catching up (1 of 2)

I wrote two entries in a notebook of mine while I lacked computer access: so here's the first.

1) Gli ultimi giorni a Roma (12:10 PM, 1 Agosto)

Yesterday, after everyone else had left, Eddie, Chelsea, and I swam and layed by a pool on the Tiber River. I tanned a little bit, and I must ask, can you imagine lying for hours under a beautiful July sky, looking up at Castel Sant'Angelo, which has for centuries been the private emergency fortress of the Pope? How about swimming lazily across the pool, staring ahead at the dome of the Basilica in Vatican City? All in all, it was a relaxing and somewhat surreal experience.
Eddie left this morning, so Chelsea and I checked out of our room, ate a bit of breakfast, and then walked from the hotel to the train station, Termini. I bought my ticket, said goodbye to Chelsea, my last friend in this country, and boarded my train to Genova. I think I'm even in the right seat.
Just writing this is making me all terrified and emotional. I'm going to read. I should finish "All the King's Men," which I love, before I leave Italy.
The train just started moving.