It's been a while

I do realize I have not posted in a while, and I will not bore you with the details and excuses, but believe me they are valid and include travel, hospitals, and visitors.... Am I off the hook now?

However, I do think one should blog regardless, I have a duty to the blog, and to my non-existant readers. Who knows, maybe this will become like the last chapter of HandMaids Tale, whereby all that is left of civilization is my meandering blog... I have a responsibilty to the future!

yeah right...

In any case, I do have news. We have found a new apartment! Yes, I know its a rental, but in Rome finding a rental is not so easy. We, my husband and I, were so excited about finally finding one that when we announced it to family, my sister in the USA thought we had BOUGHT the place! Understandable coming from someone who merely has to open the newspaper to find hundreds of possible rentals, categorized by zone, price and size! Ah, here that is a mere fantasy.

So how do you go about finding a rental? Good question. Anything listed in the local classfieds newspaper is either too expensive or unlivable (yes I will pass on the 1600 dollar matchbox, thank you). So you need to resort to word of mouth with a lot of luck... reason being since Italy moved to Euro, anyone having the "old rent" (which is 50% less of new rent) is holding on to their apartments for dear life... NO ONE wants to move, and everyone is petrified of the new rents.

Which is understandable. Unemployment is high and housing costs are insane. One quickly begins to understand two Italian trends: children living with parents well into their 30's, and the VERY low birth rate.

So yes, I do have reason to celebrate. We have found a place, not cheap but affordable, nice zone and connected to public transportation.

Now our challenge is furnishing it, as it seems when you rent an apartment in Italy all you get is doors and a wall. Not even a kitchen sink. God help me.