Merry Christmas, all!  We’re here in our friend Andrea’s apartment, tucked away in a lovely little corner of Adams Morgan known as Kalorama Triangle, which I imagine was some real estate agent’s brilliant marketing strategy for attracting people here before it became “the” place to be!   We’re getting great exercise, as this is a fourth floor walk-up, which was a perfect way of reminding ourselves to PACK LIGHT!, which we didn’t do before getting here.  If you only knew the amount of food, health and beauty supplies and assorted junk we carried up here!  Andrea will either feel like she hit the jackpot or else is paying for something she really did wrong in a previous life when she returns from her vacation and finds all the things we’ve left for her.  Diana’s last day of work was Thursday, December 22.  It was especially poignant watching Senator Sarbanes carve his name into his desk on the Senate floor (yes, they even provided him with some kind of a wood-burning pen to do it!) as we all disperse to places and jobs unknown.  In all the many times I’ve come and gone from the Senate previously, there was always a Sarbanes office to come back to, and the loss of this “home base” will be felt sorely not only by us but by the State of Maryland and the whole country.  We’ve been unbelievably busy trying to get all the bureaucratic details wrapped up before we leave – getting our Italian visas and reservations and tickets, the mail and financial arrangements for while we’re away (it’s much harder than you’d think to get along with no physical address – banks and billing companies are unable to deal with you unless you make one up!), taxes and ethics forms, you name it.  This week’s dilemma is whether we should try to rent, lease or buy a car in Italy or just stick with the original plan to use public transportation.  I’m a big fan of trains, but that may be easier said than done with heavy suitcases every 3-4 days.  If you have a solution, please call, email us or leave a note on the “comments” section below!