La Casa

I am finally using the internet in my very own appartamento, and feeling very much at home. We were without internet for a few days, because Riccardo, despite being an engineer, is completely computer illiterate. He types with his two index fingers, and when he came to the flat to install the router, I was able to access the wireless within 5 minutes, but it took him 45 to complete the installation. He then offered to take me on a tour of Trastevere on his motorscooter. Strangely, Riccardo seems to like me, but dislike Roisin, since he never offers to show her the neighborhood. Either way, I am now able to upload pictures, allowing me to finally show off the apartment of which I am so enamored!

This to the left is a picture of the hallway that leads to the apartment. It is on the ground floor of the building, and so I don't have to ride in the elevator, which is smaller than the closets in the apartment. The brown, slightly uneven door is the door to my apartment, and there are Christmas lights that run all around it, which can be turned on and off based on how festive we are feeling as residents. They are off in this picture.


This is my bedroom, which is actually the only bedroom in the apartment. It is very adorable, but the bed is too big for the room. It fits within the bound of the room, but completely prevents the door from closing. Also, I banged my knee on the corner of it while trying to walk from the window to the door. The bruise is fantastic.





This picture to the right is the ceiling of the bedroom, which has a very cool 1920s art deco chandelier. This is not the best picture of the chandelier. The ceilings, however, are the coolest part of the apartment. They are all vaulted, which is something you can somewhat see here. The vaults are curved but not pointed, and made out of whitewashed brick. They are quite high, and probably provide the "freshness" that Riccardo goes on and on about...


This is our bathroom. As you can see, the shower is one and the same with the bathroom, which is a bit of an adventure. On the plus side, the whole bathroom gets rinsed down every time anyone turns on the shower.
























These two pictures are of the living room/Roisin's room/the dining room. The red couch folds out into a double bed, with a new mattress, very firm, according to Riccardo. Above it is an antique mirror that is somewhat distorted, and Riccardo spent more time explaining how much he likes this mirror than he did explaining how to use the stove, for instance.

This is an upright picture of the dining room area, which shows the height of the ceilings, as well as the other cool chandelier in the flat. You can also see a zebra/leopard print chair, which is possibly the most comfortable chair I have ever encountered. It looks horrendous, but sitting in it is like heaven.

This is a close up of the chandelier in the kitchen, which I really love.








This is our kitchen, which is actually quite fitted out, for an Italian kitchen. Our stove is gas burning, and although you do have to turn a switch to turn on the gas (which Riccardo neglected to tell us), there is no need to attempt the terrifying endeavor of lighting the stove. It does that on its own. The two cabinets on the bottom right contain the washing machine and the frigorifero, respectively. You may be able to notice that the second cabinet from the right looks a bit off kilter. This is the fridge, and I spent the first three days in which we lived here trying to fix the fact that the fridge was improperly installed. I managed to fix it last week, but the front is still a bit wonky...

Finally, this is a picture of the washing machine in its cabinet. It is the same size as the fridge, so Roisin and I are very creative about what we buy that needs refrigeration. The washing machine also floods the kitchen, so that is another project I will have to work on in the coming week. This picture also shows the tiles of the kitchen, which are hand painted and beautiful.


Clearly, I am rapturous about my apartment. If you have gotten to this part of the post (which must be the longest post ever), I commend you.