On my dad's birthday, I was on a train with 20 classmates at the crack of dawn in what felt very much like a middle school field trip. Our professors met us on the train platform, having ridden in first class, and led us through the streets of Rome. Twenty minutes later, we approached the Palazzo del Quilinale, passed through security, and entered the palace to be greeted by a garden boasting palm trees and other tropical plants. I was reminded why I love this city. Passing by guards who were never under 6'5" and who wore gold metal helmets with a horn on the top boasting a long black horsehair tail, we wound up a stairway to the private office area of the palace where we were granted a private meeting with the Italian 
President, Giorgio Napolitano. He is a balancing force in the government, being a very proud communist, to Prime Minister Berlusconi, and has a soft spot for John's Hopkins because our institution sponsored his travel visa to the United States when his communist affiliation barred him normal travel admittance. He spoke for only a few moments, all in Italian (thanks to our Director who told him we all understood!) and then shook our hands.
President, Giorgio Napolitano. He is a balancing force in the government, being a very proud communist, to Prime Minister Berlusconi, and has a soft spot for John's Hopkins because our institution sponsored his travel visa to the United States when his communist affiliation barred him normal travel admittance. He spoke for only a few moments, all in Italian (thanks to our Director who told him we all understood!) and then shook our hands.Hottie
Following the meeting, we got a tour of the beautiful palace, which was built for the pope in the 1500's. It is like many other palaces with walls ordained in silk upholstry, intricate chandieliers, beautiful moulding, and tons of beautiful furniture you can't sit on.
Here is the picture which is today on the homepage of the President's website. He's shaking Donatello's hand... mine is that blonde/foreheady bump in the background!
After this, Melissa and I scooted uptown to try to drop off visa applications at our respective embassys (Thai and Russian), only to find that they all close before noon! Oh well, we enjoyed seeing a new part of Rome and had a lovely lunch before heading back with the group on the 2:30 train.
Back to reality. I loved my little mid-week escape and felt refreshed to work on a paper, sitting on my desk so i could be right by my giant open window, before making strawberry shortcake to take to a potluck dinner that evening... can you tell someone has spring fever?
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