August 15, 2003
| Men's Basketball Italy Tour 2003 The Texas A&M men's basketball team is in Italy, and Associate Media Relations Director Colin Killian will share his thoughts as the Aggies experience the country and play five games over the course of the 11-day trip. A&M's 11-man roster will consist of the nine returning players from last year and two graduated seniors, Brian Brookhart and Bradley Jackson. The program's five newcomers are not permitted to participate. Others players making the tour are seniors Jesse King III, Nick Anderson, Leandro Garcia-Morales, Dylan Leal, Kevin Turner and Andy Slocum, and sophomores Antoine Wright, Marcus Watkins and Luis Clemente. The Aggies play their first game in Latina on August 16. Other games are scheduled for August 19 (Margherra), August 21 (Treviglio), August 23 (Castelletto) and August 24 (Treviglio). The team will return to College Station on August 25. Check back for daily diary entries and game recaps. DAYS 1 & 2 (Thursday, August 14 and Friday, August 15) Buon Giorno! The sun was peeking above the horizon on Thursday morning when the Aggie men's basketball team and its traveling party departed Reed Arena for its much-anticipated trip to Italy. Coach Melvin Watkins cancelled the team's final practice on Wednesday, knowing the players needed to preserve as much energy as possible for what we thought would be a 21-hour trip. The bus ride to Bush International in Houston passed quickly, though we did get a bit snagged in the morning city traffic. The flight from Houston to Newark went smoothly and lasted about 3 ˝ hours. We were scheduled for a three-hour layover in Newark, but less than two hours before our connecting flight to Milan, the airport went dark and the security buzzers went off all around us. We quickly learned about the major power outage that struck much of the Northeast and feared our flight to Italy would be delayed, but were pleasantly surprised when we departed just an hour late. We then began the eight-hour red-eye trek to Milan, soaring the skies at 36,000 feet and cruising at a crisp 600 miles per hour. The players read, played video games and watched movies on the seat-back monitors, but mostly they just slept. We had left Newark at about 7 p.m. Eastern time and arrived at about 8 a.m. Milan time. Unfortunately, several bags were missing and we spent a couple of hours at the airport sorting things out. We finally boarded the bus for Florence, which was supposed to take about three hours. For various reasons, including a stop for lunch, it took about twice that long and we rolled into Florence about 4 p.m., some 26 hours after our trip began. We couldn't wait to take showers and a lot of the guys hit the rack for a nap. We are on our own this evening, then depart for Rome on Saturday morning. After a day of sightseeing, we head to nearby Latina, where we play our first game on Saturday night against Cuomo Basket Latina.
DAY 3 (August 16) Buon Giorno! After the 26-hour adventure that marked the start of our trip, the hotel in Florence offered a welcome respite on Friday night. Everyone slept well and seemed refreshed when we awoke on Saturday and prepared for a long bus ride to Rome. We're quickly learning a valuable lesson about Italy - anything you do takes at least twice as long as the Italians tell you it will take. We were told the ride to Rome would take about two hours; we rolled into the historic city 3 ˝ hours later at about 2 p.m. The bright side of it all is that the hotel here is magnificent. If you jumped into a time machine and blasted forward about 30 years, I imagine this is what you would find. Everything is highly modernistic. The bell hops and waiters are dressed in solid black from head to toe (they remind me of Gary Player in some long ago British Open on the Classic Sports channel). After settling into our rooms, we enjoyed a tasty meal at the hotel restaurant, then departed for Latina for our first game. Again, the trip took longer than expected and we arrived about 6 p.m., an hour before tipoff. Few buildings in Italy are air-conditioned and the gymnasium in Latina was no exception. I played the unwitting court jester as the only member of our party to wear long pants. We struggled at the start of the game and Cuomo Basket Latina had a 30-year-old player with a hot hand, which led to a 23-13 deficit after the end of the first quarter (they play four 10-minute quarters here). Coach Watkins told me before the game he expected as much since the only basketballs our guys had seen since Tuesday were on their Play Stations. But eventually we got our legs back and played fairly well under the circumstances. Antoine Wright played point guard for the first time and looked pretty solid. He scored 20 points and had five assists with oly one turnover. Luis Clemente, who sat out last season, looked good in his debut, scoring 14 points. He made some tough shots and really doesn't even know the system yet. Aggie fans will enjoy watching him play. He has much to learn but is relentless on both ends of the court. Keeping an accurate score was a challenge because they had no scoreboard. I kept our scorebook, their team kept a book and then we had the "official" scorer. For most of the second half, we had three different scores. Oddly enough, my scorebook (which proved to be correct I might add) favored us the least. Fortunately, we were the unanimous winner. The game officials were about what you would expect - inconsistent to say the least. I would say one reminded me of a ref I once had in a junior high game, but that would be unfair to the junior high guy. The Italian fans sitting behind me were a bit amusing as well. They were very excited to be playing us so close. One breathless fan told me in broken English, "So, yoo tim play een feenull foor lass yeer, no?" I didn't want to disappoint him, so I just smiled. I saw him as we were boarding the bus a short time later, wearing a grin as wide as the Parthenon. We tour ancient Rome on Sunday and the Vatican on Monday before heading for Marghera for our next game Tuesday night.
