27 June, Part 2

27 June, Part 2
Yes, Diego showed up about 10 minutes later to let us into the apartment. Funky old building, we're on the third floor.  You can use the "elevator of doom" to get up to the second floor.  Just push the button and a small elevator appears. Open the door and enter--two people can fit, if they like each other.  Close the door. The light goes out. Ahhh!  If you can find your button in the dark, press it and the light will come on again and the elevator will move.  You learn to find your button before shutting the door.

The apartment itself is charming, of course.  A kitchenette (mini fridge, microwave, sink, two burners, and the tiniest washing machine I have ever seen) Also the smallest bedroom I have ever seen. A double bed (well, two twin beds shoved together) is wedged into a room with a slanted ceiling that Lane keeps hitting his head on. A dresser. About six square feet of floor between the door and the bed. That's it!  Also, since the door is about 5' 6" Lane keeps hitting his head on that, too.  Finn is on the couch and Coen on a rollaway bed.  Living room/dining area and a pretty darn cute little rooftop patio.  I need to buy a cable to upload photos from my camera to the iPad, and not sure how to find such a store at this point, but keeping my eyes open. We had a pizza restaurant recommended by Diego called Monte Carlo, so we went wandering around the neighborhood after we were settled into our apartment.  Very lively area around here at night!  The women all seem to weigh 100 lbs and to smoke.  Everyone was dressed up for Friday night out in Rome.  I started feeling the "travel stomach" I get sometimes, so didn't much enjoy our first pizza in Italy, but I could tell it was good--very thin, crispy crust, then out for the mandatory daily gelato.  :^)  No, I didn't have that either. Hopefully tomorrow the tummy will settle down. Finn and Coen enjoyed, though.

Finn's comments are that Rome is like a lot of other big cities in many ways, but the small cobblestone streets and tiny shops make it feel really different.  He seems happy to be here.  Everybody was exhausted last night, but totally jet lagged at the same time.  We had dinner at 10:30 and the place was still totally crowded.  Apparently 7:00 dinner is considered very early and 10:00 just a bit late.  So, we were super fashionable our first night in Rome!   I hope we all sleep well tonight!