The Final Hours

It is somehow, suddenly, my last day in this wonderful city. I walked around this morning, got my last cappuccino at my favorite café, and took in all the sights one more time. And I thought, how strange that it feels like I got off the plane here yesterday. Venice seems like a day ago and Rome a week ago. Paris might have been a dream I only imagined. Yet at the same time, it feels like I’ve been away from America for an eternity. I got comfortable here and it almost began to feel like I’d been here forever, would be here forever. Here, Florence – the city that took me in and showed me Italian life, the best pizza and the best gelato, how to order an espresso and how to avoid the clawing eyes of creepers on the streets. How to walk in heels on cobblestone streets, cook pasta with a boatload of different sauces, shop for the best tomato. In four months, I traveled outside of it too – to three other countries and about ten other cities and towns in Italy. Each one had its own charm, traditions and people welcoming me along the way. Each one I will never forget. And with the best of friends to join on me on these travels, I cannot think of a better way to have spent this semester. I’ll return in less than 24 hours to the land of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, all-day internet access and cell phones that always work. Like I said in the beginning, a novel is like a dream in which everyone is you. I hope this record of my trip has been that for you – a world of crazy Dubliners, historical gravesites, shining monuments and whirlwind bus-rides that you could feel a part of. Ciao, all, and see you back in the States!