DAY 4 (August 17) Buon Giorno! We awoke Sunday morning full of anticipation for our visit to ancient Rome. After a tasty breakfast of fresh fruit and European-style bacon (okay, the bacon was not tasty because it was raw, but the fruit was good because it was raw but fresh.) We got off the bus and after a few quick pictures headed for a tunnel that would take us to the Colosseum, one of the wonders of the ancient Roman civilization. I learned a long time ago in journalism school not to use the first person, but in this case I must make an exception (sorry Dr. Morgan). As I entered the tunnel with Andy Slocum and Dylan Leal, I suddenly found a baby thrust into my face. I was shocked as a group of young girls (gypsys) began groping and kissing my forearms. Just as quickly, they departed the premises. I immediatly knew what had happened. I HAD BEEN ROBBED! While the rest of the group enjoyed their guided tour of Ancient Rome, I became acquainted with a modern Rome police station. I cancelled my credit cards and kissed $300 goodbye. But thanks to the generosity of our fellow Aggies, I knew I would be okay. We returned to the hotel and everyone had a relaxing afternoon (except for me, who broke my glasses as I tried to clean them with a simple Roman facial tissue). We bussed downtown in the evening for dinner and shopping. If you ever want to barter, take Burrell Watkins with you. You are guaranteed a great deal. Although I had had a rotten day, I discovered the perfect elixir--spend an evening with Nicole and Bobby Kummer, Lew Hill, Jim Stark and Shone "Puffy" Gipson. I quickly forgot my troubles and had my most enjoyable evening yet (largly because they had to pick up the tabs--I had no Euros). We saw the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Piazza Navona and many more breathtaking sites. A day that had begun as a disaste ended as our most memorable experience so far. On Monday, we will tour the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel before heading to Venice. A special thanks to my sideline reporters, Nicole Kummer and Jim Stark, who helped me through the shock of victimhood to file today's diary.
DAY 5 (August 18) Buon Giorno! As the folks on the East Coast learned last week, it's easy to take common things in our lives for granted. Last night was miserable for our entire traveling party because the air-conditioning went out at our hotel. In Italy, such things as air-conditioning and ice are considered luxuries. After battling the brutal heat and humidity all day in Rome on Sunday, we had been looking forward to the delicious coolness of our hotel rooms. What we got was an unexpected all-night sauna. I guess after the pounds of pasta I've been eating, wringing out my sweat glands probably wasn't a bad thing. We gladly boarded our AC-eqipped tour bus early Monday after checking out and headed for nearby Vatican City. The tour took about three hours, but what we saw made the discomforts worth it. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica now have a permanent and treasured home in our memory banks. It was more breathtaking than I ever imagined and many in our party were obviously moved by the beauty and splendor of what we saw. Still, after being on our abused feet all morning, it felt good to settle into our soft bus seats for the six-hour drive to Venice. We enjoyed seeing the gorgeous Italian countryside but were happy to finally reach Venice. The bus dropped us off at a dock and we boarded a boat taxi for a 20-minute ride to our hotel. We had a scare as we were boarding when our team physician, Dr. Carl Weidenbach, lost his balance and fell backward. Fortunately, he only dropped a couple of feet before the top of a docked boat broke his fall. Doc Weidenbach recovered quickly and what could have been a horrible mishap became a humorous anecdote. We were pleased to see Tomas Ress and his father waiting for us as we docked at the hotel. Ress recently left A&M to play professional basketball here in his home country and has signed a contract with a new Division IA team. The team dinner was a special treat, and not just because of the great food. Coach Watkins made a surprise presentation to Tomas and Bradley Jackson, who graduated this month from A&M but were unable to attend ceremonies. Thanks to the hard work of Dr. Joe Townsend in the College of Agriculture, among others, we were able to bring the actual degrees with us to give to the two former players. They were clearly touched and surprised, especially Tomas since his father was with him. The Laguna Palace is a tremendous hotel with many amenities, including the one we wanted most--air-conditioning! We have yet another tour schedule for Tuesday before playing our second game on Tuesday night.
