The Stories I will tell when I am Old & Gray...

Well, it is 3:00 am on May 17th and I am wide awake typing what will probably be my last blog entry and thinking about Siena and thinking about all that I have to do now that I am back.

Siena to Rome (boo-hooed once), Rome to London (boo-hooed again)and London to LA (bawled)...well, I am back in the US! My travels were okay despite my puffy eyes and extremly puffy ankles (ugh!!!). It certainly was much more complicated coming back into the country than leaving; I was in lines for customs for about 2 hours (because of the chocolate I brought back). One of the customs officials jokingly said, "That's too many bags for chocolate; you have Italian shoes in there, I just know you do!" And I got a good laugh after he asked why I didn't get married while I was there. Then he raised one eye-brow and asked, "So do you like Italian men or American men better?" I just shook my head and laughed.

Ricky picked me up from the airport (Thank you!) And presented me with my favorite cinnamon bears and a HUGE hug... and a trip to In and Out!!! It was delicious and there were no gypsy hamburglars in sight, so I ate in peace.

So...I have about 65 pages of blog entries (all of which have cuss words, talk of God and biblical scripture... all in one blog!) and about 400 photos! I look forward to showing you my photos and sharing my stories with you if you want to hear them even after reading about them (I am told that I am a good story teller, so....:) I just know that I am going to be "one of those" moms and/or grandmas that will tell the same stories over and over for years to come. "Here she goes, telling the story about the gypsy who stold her hamburger in Florence again." Or, "Oh no, she's telling the embarassing story about Stefano, the massage therapist in Positano again." Funny...maybe by the time I am 70 years old, the story will be so exaggerated enough to the point that I actually chased the gypsy and beat her over the head only to get my hamburger back or that I had a wild love affair with Stefano the massage therapist.