It was a sunny day but the air was brisk. A fog hung over the valley below. I packed the car and returned to the house for a bit of breakfast. As I drank my coffee and munched on a piece of torte, I chatted with Lorella and her mother. The men had already departed for work. We agreed that our time together had been good. I thought of last night. Lorella had made a dinner of the dishes she knew I enjoyed. We ate her excellent food and we laughed. We drank good wine and we laughed. We had extra servings of grappa after the dinner and we laughed. They took me to see the apartment attached to their home that I could use next year. It was a very nice evening and they were such lovely people, but, now I was leaving. I hugged the ladies as I had hugged the men last night and I turned to begin my trip south.
As I rounded the city I passed the school. My time there was very rewarding in many ways. I thought of the teachers, Sara and Cinzia. I looked forward to spending time with them each day. They were so lovely and in such different ways. Sara had a classic, haughty beauty, yet her eyes and her smile were warm and reassuring. It was always a pleasure to catch her smile. Cinzia was an elven beauty. Her laugh and her smile were alive with an enthusiasm for life. She had a twinkle in her eye and a spring in her voice. It was such a pleasure to watch and to learn from them.
I thought of the students I had known. We developed a camaraderie that, while probably transient, was very nice. It certainly had been a pleasure to share that time with each of them. There was one to whom that I seemed to have been especially drawn, but that is another story, or, possibly, no story at all. I had considered sharing the Japanese parable "I know that I have a limited amount of time in this life and I am happy that I have spent a portion of that time with you (them)" with the family and the teachers and some fellow students but elected not to share that thought. However, that very succinctly reflected my feelings for them.
I drove south along now familiar country roads to the autostrada. I sped along the autostrada past Orvieto and past the Spoleto turnoff. I drove well east of Rome and on toward Naples. Approaching that city the road narrowed from six to four lanes and the traffic increased. I was required to drive through Naples to get to my destination, Sorrento. The drive had become rather ugly. There was much road construction and the part of the city through which I traveled was not pretty. I was battling traffic and dodging road construction and trying not to miss a turn. My focus was good as I pounded ahead. Suddenly, something to the right caught my eye. I glanced and, to my amazement, casted my eyes on a most beautiful sight. Past the ugly buildings lay the quite lovely Bay of Naples. I glanced when I could but traffic required a lot of focus.
Again, suddenly, I entered a series of tunnels. Upon exiting an especially long portion of tunnel I faced a formidable wall of stone on one side and the sea on the other. I rounded a sharp bend in the road and there it was, Sorrento, perched on cliffs high above the sea, basking in the afternoon sun. It was so beautiful from a distance. I eventually reached the rather hectic city, fought briefly with her one-way streets and finally arrived at my hotel. I was greeted, shown my room and I immediately planted myself on the balcony overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Bay of Naples. My shoulders relaxed and I knew I was going to have a few very nice days.
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