DAY 6 (August 19) Buon Giorno! Tuesday was another long but enjoyable day that started with a tour of Venice for many of our party and ended with our second basketball game. While some elected to stay at the hotel in Marghera and relax (I was one of those, so the tour details are courtesy of Kevin Hurley), a group of 22, including six players, took the water taxi over to Venice about 10 a.m. They visited St. Mark's Cathedral at Piazza San Marco, but were not allowed to take pictures because there was original artwork everywhere and flash bulbs apparently can cause some sort of deterioration. Then they took a walking tour of Venice, highlighted by Scala del Bovola, a three-story high circular outdoor stairwell that led to a balcony overlooking much of the city. They say all young Venetians go there to re-enact the most famous scene from Romeo and Juliet. They finished the tour where the Venetians once held public executions and displayed the bodies for several days. If anyone happened to fall in the putrid water of the canals, they would want to be executed. It is disgusting to say the least but at least it didn't smell too bad. The local government is spending $8 billion on a project to keep the city from sinking. They say within 20 years, the city will be under water unless something is done. What a shame that would be be not just for Italy, but for the world. While that group was on its tour, I went on a search of Marghera for a place with internet access so I could file this diary. Our hotel, which was billed as a high-tech marvel complete with high-speed internet, naturally failed to live up to its advertising. When the in-room computer proved to be incompetent, I resorted to my trusty laptop but could not get the phone line to connect. To its credit, the hotel tried to help by sending up its "expert", a kind man from Banglades. He picked up the phone and when he heard the dial tone, he said "phone work, I go now." I tried to explain that I could not get a dial tone through the modem in my laptop. This time, he picked up the phone and dialed his own cell phone. When it rang, he said,"phone work, goodbye." Frustrated, I tried to explain the problem once more, but gave up after repeating that scenario several more times. Thanks to our trainer, Shone Gipson, I found a Western Union office with internet access and was able to send the Monday diary, but the office closed too late to send the game story (dictated to web guru Matt Simon) and this diary. Anyway, we arrived at the gym in Marghera and found it to be sweltering, as expected. Actually, this is basketball in its purest form. We had to lace them up and play and not worry about anything else, even the sunlight shining on the court through the open doors. We got off to a slow start and even trailed, 14-13, at one point, then took complete control. We outscored them, 42-13, in the third quarter and went on to win, 121-70. We had seven guys score in double-figures and Andy Slocum (19 points, 12 rebounds), Luis Clemente (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Jesse King (12 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles. It was great to see Dylan Leal have a great game. He made five three-pointers and tied Slocum for game-high honors with 19 points. Brian Brookhart had three blocks. The Giants had one little guy who would seem to just throw the ball up in the air when our big guys would come after him. Several times he somehow made the shot. Before the game, they played the American and Italian national anthems (something we didn't have in Latina since they had no sound system) and we exchanged gifts. All the players and administrators from Marghera were tremendously hospitable and sportsmanlike. The two kids we have on the tour, Darby Hurley and Manuale Watkins, received Giants t-shirts and after the game, were were given the best popsicles I've ever tasted. They did a good job of promoting the game as well, even producing a number of posters that were plastered all over town. Before the game, Jim Stark, who is 1-of-1 on three-pointers in pregame warmups, talked to the Giants coach about every one of their players. Stark, as well as the rest of our supporters on the trip, has been a great ambassador for A&M. We are 2-0 and going strong, but the tour is supposed to get tougher for our final three games. Arrivederci! DAY 7 (August 20) Buon Giorno! We checked out of the hotel in Marghera this morning and the whole team bused back to Venice. Those of us that did not go on Tuesday saw much of what we missed. When we arrived, we immediately went to the local glass factory and were given a demonstration by a professional glass blower on how