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Last day in Prague-- last day in Europe! *bitter tears*
The night before, as we were all heading up to our respective rooms, Dr. Pittman said to me, "Find me in the morning!" Which made me happy that he still wanted to hang out with me-- in spite of my practically puppy-dogging him this entire time. :) So the next morning, after kindof a groggy start on everyone's part (our one and only day without a wake-up call, we all slept in!) we headed out, along with Scott, to do the obligatory souvenir shopping! Hit up a bunch of little shops around Wenceslas Square (yes, that Good King Wenceslas) and I got some very pretty amber earrings (the guys helped pick them out, lol) as well as a few other cute souvenirs. Delicious lunch at an "Italian" (Czech Italian, or however they do it over there) restaurant-- back to the hotel because it was starting to rain-- Dr. P and I went back out to the Cafe Louvre for coffee and cheesecake. Good coffee! Incredible... and I have come to realize that "straight" coffee is much more palatable as long as it is good coffee. It's only the nasty, cheap coffee that needs disguising with milk & sugar. Anyway, back to the hotel, packed for a while and got ready for the dinner cruise!
Which was really, really lovely. Still hanging out with Dr P-- (he chose to sit next to me! I honestly wasn't being a pest, haha) and Penny's amusing brother Andrew also sat at our table. We were given complimentary glasses of champagne, which was fun for the toasts that were going around (including a father's day toast-- Happy Father's Day a day late, Dad! I'll see you tomorrow. :) ) and provided a moment of amusement when Trinka snuck up behind me and plopped a strawberry in my glass...! But I eventually snuck up to the bar and got a glass of ginger ale. :) Really, really gorgeous scenery along the Moldau river. The day had started out with me taking very few pictures, but I think I took more shots of the cruise than I did of any other place we visited!
Bekah had been hanging out with her Czech friend Lenka all day, and they invited Dr. P and me to join them at the Cafe Louvre for hot chocolate... (Invited others as well, but we four were the only ones who went) Well, even though all four of us had already been to the cafe at one point that day, the "melted candy bar" hot chocolate sounded so good that Dr. P and I just had to say yes! And ohhh my goodness, it was fabulous! Also funny how Dr. P and I realized that the "wrong" staircase we had taken earlier in the day (and turned around from) was actually the right staircase... oops! It's amazing we found our way back from the Charles Bridge the other day! haha. But anyway. Marvelous hot chocolate-- that honestly tasted just like Mom's homeade chocolate pudding when it's still piping hot and "runny." Fun stories from Dr. P's student days... general silliness. :)
Back to the hotel-- party going on down in the bar/restaurant! Much hilarity, especially with Trinka. You know how I get "punch drunk" when I'm tired? Yea, pretty much like that only more so. :) Then more staying up being goofy amusing Bekah while she packed...
Then goodbye this morning! What can I say-- I'm going to miss Trinka so much! I was one of the first to get my luggage checked, but I stayed and talked (or rather just stayed) with her until the very last member of our group had gone through the line. She said goodbye to that last person then put her arm around me and said, "Well, I'm taking this one with me if you don't mind..." Quick goodbye, and then off to the gate!
But not before yet another instance of Trinka's ingenious mind. Dr. Pittman's suitcase was over the weight limit, and since I was just hanging around with her at that point, what does Trinka do but wave me over and ask if I have any extra room in my carry-on suitcase! So yes, I have been hauling Dr. P's shoes with me since Prague! haha! I don't mind at all, but it has made going through security (every time I have to open and close my bag to take my laptop out and put it back) veeeerrrry interesting, LOL.
Long flight-- not nearly as bad as going over-- but certainly long enough. A couple hours' stop here in Memphis, then on to Wichita where my aunt & uncle will pick me up...
So how does one wrap this up? And not to say that there won't be more reminiscences trickling out... but my goodness. These have been two of the most utterly fabulous, marvelous, memorable, wonderful, beautiful weeks of my life! I love this group of people-- and I love traveling around the country singing in these gorgeous cathedrals! Now to just make a career out of it... ;) Looking forward to singing with everyone again in Summer Chorus. And as for the immediate future... off to the last leg of our flight! :)
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