Monday, April 28, 2008

Moving Day

Today was finally moving day. I went to the realtor's office at 10, where I signed the official contract, met my landlord, and got rid of ridiculous amounts of money (2 month's rent as deposit, plus 1 month's rent as payment for the realtor, plus registration taxes). The realtor did the best she could with her limited English in communicating things between the landlord (basically no English) and myself (basically no Italian). Then the landlord took me to the apartment, along with his son, who spoke some English, and showed me the utilities, and how everything in the apartment works.
I don't know if I've mentioned it, but most apartments for rent are furnished here. Getting an unfurnished apartment means truly getting something unfurnished -- no kitchen, and perhaps not even toilets! -- so you're not only looking for a nice apartment in a good location, but also judging the furniture. Luckily, the apartment I found has almost completely new furnishings and appliances. It's also in a decent style (ok, I probably wouldn't have gotten a bright red sofa-bed, but you know...). After being driven back to the center, I briefly went to the Mercato Centrale to pick up some fruit and lunch stuff for this week, then I just went to my old apartment and picked up the first bag to take to the new place.
I managed to do three runs back and forth today, each time taking one bag or suitcase with me, which took care of most of the stuff I already have with me here. In between, I went to Esselunga, a large grocery store, and Lidl, a German discount grocery chain. I was pretty glad to see that there was a Lidl nearby the apartment, since that will definitely help keep grocery costs down (EUR 1.38 for a liter of milk at Esselunga vs. EUR 0.70 at Lidl). Before the last run, I stayed at the old apartment for a while to use the internet, since I don't have that set up yet in the new place. From what I've heard, it can take anywhere from one to three months to get the telephone installed and DSL set up, so I'll get that process started as soon as possible. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to rely on the internet at work, and on reading material in the evenings and on weekends.
Finally, I made myself some pasta and homemade tomato sauce, with some Italian red wine (one of the few things that's cheap). Whew... now I'm tired!

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