmas Day, Donald and Bob have planned a large American breakfast; after
all we didn’t eat an evening meal last night.
Stan cooks up some pancakes along with some of the local ham, and maple
syrup that someone has left from a previous visit; it all tastes good. We open presents to much merriment and loads
of picture taking. It is great to be
with friends on the holiday and they have planned well and taken care of
everything. I feel like I really needed
the comfort so it was all the more special.
Bob and Donald’s gift is a famous pepper jelly; Stan and Noreen give me
a picture of my locker at the Sonoma Golf Club, unused these 4 months and Kim
delivers a handsome scarf. I am rich
with goods and friends and quietly touched by it all. We are plenty lucky.
We must
eat the traditional Christmas meal. We
are having turkey with stuffing, brussel sprouts, potatoes, ravioli and
homemade pumpkin and apple pies. Some
good wine to go with it and a wonderful meal, again. One of Bob and Donald’s friends has sent them
the best smoked salmon from Denmark that we start the whole dinner with. Too much, too much I say, but no, we keep on
eating.
On
Monday, Kim and I make an early exit from Lucca. I am put on the train by a crane that has
been brought in for the special purpose of lifting me on. What can I say? It was fun to be out of Rome and riding the
trains, seeing our friends, talking about home and in general being pretty
American but experiencing Italy. Donald
and Bob have conquered Lucca and they love being there. It is a special charming place and we hope to
return in the future. Just a quick mention
of the Lucca wall that was built to resist invasion and it worked. It is now the principle walking place outside
of the shopping area, 3 miles in circumference and circles all of old Lucca. We took a short walk in the rain on Christmas
Eve and it was enchanting.
This time
all trains are on time and we arrive Rome at about 2PM. Like the veteran Romans that we are, we take
the #64 to Torre Argentina and walk the 3 blocks to our place. Hurray, the motorino is still there, we were
worried, the heat is still working, we were worried, and it is very quiet on
the streets. When we do go out to our
Internet point the streets have filled with the Roman walkers and it is a very
lively crowd. Is it good to be
home? It feels like our place, but San
Francisco and Sonoma beckon me. I am
missing kids young and old, friends young and old, my favorite activities SVMA
and CCA, my office and of course my wonderful old babies, the dogs. In the last
several weeks we have been discussing coming home early. We have decided that we will come back in mid
January. My project, while not complete,
is not feeling very active and my touring skills have generally evaporated (how
many churches can I see?). It feels as
if I am done. Kim has been very supportive even though she would prefer to
stay. We have had a wonderful experience in a brave new world but home sounds
very good to me. I am slightly abashed
to say that I am homesick, but I suppose that is what you would call it. I keep telling myself that maybe it would be
different if I hadn’t gotten the Mother of all Colds, but I suspect it would be
the same. Whitney is coming tomorrow and
we are excited about that. We will show
her and her friend, Amy, a great time and then close this chapter of our lives
and claim victory. I still have some
things to see and write and so will continue to journal until our landing in
SF. This all makes me a little sad, but
I am upbeat about the next chapter.
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