Monday, May 21. My last day in London. I have had such a great time here, both working and being with friends; the perfect combination of work and holiday. Miriam has been the most wonderful host, way above and beyond the call of duty. Despite my protests, she wouldn’t let me do anything for her, this while in the midst of helping her daughter with exams, trucking her son to football/soccer matches and taking care of her mother. Then to cap it off, while I was looking forward to negotiating trains and the Underground to make my way to Stanstead Airport even though it was a really long and complicated way, she bought me a taxi or Uber to the Liverpool Street Train Station and refused to let me pay for it. Unbelievable! The cab took me through a couple of the seamier sections of London that I’d never seen before, and through the Muslim section, then onto the train station. It worked like clockwork because no sooner did I negotiate buying a ticket at a kiosk, when the train was about to leave. So I hopped right onto the Stanstead Express, without having a chance to get some lunch. I had an apple in my backpack and Miriam had given me a nut mix, so that’s what I ate on the train ride. It’s just as well, the way I’ve been pigging out lately, plus I’m about to go to Italy where I am guaranteed to gain 5 more pounds. When I got off the train at the airport I still had to take a taxi to the Days Inn, four miles away.  Boy, Days Inns have really gone down the tubes, let me tell you. After I checked in and ordered a taxi for the morning and a very early wake-up call (which here consists of a knock on the door), I took a 45-minute walk. My friend, Rudi Kennard was supposed to drive up and meet with me, but we got our signals crossed and the day wrong, so we couldn’t. I had to take an important Skype call—which went great—and was supposed to do some work, but I ran into some problems trying to check in for my flight. Luckily, Monica Fava, my host in Italy, texted me and she took care of the check-in for me, since she had purchased the ticket, then emailed me the boarding pass, which I had the Inn copy for me. Then I got into repacking mode and took a bath so I wouldn’t have to shower in the morning, and readied myself for a 5:45 AM wake up knock.