Saying Goodbye

Packing the car

Tuesday dawned a gorgeous day, but even the bright sunshine was tinged with sadness. This was departure day. My family was leaving for Rome and their flights back to the US. Remarkably, everyone was up and about in plenty of time. We had one more battle with the coffee maker, ate breakfast and began packing the car. Mary was leaving in the afternoon, so the gang would drop her at the airport, return the car and head to their hotel, where they were spending the night. Now it was time to say goodbye. There were hugs and tears and then the black Ford rumbled down the road for one last time.

.

Immediately, Antiche Pietre seemed terribly empty. I set about doing chores and moving myself from the downstairs to the room facing the lake. Despite keeping busy, I could not escape the sense of emptiness. Finally, I decided to go for a walk and clear my head. I walked to the top of the hill behind the house and there was just the most amazing view of the lake through an olive grove. Yes, this was a special place and the memories we created her would last us a lifetime.

A quick visit in Rome

When I got back to the house, the owner was there. He was sorry to have missed saying goodbye. He seemed very concerned that I would be in the house by myself. I assured him that I would be fine and that I was used to being alone. He did not seem convinced. At this point, he invited me to have lunch with him and his family before I left. That was certainly a nice gesture and made me feel pretty good. As the day went on, there were lots of Whatsapp messages going back and forth detailing who was doing what and where. Mary got off safely and the tourists went into Rome for a few hours. I don’t remember much about the rest of the day, though I do know that I began to catch up on my blog entries, much as I am doing right now.

Fond memories