Great Expectations

So because I had such an amazing time this semester and saw so many amazing things, I now have some very amazing expectations for my future.  Some could maybe, eventually, hopefully happen while some are just flat out ridiculous.  I don't care.  So here is what my semester has done to my dreams:

I will have a rose garden that is a pretty as the Roseto Comunale. (First I will learn how to tend garden and make things grow.  Really I just want to have access to fresh beautiful roses on a regular basis.)

I will have a grand library like the Biblioteca Angelica.  (I am determined to have at least a full wall of bookshelves when I grow up so this is a do-able goal.)

I will have a house (villa) in the Pigneto neighborhood of Rome (co-owned with Shruti) where we will escape to during the alternating years when she is not visiting me in California, nor I her in Thailand.

I will have an apartment in Gozo overlooking Xlendi Bay.

I will have a Vespa or similar scooter/bike to get around Rome (and it's countryside) and Gozo. (I haven't quite figured out how to get the scooter between the two residences yet.)

I will be back in Italy for an olive harvest, and make and eat fresh olive oil.

I will travel to all the places I didn't get to this semester, including (but not limited to): Italy (Cortona, Riomaggiore, Basilicata, Pompey, Capri), Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Croatia, Budapest, Portugal, Greece (Athens and assorted islands), Netherlands, Turkey (Istanbul, Pamukkale), and lets throw in Egypt and India and New Zealand for good measure.

I will revisit all the places I saw this semester.

I'm sure there are several other things the semester has lead me to dream about because this list seems much shorter than it was in my head three days ago.

Ciao,
J