welcoming new friends..and saying goodbye to others

I guess Autumn really is the time of transition. You buy new clothes and put away summer shoes.
You change the food you put on the table and the number of layers you have on your bed.
I love it, maybe because it gives you the chance to reinvent yourself a little and bring new good things into your life.
Unfortunately it also means you have to give up other things..This Autumn, I said goodbye to a dear friend who went back to Kenya (after 5 years of living in Rome). I know I will see Patrick again, hopefully sooner than later, but saying goodbye was sad.

A few days before, I had welcomed, along with circa 200 other people,the new American Academy of Rome fellows at a really nice party.

I am lucky, I am surrounded by wonderful people.