Our appartamento is a step back in time

You enter via a large wooden (arched of course) doorway, which has doors that are 3 inches thick in them.  Based on the plain wall of the outside, you expect nothing much.  But as in Spain or (I think) Portugal, you get so much more:  an open courtyard with pretty stone work and lots of arches.  Have I ever said I like arches?  Michael teases me by saying that I'd like an arch in every doorway of the house.   He's not far off.

You have to understand our luggage situation.  Each of our seven bags weighed exactly 50 pounds.  Then we had 6 pieces of hand luggage that easily weighed 30 pounds each.  And our backpacks probably weighed in at 25.  Of course, you can't forget Eleanor's keyboard, which is a full-size 88-key piece of electronics in appropriate packaging.  It's a biiiig box.

Our two drivers plus the real estate agent looked at the pile of luggage and chorused, "Mamma mia" (I kid you not).  And then they shrugged their shoulders, picked up some bags, and started schlepping.  Good-naturedly, no less.  We're on the third floor (which is really rather odd to describe, because they seem to have half floors here somehow), and it doesn't seem too awful.  Maybe because I'd psyched myself up for something much, much worse.  

Our new digs have tons of space done up in a 60's rustic Italian style.  The bedroom doors offer privacy via an amber, wavy pane of glass.  The girls are living in the lap of luxury: we gave them the master bedroom since there are three of them, and it really is large.  The other two rooms are a normal size.

Surprise number one:  well, signor Oreste (who looks like a benign goblin, according to Jeremy) thought that we were providing our own linens.  Lots of backing and forthing, but Michael & I decided to just handle it.  We know where the store is, and that way they don't complain if we want a bigger towel or whatever.

Surprise number two?  Let's just say that -- now that we've made the trek down to the shops and are hot, sweaty, and decidedly ready for (ahem) freshening, the water heater doesn't appear to be working all that well.  Michael's investigating the innards as I write.  

This afternoon we shopped & checked in with some of our favorite people.  But that's for another post!

Love,

Alexandra