Ciao, Bella

It was a send-off with a garden motif.

Far, far away on the other side of the river, we enjoyed an early evening stroll through a series of garden "rooms."

There were decks (three, I think), ponds with fish (and tales of eating their own), vegetables galore (bright red peppers, squash as big as watermelons) and a story to accompany every bit of it.

Best line heard outdoors: "It was spawning season and the smell of sex was overpowering."

At one stop on the tour, we saw an array of motorcycles from 1978 through '81, including the one that had taken our friend on a 73-day odyssey spanning 12,000 miles.

Once we finished the full loop, we moved inside for a game of find-the-cat followed by a big, chewy Italian red wine, something I hope to be drinking a lot of in the coming weeks.

That's when things really got good and tales of misspent youth began to fly.

Best line heard inside and taken out of context: "Her mom asked me what my intentions were with her daughter and I said to keep banging her until she stopped screaming."

I think some of us were laughing so hard that tears were streaming since that had clearly not been what he'd said to her mom.

With a bon voyage from our entertaining hosts, we set off for a quick meal.

Sunday choices are always limited, no more so than after 9:00.

We slunk into Mom's Siam, hoping to grab some carryout without raising the ire of the kitchen.

It helped that another customer came in minutes later, looking just as sheepish and hoping to get her own carryout.

While waiting for our food, we told the counter girl it was our last meal before crossing the pond.

Without missing a beat, she said, "Then your first meal back must be here, too."

I'm not making any promises.

Hoy obb (steamed mussels with basil and lemongrass and a spicy lime juice sauce), Siam dumplings of pork and shrimp and chicken with pine nuts and mixed vegetables arrive in the seven-minute window we were promised.

Once home, I find messages from friends saying lovely things like, "Have such a splendid time!" and "Watch all you can, take pictures but first enjoy with your eyes, visit all you can, eat all you can, drink all you can, take your time, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, don't think about Richmond."

You can bet the farm on it.