they create their magnificent products. The blowers must complete a 20-year apprenticeship before they are certified as masters of the art. Needless to say, we were impressed which is exactly what the wanted. We were ushered into the adjioning showroom where we made purchases and greatly enriched the local economy. We were on our own for the next three hours and after shopping for a while, Jim Stark, Brian Brookhart, Leandro Garcia-Morales and Tom Robinson (our rep from Basketball Travelers, Inc.) took a gondola ride just to say we had. We got some great pictures of the famous canals of Venice and managed to stay out of the water. I saw the Scala del Bovola they saw the day before and we returned to the Piazza San Marco. We all gathered back at our water taxi at 2:45 and headed back to the bus for a two-hour ride to Udine (being Texans, we were quickly told it was pronounced oo-DIN-ay, not you-DINE). Udine is much smaller than the other towns we've visited, which is a welcome respite. My group had dinner at a quaint little restaurant, where two local newspaper reporters discovered us and interviewed us about the Thursday's game. The hotel is very old and is the best of the four in which we've stayed to this point. The Alps are only a short distance away and I think a few of us might go there on Thursday. We have no formal tour on the agenda, so everyone is free to do as they wish. At 5 p.m., we are scheduled to leave the hotel for our third game. Arrivederci! DAY 8 (August 21) Buon Giorno! The town of Ubine is enchanting to say the least. Every member of our group I spoke with agreed it has been our best stop. It is much smaller than Florence, Rome or Venice, but out hotel is located in the downtown area so everything is within walking distance. We had no formal tours today and everyone was able to do their own thing. Basketball trainer Shone Gipson and I walked to a nearby laundromat and did a little laundry this morning. When I packed for the trip, I didn't expect to change clothes twice a day, but I guess I didn't account for the heat and humidity that is Italy in August. We met several others for lunch at a great little place near the hotel. The ambiance was just what you would hope for in Italy and Mario's spaghetti was exquisite. I like the work ethic here. The entire town shuts down at noon and everyone takes a three-hour lunch break. Many of the townspeople found their way to our little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and enjoyed a number of large glasses of wine before returning to work. My guess is that the mornings are much more productive than the afternoons in Ubine. We returned to the hotel and got ready for Thursday night's game in Tolmezzo, which was about an hour's drive. The drive itself was one of the highlights of the trip as Tolmezzo is located in the mountains that lead to the famous Alps. We thought they were the Alps, but Tom Robinson, our tour rep from Basketball Travelers, said they were "the foothills to the Alps." I've never before seen 8,000-foot foothills before. Unlike the first two gymnasiums in which we played, the gym in Tolmezzo was actually comfortable. The cool mountains made a tremendous difference. We played Basket San Daniele, which won the title last year in the Italian "C" league but has moved up to the "B" division. We played another solid game and posted our second straight 51-point win. Coach Watkins has appointed one of his assistants to serve as head coach in each of the last two games. Coach Hill had the 121-70 win against Marghera and coach Kummer led the win tonight. Luis Clemente continues to shine and scored 26 points with 12 rebounds. If he can reach a loose ball, he is going to come up with it and find a way to score. Brian Brookhart scored a shaky two points but had seven rebounds and specifically asked me to tell his parents, Pete and Joanne, hello for him. Antoine Wright finished the game in specacular fashion, scoring 24 points, including 13 in the final quarter. He had a couple of vintage slam dunks that brought the Italian crowd to its feet. We had a bit of a scare in the second quarter when Nick Anderson went down with an ankle injury. Dr. Carl Weidenbach and Nicole Kummer accompanied him to the hospital for x-rays, but it all turned out okay. He's very sore, but that's better than a fracture. A bunch of us went out to eat after returning to Ubine and were diappointed that our little Spaghetti place was no longer serving. We settled for club sandwiches (you would have, too, if you had seen the rest of the menu) and headed back to the hotel. We leave early Friday morning for Como, which is located in the Northern Mountains of Italy.
