Friday, March 22, 2013

LEAVING DAY - A PRESTO, BRA!


ITALY JOURNAL
TUESDAY, March 19, 2013



We left Bra today for Atlanta.

An early morning “see you soon” visit from Mara and her son Alberto made the day start just right. Mara was not going to be in the Pasta Shop today, so she offered to drop by on her way to SPEND THE DAY SKIING with Alberto. His school was closed in honor of a saint. It was very special to get one more hug and to remember to say “a presto” (see you soon) instead of “goodbye!” Peter and I made a special effort to drop by the shop to say, “a presto” to Valerio, too. We will miss the Grimaldis, but we plan to return at the end of May. See you then, Mara, Valerio, Alberto and Gio!

Peter and I met Enzo for another “a presto,” then I went to put a little more money on my phone account for today. Peter and Enzo went to take the internet machine to be returned. Afterwards, we finished our packing and cleaning in time to meet with our landlord Sergio, his wife and our immobiliare  (real estate agent) Luca for a walk- through and finalizing our leaving the apartment. As we left, we helped Luca take down the beautiful curtains Peter had installed…Sergio decided not to purchase them for the apartment…and Luca said he would send an ad to Hannah at the university to see if anyone wanted to purchase them. Luca has been such a good friend to us this year. He has been the one we called whenever we needed advice or help with our apartment. Thank you, Luca! You are a gem of a friend and a GREAT immobiliare! See you in May, and we’re really looking forward to seeing you and Lisa in the U.S. in August, too. What a great idea!!!

Peter and I had an hour left before he took me to Boccondivino for lunch; so, we of course went to CafĂ© Converso for an affagato! What better way to end a lovely year?! The bookend meal at Boccondivino finalized our year in Bra. The first place we went when we arrived in Bra and found Maya and Archangelo was Boccandivino, and it was only fitting that we end the year there, too. It was delicious; as usual, and we were surprised when Valeria came in for lunch with some colleagues. We got to say one last “a presto” to her, too.

Then, off to Milan Malpensa Sheraton to return our rental car and spend the night before our early flight tomorrow morning!

A presto, Bra,

Colleen

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