Hotel Hilary

Pasquale has deposited us safely at our hotel, has accepted our tip and thanks to him and off he goes for a vacation with his onwn family. Our last night in Rome is concluded with a dinner of pasta pomodoro al dente, breaded veal, roasted garlic potatoes and dessert. We were the only ones in this newly remodeled hotel, thus dinner was very much a family meal as this is what we've become over the course of our journey. The meal concluded with speeches of gratitude for the children who were so wonderful throughout the tour, closing thoughts from me to the group about our remarkable journey and of course, how much we appreciated all that Carmen did for our group.

Carmen, who jokingly claims to be "27" but has a 30 year old son and has been working for EF tours for 15 years and is, thus, much more "mature" than 27. She is responsible for making sure we never waited in any line, had every ticket, reservation, tour guide, bus ride, etc. right on cue with no glitches at any time, during our stay, which is remarkable. She spent the entire tour making sure that we were as happy as could be expected, with the only exception being out of her control at the hotel in Florence, though she certainly threatened them plenty at this stop. She spent most of her time in the bus with microphone in hand for sharing all that she knows about amazing landmark from Milan to Sorrento and back to Rome. She is clearly as knowledgeable as any academic and cares deeply about the best parts of her country. She worked very hard to get to know each of us, spent time teaching us fun hand gestures and key words used in Italy and accommodated all of our needs to the best of her ability. As we leave Italy, we will leave behind a friend.

Different members of our group chose to stand and give thanks for various people and help they've rec'd throughout the tour and just overall gratitude for all they've experienced. We'll rest our heads for a few hours, pack up and leave the hotel for the airport at 3:45am. Our rooms are the direct opposite of any European hotels as they are brand new and huge. The weather is cool so we are all able to shower, spread out and pack with the windows open before settling in for a 5 hour nap.