Bracciano

Here are some photos from when we first visited Bracciano, our temporary home in Rome. Since our first visit, we have been enjoying this ancient town immensely. Wandering down cobblestone streets, exploring the area surrounding the 15th century castle, walking through olive groves, and hiking down to swim in the giant, perfectly circular volcanic lake have been some of our favorite activities here.

As promised, I have also included some photos of our first apartment together. We have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, a laundry room/study, and a kitchen for the same price we would be paying for a studio apartment back home. Also, the discount grocery store is just one block away, which is an added bonus!   

I love our bedroom because of the high ceilings and the lovely white curtains which blow in the breezes so beautifully. I was delighted and surprised to find these curtains in our bedroom because I had seen them before in an extremely peaceful recurring dream I had a few years ago. Those dreams were a respite of peace to me during a very stressful phase of life, and now I wonder if they were promise of the future peace I would find in Italy as a newlywed.   

We have lots of storage space, and hardly any possessions in Italy. Almost everything we own is in storage at John's parents' place, so these three months are a practice in minimalism for both of us.  

This is currently our only houseplant. Because it is a succulent, it is very easy to maintain. So far I have not watered it at all in the month we've been here and it seems to be doing just great!

John and I love our apartment because of the spectacular views. We really enjoy watching the sunrise over the lake in the mornings before John catches the train to work. We feel so fortunate to be living in this place!   

Laundry has been a very different experience for me here in Italy. John and I lived in a convent for one week while we were looking for an apartment, and during that time I hand washed all of our clothes in the sink. Apparently I wasn't doing a very good job, because all of our clothes smelled just a little bit funky during that time. 

I was thrilled to find a washing machine in our apartment when we moved in. Unfortunately, the handle of the machine snapped off in my hand upon my first attempt to use it, which meant another few weeks of hand washing for me.

So after many weeks of smelling subpar, John and I are so thankful to now have a functioning washing machine. Now, I just hang all the clothes out on the lines to dry, and they are clean and fresh smelling in no time!   

This is the bed in our tiny little guest bedroom. We have already hosted overnight visitors twice in the single month we've been here. Our friend Joe slept in this bed when he came to visit us for a weekend in September, and then my sister Natalie slept in it when she AND Joe came to visit us last weekend! Poor Joe was exiled to the couch this time.  
In my next post, I am planning to have more photos for you of our apartment and of our town, as well as more stories and perhaps maybe even some poetry to share with you! 

So until then, 

Ciao!