Our "oasis in the city" and our "escape from all the stresses of living in a foreign country" turned out to be the biggest stresser of all. After about a week of being there and waking up wheezing every morning I knew it wasn't good. There was muffa, or mold, in our apartment. And to top it off the toilet didn't flush properly. It just filled up with water and slowly drained, which isn't a romantic way to start a marriage. We had to get out. We waited until the end of October then moved in with a good friend, her roommate, another colleague from work who was staying there while her in-laws were in town, and Dante & Bob, the cats. For those of you not counting, that is 5 people and 2 cats. While there Jim made it his full time job to find an apartment. We found a great place in Testaccio, but the owner at the last minute decided he wanted a year's worth of rent up front. Yup, a mere €15,000. Obviously that wasn't going to work. The next day Jim went and looked at another apartment in Monte Verde. He called me at work and told me a little about it. I asked him if he liked it and could see himself living there and he said yes. So I said take it. The next day we went and signed the lease and paid the deposit and moved in. It is a great little find. It is on the ground floor, so we have a nice patio, about 40 sq. meters. And it is 2 bedrooms, so we have plenty of space for guests to come join us.
We've been living there about 4 weeks now and we are loving it. Having a place to unpack our stuff and settle in to has made all the difference. We've even made a journey to Ikea, and when I say journey I mean it. To get to Ikea you have to take the 8 tram to the Trastevere Station, then take the #3 bus to Piramide, then get on the blue line metro to Termini, then switch to the red line and go 15 stops to Anagnina, then take another bus that stops near Ikea. That's about an hour and a half one way. And going home was even worse because we had 2 big blue Ikea bags full of stuff, plus is was pouring rain. But, it was worth it because we now have sheets and pillows and a few other necessities. We've also had out first official guests. Mariah and Matt came and stayed with us for about a week and a half and we had a blast! It was so nice to have family here with us.
Tomorrow I'm heading back to the States for 10 days to regroup and recharge. I think it is funny that I've spent about 14 years trying to get out of Auburn, and now I want nothing more than to be home with my family in Auburn for Christmas.
And, I promise from now on to do a better job of updating this blog. :-)
