Birthdays, Baggs and Bologna

Birthday greetings to Memom, Pop and my girlfriends at Tenth (you know who you are--happy 21st birthday to all of you!). Carter celebrated his birthday in Rome on March 2 with a small rectangular cake topped with an enormous white chocolate butterfly ornament. I had my birthday yesterday here in Bologna, where David is giving a series of lectures to law students at the university. His friend Luca and Luca's wife, Claudia, took us out to dinner and we talked Italian politics, a subject Luca knows well because his father is a senator. His great-grandfather was an internationally known mathematician specializing in geometry. Today, I took a quick train trip to Faenza, a small town specializing in ceramics. I spent most of my time, however, in a fabric store. There I bought a few remnants and am hoping that my more creative friends at home can help me turn them into something wonderful. Speaking of wonderful, the food stalls here in Bologna are unbelievable. They spill out into the streets--gorgeous fruits, vegetables, mozzarella, hams, sausages. Finally, before we left we had a joyous dinner with Jim and Dori Baggs, who were in Rome for several days. What fun it was to see friends from home! Tonight we're looking forward to dinner with Tom and Bonnie Martin.