Saying Goodbye to San Lorenzo

I have made amazing friends and learned so much in the small town of San Lorenzo. Tomorrow I am setting out to see more of Europe, I am sad to leave but I cannot wait for everything yet to come and all the things I have yet to experience.
This weekend was absolutely wonderful. We went to this insane wine festival in Casarsa, it was somewhat like a fair. The rides were absolutely ridiculous, they would never be allowed in America, think about your time at a fair minus the workers going around and checking to make sure your seatbelts are securely fastened, rides with no seatbelts whatsoever, rides starting with people still standing up! It was unlike anything I have ever seen, apparently no one is worried about lawsuits...I am sure you have all seen the ride at a fair that consists of one cage with seating on one side and one on the opposite side and they swing opposite directions back and forth like a pendulum and eventually they swing all the way upside down, leaving passengers suspended upside down for moments at a time...the Italian version of this ride adds a cage, a literal cage, on the ends of the seated areas where passengers stand! Yes, they stand and use the bars to hold themselves in place and dangle as the ride goes back and forth. Never never never in America, it was intense...
On Saturday we went to a lovely park and had a picnic and took lots of pictures. Pete and Amanda are the lovely couple in the photos, and my darling Kait is the beautiful girl in most of my pictures. I will miss these three so much. It is crazy how close we have all gotten during the last month...We got all dressed up that night for graduation, it was small and very personal.
Today, Kait and I visited the small town of Sacille to visit Emma. I have neglected to mention Emma in the past because every time I try to write about her I am overwhelmed with a wave of emotion. I feel there is so much to say and no possible way to put it in words that truly express this woman and the place she will forever inhibit in my memory. Kait and I formed a special bond with this woman and we have spent many Saturdays going to listen to her share her wisdom, her experiences and her thoughts on life looking back. Today was a rough day saying goodbye, but Emma would say, "It is life, all part of life..."
I will have limited access to any type of communication so...if you do not hear from me I apologize:( I will try to update the blog here and there when I can. I am headed to Ireland tomorrow, then Scotland, Spain, France, Germany and I will end my travels back here in Italy. If you don't see the photos right away, fear not, I will post them all when I return to the states on May 25! Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you all have a good month.