An empty room...

... that's all that's left after the departure, this past Monday of my friend Vittorio, after his briefest visit ever.

We did have a lot of fun together, as usual, and Ray was kind enough to let us go on our second Road Trip (the first one's destination was Caribou, Maine, but we never made it there because it was too far and we ran out of time).

This time we didn't really have one specific target. We first set sail for Intercourse, Pennsylvania, in the Amish Country (cute little town, and I cannot imagine what the Amish people's life must be like; I probably wouldn't survive a winter going around in a carriage that is all open to the elements). We also went to Bird In Hand (how could we pass the chance??), which is right next to it, and from there to Lancaster.

From there we went to Gettysburg, PA, where a big area that was the stage of one of the most important battles of the American Civil War has been turned into a national park/monument and it's really a must-see.

Next up was Pittsburgh, PA, cute town in a marvelous setting at the bottom of a valley and surrounded by two big rivers. They built monorails that lift you up to enjoy the view, which is quite spectacular.

Then we drove up to Erie, PA, right on the lake Erie, one of the smallest of the Great Lakes, and yet immense. We did cross the border into Ohio, Conneaut was the destination. A small town that has nothing to offer to the accidental tourist. We were lucky to find a place open to eat something and felt like the girls from The Adventures of Priscilla when they enter the straights only bar in the middle of nowhere.

We then drove up to the Niagara Falls, which are absolutely breathtaking. At that point we started driving back and went through the Catskill Park, which is too very nice, and then back home.

Our road trips are now becoming a staple, and our favorite thing to do. It's just so different from the regular vacation trip and much more fun.

Unfortunately, Vittorio's vacation then ended, and he's back in Milan, Italy, working like crazy in his new position in the HR department of his company, and I'm back to my old routine, with the added strain of 3 new classes in an MBA program that I had to enroll into to keep my student status active.

We're missing him a lot and we're all looking forward to the next time he'll be able to visit. The morning after I took him to the airport, I was in Nicole's room and told her that Vittorio had left, and she looked at me and said, "I know, I came home last night and saw that his things weren't in his room anymore." I told her I was very sad, and then I almost started crying.

Then driving to work, I was listening to a CD by my beloved Mina that he had brought me, and I heard a verse that totally applies to him:

E io ringrazio il cielo, fortuna che tu esisti
sei come il sole che cancella i giorni più tristi.

(and I thank the heavens, thank them that you exist
you're like the sun that cancels the saddest days)

Fortuna che tu esisti, Vitto. A presto. Ciao.