DAY 9 (August 22) Buon Giorno! We regretted having to leave Ubine, which I think everyone agreed was the best stop so far on our tour. Nevertheless, the bus pulled out of Ubine about 9 a.m. and we embarked on the six-hour ride to Como, which is located near the border of Switzerland. Fortunately, we were able to break up the drive with a three-hour stop in Verona for lunch and sightseeing. In the middle of town is a 2,000-year-old arena that resembles the Colosseum in Rome but is much smaller. The neat thing is that they still have operas there. A short walk brought us to a small courtyard and the balcony where the famous scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet supposedly took place. Ann McAdams, one of our supporters who happens to be an English teacher, told me the play was one of only two by Shakespeare that were set outside of England (the other was Hamlet). I had lunch with Ann and her daughter, Lynde, and Brenda Cooper at an outdoor restaurant near the town square. By then, it was time to once again board the bus for the final leg of our journey to Como. The bus is equipped with a large video screen and "The Shawshank Redemption" occupied us for the rest of the drive. We were awestruck upon arriving in Como, which rests on a corner of Lake Como, Italy's most famous lake. The Alps ascend up to 8,500 feet above the sparkling clear waters. I was actually looking forward to an evening of rest, but I was kidnapped by the McAdams, Mrs. Cooper and Pat and Patsy Kirksey for a quick train ride to the Swiss town of Lugano. Mr. Kirksey, by the way, has served as a Yell Leader for our first three games. He ambles down to the floor in front of our small entourage of fans and is quite enthusiastic. The Italians wear blank faces during the yells, but they seem to gain greater understanding (if not appreciation) as the games progress. While Como was spectacular, we were not prepared for the beauty and splendor of Switzerland. We were rendered speechless and were forced to fill our gaping mouths with fresh fish cooked to perfection in a little Swiss restaurant that overlooked a large lake (it was more like a small sea to me). We caught the last train back to Como (we thought we pulled a fast one when we boarded the empty first class car, but the burly conductor made us move to our appropriate seats). For once, I was pleased about the communications barrier because I didn't think our female companions would appreciate his language. We have a three-hour boat tour of Lake Como scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by an afternoon tram ride to the top of the mountains overlooking our hotel. On Saturday night, we take a short bus ride to Castelletto for a game against Castelletto Ticino, the fourth game of our tour. Ticino finished third in the Italian B-1 League last season and could be our toughest test yet, but the players are determined to add another "W" to our 3-0 record. Through three games, sophomore Luis Clemente is averaging 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, while sophomore Antoine Wright is adding 20.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.3 steals. Andy Slocum has been in double figures in rebounding all three games, averaging 10.7 boards to go with his 12.3 points.
DAY 10 (August 23) Buon Giorno! Everyone is getting a little road weary at this point, but each stop on the tour has been better than the last. Lake Como has to be one of the finest vacation spots on the planet. After breakfast, most of our group went on a four-hour boat tour of the lake (at least some of it, as it is one of the largest lakes in Europe). Along the way, the guide pointed out George Clooney's summer home and the balcony where they filmed the wedding scene in the most recent Star Wars movie. I had no idea what they were talking about since I haven't seen the movie, but it was a truly impressive villa. We stopped for about an hour at a small village to shop and have lunch. I practically inhaled a plate of scrumptious lasagna and topped it off with some Italian ice cream. Ice cream is a big deal over here. You can find an ice cream shop on just about every street corner. We returned to our hotel about 1:15 p.m. and prepared for our next excursion, a ride on the tram to the top of a nearby mountain, where another quaint little village sat hidden in the forest. We enjoyed some more ice cream and walked around for about an hour, visiting a small church and simply enjoying the stupendous view of Italy and Switzerland from high above the lake. The tram was a fun ride because it is very steep. Many of the players, and some of our supporters, were a bit pale on the ride down. We returned to the hotel and left for our game in Castelletto about 5 p.m. Castelletto has a permanent population of about 8,000, but that rises to almost 20,000 in the summer because many Italians have a summer home there. It is cheaper than Como but is still less than an hour's drive to the lake. While the first couple of places we played in were hot, the gym in Castelletto was an absolute oven. I had to chuckle when I saw the concession stand, which was manned by a shirtless fellow wielding a large knife. He was cutting up watermelon and cantelope and allowing people to come up and grab whatever they wanted. It was probably the largest crowd we have played in front of over here and Basket Castelletto was undoubtedly the best team we've played. You could see in pre-game warmups that their players had a little rougher edge to them. A couple of their guys have played in the top Italian professional leagues in the past and it showed. The first half was a veritable dog fight and we took a one-point halftime lead on a nifty little jump shot by Antoine Wright as time expired. Antoine had an incredible game, scoring 39 points with 10 rebounds and making 7-of-11 three-pointers. Jesse King also had a strong performance. He made three three-pointers in the third quarter to hold off the Italians, then we finally put them away in the fourth quarter. Jesse finished with 17 points and 10 boards. We will be able to sleep in on Sunday morning before departing for Milan around noon. We will shop and sightsee most of the day, then head directly to our final game in Treviglio. After the game, we will return to Como for our final night in Italy. On Monday, we are homeward bound!
