9.9.10

Post #3: Nostro Appartamento


Five days ago, we arrived in Torre Pellice, our homebase for the next eight months. Well, technically we are living in Luserna, but given the proximity of the two towns, they are one in the same. I’m sitting at a round Ikea table on one of the four Ikea chairs that occupy our dining/living room. The apartment is actually much larger than we’d anticipated. As an avid HGTV viewer, I’ve watched a lot of House Hunters International and was fully prepared to live in a 400 square foot studio apartment. Far exceeding my expectation, our apartment consists of a sizeable foyer that leads to three separate interior spaces, a dining/living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Extending from rear corner of the living room is a small kitchen that contains a proportionately small refrigerator and oven. A balcony stretches along the length of the apartment, accessible via gorgeous French doors in the living room and bedroom.

For me, the two most important factors in a home are character and natural light. This apartment has both. Character is provided by the general architecture of the building and such details as hand-painted canvases adorning the walls. (They are signed by the artist and dated back to 1932!) Thanks to the balcony doors, the apartment is flooded with natural light. Done and done. As for Kevin, the extra firm bed and the non-claw footed tub made the apartment a quick sell. (Flashback to Apartment Search 2009 where most of the rental properties on the market were ruled out because they had claw foot tubs. No explanation and no compromises.)

With all of our primary priorities met by this Luserna apartment, Kevin and I are patiently coping with its few faults.* First of all, our oven does not work. As a ‘consequence’, we have to eat out for dinner until it is replaced. Three course meals consisting of authentic Italian pasta dishes are such an inconvenience. Also, we do not have a dryer. (Then again, no one in this town seems to have a dryer.) I know we will survive, but hanging socks and underwear to dry seems tedious to say the least. In the winter, stepping into a pair of frozen pants doesn’t seem like a pleasant way to start my mornings. Then there’s the shower situation. We have a clean tub bereft of the dreaded claw feet. We even have hot water! The problem lies with the detachable showerhead that rests above the water nozzles. Since this is not an atypical set-up, there must be a method of showering with soap in one hand and the showerhead in the other. Given the lack of a shower curtain rod, it’s apparently done all while controlling the direction of the spray to insure the bathroom is not flooded. Impressive. Don’t get me wrong; I am excited to embrace the culture here. I will gladly substitute Nutella for Peanut Butter and live without salad dressing on my green leafy vegetables. Nevertheless, I would prefer to shower in the manner with which I am accustomed. That is, with a shower curtain and a stationary showerhead. 

Overall, the three details mentioned previously are small sacrifices for living here. With one glance at the lush green mountains that serve as a backdrop for our balcony view, the absence of a few customary conveniences is easily forgotten. We are living in Italy, and my surroundings are everything I could have imagined. It’s surreal to wake up in the morning and to see quaint Italian homes (villas?) out my window. I love walking out of the apartment and onto cobblestone streets that weave past buildings constructed in the 1600s. It is, in a word, beautiful. Or, more appropriately, bello. And it is, for the next 8 months, our home away from home.

*Please note that in mentioning of these faults, I am NOT complaining. I am incredibly grateful to be here, and have nothing to complain about except for maybe the incessant poison ivy that’s ravaged my legs since last Tuesday. (Mowing the lawn before I left wasn’t such a good idea after all.) Again, these are not complaints, but tidbits of information relevant in painting a picture of our world, a world away from your own.

Entry Look Straight
Entry Look Right
Living/Dining Room From Entry
Living/Dining Room View
Living/Dining Room from Balcony

Kitchen from Living/Dining Room
Kitchen Look Left
Kitchen Look Straight
Kitchen View
Bathroom From Entry
Bedroom From Entry
Bedroom View
Bedroom From Balcony
Balcony from Dining/Living Room
Balcony from Bedroom

Outside Vegetable Garden
Outside Hydrangea Bushes

3 comments:

  1. What a beautiful spot to live-ENJOY! Love ya, Mom

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  2. What a wonderful apartment! So airy and bright! So Happy that you guys are settling in!!!

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  3. beautiful!!

    yay!

    i had no idea that kevin had such a thing about claw-foot tubs. too funny!

    HEART you both!!!

    ReplyDelete