A few more photos

Did I mention the three bathrooms...one upstairs, one with a bathtub between the small bedroom and the master bedroom and one with a shower in the master bedroom. And finally our bedroom.

Photos of the flat

Here are two views of the living room. Unfortunately, the fireplace doesn't work. The living room is attached to the kitchen. This is the view of the garden from the kitchen. This is the stairwell down to the bedrooms in the basement.

Move #2 approaches

So, after living here for a year (has it really been that long!), we've decided to move. Our current flat is fine - if you forget about all of the appliances constantly breaking, the mouse-infestation, the drunken shouting as people emerge from the late-night bar across the street at 3 in the morning, and the 15 minute walk to the closest tube station - but we've decided we need a change. So we did a few weeks worth of frustrating flat hunting and we finally found an awesome two-story flat in West Central London with a garden and 3 pubs within a 2 minute walk from our front door (all the important things). The minute we walked into the place, Leo and I knew we wanted to live there, a feeling we haven't felt since seeing our apartment the West Village. When we saw the flat it was unfurnished and today we're going back to see what furniture they've put in for us. I'm a bit nervous to see what we'll be living with, but at least all of it will be brand new. It is a bit unsettling knowing that you're sleeping in someone else's bed, like in the place we're in now. I'm bringing my camera, so I'll post the photos of the place soon.

More from Rome

Here's a view of the Victor Emmanuel Monument at night. Looks a bit less Fascist in this lighting.

On New Years Eve, instead of finding a restaurant which would take us at the last minute, we decided to cook dinner. We were all staying in a beautiful apartment right around the corner from the Pantheon which I would highly recommend, called Gloria. That morning we all went to the outdoor market in the Campo de'Fiori and picked up some pasta, the makings for sauce, cheese, some beautiful artichokes, and of course wine. That evening my Dad and I cooked a Roman feast (probably one of our best meals in Rome).

On my parents last day in Rome we decided to get out of the city and we went to the unearthed city of Ostia-Antica. The site was huge and took us a couple of cold and rainy hours to get through, but it was really amazing to see.

Overall, Rome was not the city I had remembered. Maybe it was the weather, or the fact that the euro was now equal to the pound, so everything was amazingly expensive (I've lived in New York and London and this place is now more expensive than both!). But Rome just felt like one big tourist trap, which I guess is exactly what it has been for centuries.
Well, happy inauguration day!

Sorry for the delay

We decided to get out of London and head to someplace warmer between Christmas and New Years with my folks. Little did we know, a cold front was descending upon Rome, so when we got there it was about 5 degrees (Celsius) cooler than we thought it would be and raining. So, in essence, we left crappy weather for more crappy weather...but at least it did let up a couple of days and we did have a wonderful time - even with the hoards of Catholics and the daily hunt for something good to eat. Over the week we were there, we walked most if the city... or at least it felt like it. We even went out of town to the ancient and unearthed city of Ostia. And now for some pictures... This is us walking to the Galleria Borghese through the park. Doesn't it look remarkably like London? Leo feels rights at home in the Capitoline Museum. A view from the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo. Leo and I walked around the Roman Forum and marvelled at how few people we had encountered in there last time we were in Rome in the summer of 2001 compared with the crowds we were finding now.

Roman Holiday

We just got back from a week in Rome late last night. I'll post pictures and stories soon.