DAY 11 - FINAL ENTRY (August 24) Buon Giorno! We began our final full day in Italy by staying in the general vicinity of the hotel all morning. For the most part, we've had enough spaghetti and lasagna and are ready for some good old American-style food. Everyone is anxious to return home. After lunch, we departed for Milan about 12:30 p.m. for some quick shopping and sightseeing before going to Treviglio for our final game. We were disappointed that we would not be able to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in Milan. Apparently, you have to make an appointment several weeks in advance. Still, we were stunned by the magnificence of the Duomo Cathedral. In many respects, it is even more beautiful than the Basilica of St. Peter at The Vatican. We also shopped nearby, saw the Milan Opera House, which is being renovated, and took pictures with a large statue of Da Vinci. We also took a brief tour of a large castle (I don't recall the name), complete with a very deep and wide moat (it was empty). We left for Treviglio about 3 p.m. and enjoyed an hour-long ride through the rolling countryside. Thankfully, the game was scheduled for 6 p.m. rather than 7 like our earlier games. The gymnasium was the nicest we've played in yet. They had a weight room and other amenities but best of all - it was AIR-CONDITIONED! That was a welcome surprise after our experience in Castelletto on Saturday. I had a feeling we might have a long night. The guys were tired, plain and simple. And Treviglio, unlike some of our Italian opponents, was a legitimate team. They were skilled and had good quickness and it was apparent this game was a big deal to them. In our first four games, officials waived personal fouls (but kept team fouls) because we had so few players. Treviglio refused to do that and the officials quickly got happy whistles. Antoine Wright was slapped with three quick fouls and went to the bench in the second quarter with only three points. We made a good run in the third quarter and trailed by just three points (53-50) going into the last period. Just when it seemed we might be able to overtake them, the whistles started blaring once again. Considering our physical condition, we probably would have lost the game anyway, but who knows? The crowd was very large and at times, the game got a little heated. Melvin allowed Bobby Kummer to serve as head coach tonight and Bobby got more than a little upset at some of the calls. When Luis Clemente got his sixth foul with about two minutes left, the Italians said he fouled out and would have to leave the game. We told them before the game that we didn't have enough guys if they fouled anyone out, but I guess they didn't listen. After another heated exchange, they finally allowed Luis to stay in the game. We had a couple of guys on the bench who might have gone in, but they had been out a while and we didn't want anyone to get hurt in the final two minutes of an exhibition tour. Treviglio led by about 12 points at the time. Anyway, the game ended without further incident and everyone shook hands. You have to expect these types of games to be a bit one-sided. Afterward, we took a picture at center court of everyone in our traveling party, then headed back to Como for our final night in Italy. We enjoyed one final authentic Italian dinner and went back to our rooms for some needed rest for a long day of travel on Monday. The tour was a huge success and not just because of our 4-1 record and the things we accomplished on the basketball court. Our players formed a greater bond and began to develop the chemistry all good teams possess. We saw great potential from the returning players, along with Luis Clemente, who practiced with the team last season but could not play. I predict our fans will fall in love with Luis. Without question, the 12 days away from home have been worth it. Everyone in our group will remember this tour the rest of their lives and Aggies everywhere should be proud of how our players and supporters represented Texas A&M. I hope you have enjoyed reading these daily diaries from Italy. It's been fun. So, for the final time...
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