L'Ultimi Giorni / I Love Grass

Tomorrow I leave for London, and it still hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving Rome. This last week has been a whirlwind....our projects were due last Friday, but our presentations were on Monday, so we ended up doing leftover stuff over the weekend, but also finally sleeping some. Our english friends also hosted a Christmas party....everyone in funny santa hats. Presentations on Moday went very well...I was encouraged to pursue this project as my thesis....my response was, "it already is my thesis." This semester has been a great step forward in figuring out how I might possibly twist this major into something I actually want to do. The rest of the week has been recovery and tying up loose ends. Wednesday night was our final aperitivo with our melting pot group. Thursday we had our show, which means we hung up all of our work to show all of our friends while eating cheese and drinking wine. Thursday morning was also my final market indulgence experience....I went to Testaccio and stopped by my favorite cheese shop for the last time...for awhile at least. After our show, Tom took us out to a fancy dinner and got us all drunk! (just kidding) ;) Today was an amazing day and a great way to go out...Brad and I got up early and went to the Le Terme di Caracalla....ancient roman baths. The ruins are surrounded by park space, and despite the weather forecast we had the most gorgeous day Rome has seen in months. We were the first people there to enjoy the clear sky, crisp air, and deliciously calm quiet. There was REAL grass there....none of that monoculture lawn business, but the stuff with leafy weedy green things and scattered white blossoms, critters, and pine needles; and patches of real mountain dirt showing through....that sweet fresh perfume tempered by an earthy mushroom smell. It was gorgeous. After that I went on a run in Doria Pamphili park, where there was grass evvvverywhere!! I felt suddenly transported to a time when Rome was still wilderness....it was so expansive and pretty I ended up running for more than an hour. Tonight we are going to our friend Daniele's concert, and then I leave bright and early tomorrow morning....can't wait to see everyone at home so soon!