Hodgepodge 148/365 - Moving On

Jerusalem YMCA

We had our farewell dinner this evening, at the Jerusalem YMCA—designed by the architect responsible for the Empire State Building. David read a little prose poem about the trip in Hebrew, which was very touching (I asked him to send me a copy, but he declined . . .). A few of us walked back to the hotel together, hugs were distributed, and just like that, it was over.

Tomorrow morning bright and early I'm sharing a taxi to Ben Gurion Airport with Laurie, and then part two of my vacation starts. I have to say, I will be very glad when I arrive at Vicolo dell'Avila 8 in the Lazio, probably around 4 p.m.: as usual, I'm not looking forward to the traveling part of tomorrow. But once I get there and figure out where the nearest grocery store is, I'm going to stock up on a few necessities—coffee, maybe some pasta and sauce and cheese, some bread, some wine, and yogurt and granola for breakfast. And then I'll kick off my shoes, settle into my new digs, and relax. I can't wait.

Curiously, a couple of people have commented on how "brave" I am to be going to Italy by myself. But no one says anything about Lee being brave for going to Barcelona—a place he's never been—by himself. Why is it that women traveling alone arouses such . . . I don't even know what the emotion is. Maybe a little bit of envy?

In any case, in some ways I will miss the tyranny of this tour—or no, of course not the tyranny, but the stimulation and learning and myriad sights, and the people as well. But I'm ready to switch gears and go a little slower.

Last group photo: in the Western Wall tunnels