All good things come to an end

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October 22



The art exhibit in the church basement was, different. First, it took several tries to get into the locked space but while waiting for Saturday night Mass to end, we had a drink at an outside table at the bar next to the church and I remembered to order a Negroni, an aperitivo I had read about. Finally we were let into the exhibit. It really was not traditional art, just some photos of death cards of some sort. But the basement was fascinating! The narrow stairs wound down and where they ended there was a glass partition that enclosed about 100 skulls. Some still had skin which shrunk as it dried leaving a pained expression. There was no explanation about the skulls and it was the first that Doug and Di knew of them. The low ceilings and small rooms throughout the church basement were fun to explore.



After the "show" we picked up pizza at the local pizzeria and went back to the house for dinner. We enjoyed a final sunset from the terrace. We had a really great time with Doug and Di, but there were still things to see before flying home so we were up and off early Sunday morning.



Our drive to the Greek ruins at Paestum was beautiful. The first stretch was along the coast and even though we had been on this route before, we were constantly telling each other to "look at that!" Eventually we cut inland to cross the mountains and the views changed, but were no less impressive. Italy is a magnificent country from end to end and side to side.



We enjoyed our visit to Paestum. This Greek site was founded around the 7th century BC and is well preserved with three large temples built around 500 BC - we were most impressed with the temple of Athena. Once through the admission gate we were free to wander around all of the ruins, with the exception of the temples which are roped off. There is a Roman forum and amphitheater. We also went to the museum which houses many of the artifacts recovered from the site including statues, pottery and painted tombs.



After getting our fill of ancient ruins and objects we went to look for a place to eat lunch. We ended up in a small restaurant where we were the only customers. We were made to feel very welcome and had a wonderful meal. Our seafood antipasti included anchovies, complete with heads, squid and shrimp and then Sam had a pasta dish and I ordered a salad, and both dishes were quite good. Then the owner brought over glasses of limoncello and finally espresso. The whole time MTV played on a huge TV screen and it was all American songs from the 70s and 80s.



Our hotel for the night was only about 10 kilometers from Paestum and we were pleased to arrive fairly early in order to have time to relax and do a final pre-plane packing. The very grand hotel was originally a manor house built in 1600 with views out to the sea. The grounds were beautiful with many flowers, grapes and citrus trees and an infinity pool that hung off the hillside. I enjoyed sitting next to the pool with the resident cat sleeping next to me on the lounge chair. Later Sam and I climbed up the tower to watch our last sunset over the Tyrrhenian Sea.



Monday morning we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel - probably our last time eating cake-like foods for breakfast! We ate outdoors with blue skies above us. Such a treat for the third week of October. Soon we were in the car for our drive to Rome. I got a bit twisted around right away and drove us through the narrowest of streets in the village, but decided we needed one more near-mirror-scraping adventure before going home!



We stopped off in the town of San Pietro Infine about half-way between Naples and Rome. This is where a crucial battle occurred during WWII, the first battle where the Italians fought with the Allies against the heavily fortified positions of the Germans; the Allies were victorious, but only after the town suffered total destruction. The old destroyed part of the village has never been restored and we walked around the ruins of the village and church. There was no one around and the peaceful setting with beautiful views across the valley was a powerful contrast to the history of the place.



We stopped at a roadside trattoria for lunch. We were offered pasta with red or white sauce and with long or short noodles. We went with the short pasta with red sauce. We were served antipasti and then bowls of penne with a delicious cheesy red sauce. It was a simple but very pleasant meal.



We arrived at the car return place at the Rome airport around 3:00. As we approached the airport we went past where hot mud has been spewing from the ground for several months now. I watched a video of it back in August but was surprised to see that traffic is still circling the area with nothing other than some orange tape keeping people away. Sam encouraged me to keep my eyes on the road rather than on the bubbling mud, but I was fascinated! The car return was simple and the man who helped us asked if I had tried to drive in Italy. When Sam told him that I had done most of the driving he was very surprised. He said that I was the first non-Italian wife he had encountered who was brave enough to drive in Italy. We had driven 6354 kilometers during our six weeks and were relieved to return the car without any bumps or scratches.



We were delivered to the Hilton Garden Hotel where we enjoyed dinner - pizza for Sam and a salad for me and shared one last bottle of wine. We were surrounded by American voices which confirmed that our European adventure was truly ending. The hotel was comfortable and very quiet and we both slept well.



Our original seats had been changed and we were not sitting together but just before boarding the plane we were called to the counter and given new seat assignments. For a 10 hour flight it was nice to be beside each other rather than next to strangers. I made a couple last minute purchases after going through security and then we boarded the plane and settled in for the long flight. As the plane lifted into the air I could not contain my tears. I craned my neck watching as the coastline of Italy disappeared from view.



That past 6 weeks have been full of beautiful sites, kind people, delicious foods, and endless exploration, and we return home with memories that will last forever.

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