At 3PM on Sunday, we wanted to finally go to our new apartment and move in a few suitcases. I sent the proprietario (owner) an SMS to let him know what we were going to do today just in case there was a problem. I called to get a taxi about ten times and no one would come to our area because of the maratona, which had its finish line in Piazza Santa Croce.
By 4PM, I gave up calling and continued getting things ready for our trasloco (move). Soon after, I received a phone call from Simone saying that he was on his way over to our place.
We carried boxes, containing mostly my books, and suitcases to his car, which was parked on via San Giuseppe alongside Piazza Santa Croce. Once the car was filled up, Simone drove us to our apartment. We had no idea how to get there because cars aren't allowed on many streets downtown or they are in one direction and you have to drive around in a circle to get to where you want to go. In the end, Simone took a street that is only meant for buses because it was Sunday and he hoped that there wouldn't be a vigile (policeman) around to give him a multa (ticket).
We parked in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata in front of our building and dragged all the stuff up three flights of stairs. It didn't seem that difficult because there were three of us and Simone was kind enough to always make sure I didn't carry anything too heavy.
We drove back to our apartment and loaded the car again. This time, on the last trip up the stairs, we were all exhausted. Simone plopped himself and the boxes down on the top step, I stopped a few steps behind him, and Dave stopped on the second floor. It didn't seem like it took this much out of us, but this last load seemed even heavier.
On our last trip back into our new apartment building, I met a girl outside whose name was Valeria. She asked me, "Siete arrivati oggi?" (Did you arrive today?) I said that we did, but I didn't have time to explain exactly what we were doing since we're not really moving in completely yet: our contract starts on Friday.
She told me that if I need anything that I can come to her place on the second floor. I was very pleased to meet her and happy that I actually met a neighbor of ours. In the building we're in right now, we only know the woman across the hall because she's quite friendly with Simone. And, we have probably only talked to her a handful of times. Everyone else in the building is a stranger to me even though we say "Buongiorno" to one another.
Our new vicina di casa (neighbor) made me feel really good about our new apartment. Now, I just can't wait to move in!
Today, we took a taxi to Simone's parent's place at 11AM. We planned this trip to IKEA with much anticipation: anew apartment and new doodads. We wanted to get an albero di Natale (Christmas tree), but only if we had enough room.
We browsed the top floor, which is where everything is on display. I like looking at everything, but it always makes me want to get more than I need.
We went downstairs and picked up all the items on my list, like cornici (frames), cuscini (pillows), a scrivania (desk) for Dave, and a sedia (chair) for me. We managed to pack everything in Simone's car and drove to the apartment. We lugged our things up to the apartment and left.
It was about 5PM when Simone drove us back to our apartment where he dropped off a few items that he purchased at IKEA. He went to his restaurant to drop off some other things and then was going to come back.
He arrived at 7:30PM and we made one last trip to our apartment to drop off more things on our way to go out to dinner. We are so grateful to Simone for all of his help. Our apartment now doesn't feel like home since all the closets, bookshelves, and drawers are empty. All we have left are a few pieces of clothing, our computers, and food. For our final trip to our new place, Simone's friend, who is a tassista (taxi driver), is coming to pick us up on Thursday to take us to the new apartment.
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