random stuff and houses

I have finally gotten the internet working today, so I'll just comment on some random stuff.

I took this picture this morning on the way home from taking Emily to school.

It was in a park that we pass through every day on the way to and from Emily's school. I just thought it was funny that in American parks you see beer bottles, etc. left over from the night before, but, in Italy, it's a WINEGLASS on the park bench!

Yesterday, I had some yogurt, and Hamlet got his sample, as pictured below.

European yogurt is similar to the kind we have in America, but not quite the same. It is not as thick. It's not like the drinkable kind, but it is definitely more soupy than the Yoplait that I usually eat. It tastes good, though, as Hamlet will attest.

Here is Hamlet enjoying one of the cabinets in our hotel apartment.

Hamlet and Jeff relaxing in the hotel.

We have been looking at houses lately, in search of somewhere to live for at least the next 2 years. It has been interesting. Italian ideas about houses and furnishings are not the same as American ideas. For one thing, Italian houses do NOT necessarily come with kitchens or bathrooms installed. When Italians move, they take the kitchen sink. And the bathroom sink, and the oven, and the cabinets... All of the houses we have looked at have had kitchens and bathrooms because Silvia, our housing liaison, knows that we need them, but I have seen pictures of houses and apartments with just pipes sticking out of the wall. We did see one that was missing the kitchen sink and the stove.

Italian houses are small compared to American houses, especially the bedrooms. We have seen some secondary bedrooms that were barely as big as a small bathroom. Most houses have more than one floor, and most of the ones we have seen have 3 levels. We have not seen any houses with carpet. All of them have tile, wood, or marble. Every house that we have seen has shutters on the windows that can be opened and closed. Italians close these every night, and open them in the daytime. They come in several different types, but they block out the light very effectively, so you don't need heavy curtains. Here are some pictures of a couple of the different kinds.

Most buildings do not have screens on the windows or air conditioning, unless an American family has already lived there. I don't understand this because the mosquitos here are awful! Worse than Wisconsin! We have been eaten alive in the hotel because for the first 2 weeks we couldn't figure out how to work the air conditioning and had to open the windows. It seems that all air conditioning is done room by room with units that mount on the wall and work with remote controls. The remotes had somehow been removed from our rooms. We have gotten them back now, and are sleeping much better. If only we could kill the last 6 mosquitoes that are hanging out on the ceiling...

We have found a house that we really like, but we are still negotiating with the landlord on some issues, so I will not comment too much about it here. I don't want to jinx our chances of getting it! We are supposed to meet with the landlord on Monday, so hopefully I will have good news then, and can tell all about it. Keep your fingers crossed for us!