Looking back

I've returned from Germany a few days ago. It's difficult to sum up my trip in one blog, so I'll break it up.
The best thing about my vacation was reconnecting with old friends. There were some faces that I had not seen since the early 70s and early 80s. Now that their child-rearing years are over, my friends have time to socialize again--and socialize we did. There were two "mini-reunions" from grade school, one from business school, one from a club my brother and I belonged to, and a couple of meetings with individuals. And I saw one friend (we go back to kindergarten, which begins at age 3) four times. Add to that visits to relatives and I can honestly say that I met everybody I wanted to meet. One girlfriend joked, "I'm glad you live in the States. Otherwise I would never see you!" It is gratifying to know that I brought people together, using my visit as an excuse for a meeting. Saying good-bye again so soon was the hardest part.
Another quest was visiting as many Italian ice cafes as possible. My favorite is spaghetti ice. It consists of whipped cream covered with vanilla ice cream pressed through a press, strawberry syrup and grated white chocolate. I skipped the whipped cream for health reasons, but the ice cream itself agreed with me. After I left the cafes probably noticed a dip in their profits. Ah, what would summer in Germany be without outdoor cafes?