Arrivederci Roma

I am packed. For those who know me, I know you are smiling because I can cram an elephant into a suitcase. All the books and all the souvenirs have disappeared from the room. This morning I said good-bye to ancient Rome around the Coloseum. The highlight was the prison where both Paul and Peter were kept - not at the same time. I had a tour guide this morning because I have no sense of direction and I did not want to wander around with a map in front of my nose. Not on the last day! So this was an expensive good-bye but very relaxing. Rome is expensive. If you go out to eat, you have to take out a mortgage. However, if you are willing to eat wonderful fresh baguettes, ham from heaven, and cheese from heavenly cows, you can live easily on 10 Euros a day. That includes all the water you can drink and a beer and several capuchinos. The cheapest way to see Rome is with a tour because so much is prepaid with American dollars. I like this town better than Florenz and I would come back here any time, currency permitting. I bought a bottle of this yellow stuff for Pater Wolfgang -not his real name - who was with us on the tour. Remember when he tried to poison us all one evening? We refused to drink this stuff. This is what memories are made of. Bob, the wonderful valet, will be retired. He did come in handy. For those of you who never met Bob - do not worry - he runs on three batteries. I am sniffling tonight myself. Don't know if it's allergies or if I caught something from the sneezing deacon the other day. This afternoon I walked all the small little roads down to the Ponte Sisto. I think Overall, I saw between 20 and 30 churches. There are at least a thousand. They are both churches and history. It was also wonderful to see the various parish priests interact with their parishioners. I could just tell by their gestures......They have an uphill battle. One sees mostly elderly people in the churches.