Home again, home again

Happy 4th of July to everyone. It's a wonderful welcome back to the USA.So yes, I'm back. The last part of my trip went well. I had a nice time with Luca in Bologna. We relaxed and watched some tennis and read as well as doing the tourist stuff that I love. I got my taste of Italian pasta and pizza which is very good. On Wednesday I spent the afternoon in Rome. I walked all over the city and saw a lot of the sights. I saw the Colosseum (but didn't go in) and the Trevi Fountain and went in to explore St. Peter's cathedral. It was a very hot day and I was king of ready to head home, but I'm glad I got to do see it all. I splurged and stayed in a hotel near the airport that night because my flight was so early in the morning. It was very nice and cool to have my own room. The bartender at the hotel was

really nice and made me a pizza, that was normally sold frozen (but was cheaper than that at the restaurant). I woke up at 3:45 the next morning and both of my flights went smoothly. On
the long flight (Munich to Washington) I was sitting next to an 18 year old from Ukraine who I helped with his immigration documents. I also watched 2 movies: Definitely, Maybe and The Other Boleyn Sister. Both were very good. Now it's back to real life I guess. I'm spending the weekend recovering from jet lag, unpacking, and spending time with my parents. I
restart work on Monday.

It has been great hearing from so many of you so often. I plan on continuing these emails when I head off to Argentina on August 15. Between now and then I'll be doing some visiting and working and preparing. I'm going to Florida next weekend with the whole family to visit my
grandfather. Then the weekend after that I'm back in North Carolina for Alice's wedding which I'm in. Then I'm here until August. I hope to see many of you between now and then.

More from Toulouse

Hi!

I don't have long to write cause I'm out the door soon, but I wanted to give
you all an update. I have spent a week here in Toulouse with my old host
family. It has been very nice and very relaxing. It is kind of a blast
from the past to be here again. Most things are just like I remember them,
but the kids are a little bit older. I wrote more about my first day here
on my blog, so check there for more details. I also was able to meet up
with some French friends that we used to hang out with when I was here 2
years ago. There was a big music festival (basically a 5 day concert) that
I went to with them for 2 days. It was nice to hang out with people that I
already knew and to practice my French with people my age. While I've been
here I've walked around the city a lot, basically just to see things again.
I also went for a walk and a bike ride along the canal that is right in
front of the house. I've decided that that is one of my 'happy places' in
the world.

Now I am off to Ma and Grandpapa's. They are the parents of my host father
and they live in the countryside near the Pyrénées. I am very excited to
see them and to spend some time at their lovely place. I am taking
Quitterie (the oldest) and her friend with me because they finished school
for the year this morning. One of the cousins will also be there, so that
should be fun.

On Saturday I will spend all day and night on a train to get to Luca's house
at the beach in Italy.

Ma's and the beach = relaxation to the extreme

It's seems like its been longer than it actually has since I last wrote. I am now at Luca's home in Bologna, Italy. Let's rewind a bit so that I can tell you what i've been up to.

Wednesday afternoon I took the train with Quitterie and her friend Marie to
Ma's house. She took us up to her house (about 20 min away up in the hills). There were a bunch of cousins there because Ma takes care of one family of cousins on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It was great to see them all. This bunch I didn't know too well, but one of the other cousins, Jean Gualbert (Babert), who I got along with really well last time was also there. After dinner Quitterie, Marie, Babert and I all played outside for a bit because it we could and it was great weather. Thursday we took a trip to Lourdes (about an hour away). This is a big pilgrimage site for Catholics and Ma works there often. We were all enlisted to address envelopes to bishops from around the world who had visited in the last 3 years. We were inviting them to come in September when the pope will be there. The kids got lost on our walk to lunch which let us explore a bit. Then Babert and I did the touristy stuff and he was a great guide since he's been there many times. Friday we just hung out at the house. I helped collect potatoes and plums from the garden and make lunch. In the afternoon I went for a long walk and then visited the neighbor to see her cows (including a week old calf), chickens, and pig. The Montpellier cousins arrived Friday night for the weekend. This family (Babert's family) includes 5 kids ages 18, 16, 14, and 12 year old twins. I had a long talk with the oldest about life, society and politics which was fun.

Saturday was my train day. I ended up being on trains for 25 hours including a bit of a delay. I took a 6 hour train from Tarbes (ma's) to Paris, then my night train from Paris to Bologna was 3.5 hours late. I met a bunch of Americans and we passed the time with ease. My first night train
went smoothly and I slept well enough. I made a connection from Bologna to the beach town where Luca's grandma has a house and he picked me up from the
station. His grandma is very nice. She doesn't speak English, but speaks French, so we used that to communicate. We spent most of our time hanging out at the beach with other kids, playing pingpong and beach volleyball or reading at the house. It was very relaxing. We've just arrived in Bologna and he has a very nice apartment in the center of the city as far as I can tell. It seems like we'll be going out for real Italian pizza tonight!