My flat in Trastevere

A little over a week ago I moved into a flat in Trastevere. This is a neighborhood on the west side of the Tiber river. It is kind of the hot neighborhood these days. It's very hip with lots of restaurants and wine bars. It has such a good feel to it. It is popular with the tourists but not a typical stop for people that are just visiting for a short time.
I had commented in a previous entry that I didn't think I'd end up here. I thought I'd be staying in Campo d'Fiori. I was mistaken. I ended up in a huge apartment in the heart of Trastevere. This place is twice as big and twice as much money as the place I rented, but because the owner made changes, I got a deal. I really wanted to stay in this neighborhood so I'm glad it worked out.
The apartment is huge and on the 3rd floor. It feels like it's bigger than the last place I had in Seattle which was around 620 sq ft but it could also feel that way because it has a ton of windows compared to the two that I had in Seattle and the ceilings are really high.
I am about one "block" off the main street, Viale di Trastevere, but I don't hear any street noise. There is a Baptist(!) church across the street from me, a restaurant and a bar on the first floor of the building, and shops across from my front door, next to the church. Looking out my kitchen window, across the piazza, is another restaurant, Carlomenta, which is always packed. I'll try it soon and see what the fuss is all about. I have a feeling it's just convenient.




I love watching the neighborhood activities from my kitchen window. There are loads of interesting people and situations.
Once a week this little old guy comes and sets up his bike outside of the restaurant below me. He places the rear wheel into a trainer that prevents the bike from moving. He then sits on the seat and uses the bike pedals to turn a sharpening wheel that is attached to the bike. He sharpens the restaurants knives this way.








There is a convent down the street. I love seeing the sisters. It's very comforting to me to see them. It's definitely a pleasant childhood memory for me. I never had the bad nun hitting me with a ruler scenario. I think it was either because I was just really good in school and never caused trouble or I had nice nuns as teachers. I think it's a little bit of both. I was very friendly with the sisters at St. Mary's. I even did impersonations of one of them, Sr. Ermelinda. She even witnessed me doing it and said it was quite good. However, it was strangely similar to my impersonation of Ed Grimly, a character played by Martin Short on SNL.