First Showing!

We spent most of the day at home.

But it wasn’t to rest. Nor was it to do chores.

Rather, hoping to start viewing apartments next week, I wanted to create a quick-glance spreadsheet to help us compare properties. Once I had a basic template, I added the details for the six properties on our list.

We also looked at the photos of the properties on Mui’s laptop … the larger format uncovering some oddities that weren’t apparent when we were looking at them on the phone. One thing is for sure … furnished doesn’t seem to mean the same in Italy as it does to us in the USA.

While I worked on the spreadsheet, Mui sent messages to the real estate agents for the apartments … all but one have a different agent. We hit pay dirt with one agent who responded almost immediately. Turns out that she could show us the apartment this afternoon.

We found the apartment on a quiet street … just 15-minutes walking distance from Piazza Maggiore. At first glance, the second-floor apartment — with a large terrace — seemed perfect. Unfortunately, a closer inspection of the furnishings — what little there was — showed them to be less-than-gently used. Overall, the place just felt worn.

Ultimately, we decided to pass on the terrace apartment, but agreed to see another one in the adjacent building tomorrow. That this other property will be available effective 1 January is a bonus, so fingers crossed we can keep it as a contender.Read more