My Apartment, roommates, etc.

Hello all,

Sorry it has taken me so long to write about my apartment, one of the most crucial elements of my stay here. The other crucial element - my job - is the reason why I have not written you in a few days. Busy, busy times here in Venice.

Anyways, here it goes:

1. Location

There is an iconic square, or piazza, in Venice called Piazza San Marco. It is where all of the pigeons and tourists flock each day to prey on the city. Don't get me wrong; the area is quite beautiful, but it is jammed full of people constantly. The downside to this location is also it's upside: it is always jam-packed with people, making it safer to walk around later at night.

Anyways, my apartment is in a tiny courtyard called Corte Torretta. My apartment is on the top floor, and there are a lotttt of stairs;we're talking 13 flights. Once you get up to the top of the mountain of stairs, there is a tiny landing with two chairs, and another tiny staircase leading to my door.

2. Layout

My apartment is essentially a long hallway with four doors off of it. Directly behind the front door, at one end of the hallway, is the bathroom. It deserves it's own paragraph: stay tuned. The first door on the left is Kristen's room. I have two roommates - Kristen and Heather. Heather's room is behind Kristen's, so she walks through there to get to her space. I will tell you more about the two of them later on. The first door on the right wall of the hallway is the kitchen. For Venice standards, and city standards in general, we have a huge eat-in kitchen. I have my own shelf in the food cabinet and my own drawer in the fridge, too. The door at the end of the hallway, opposite the bathroom is my room.

3. My bedroom

My room is 14 ft. cubed: 14 feet wide by 14 feet long, with 14-foot ceilings. I have two huge windows, which let a lot of light and air into my cube. I have two little book shelves for toiletries and books, obviously, and a giant wardrobe for my clothes. We are talking Narnia-sized, people. One side has three shelves and a long area to hang dresses and place jeans, tees, and laundry, and the other side is split in half. I use one half for shirts and the other half for pants ans skirts. I have the perfect number of hangers for all of my stuff, eerily enough. I have two beds in my room, both twin-sized. I sleep on one, obviously, and the other hangs out by my door and serves as a couch (and, right now, a hamper, hahaa). I also have a long bedside table for my computer, cell phone, etc.

The quirkiest thing about my room is the wall decor. I have one poster of all the fish that live in the Adriatic sea, another of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, one of the Rene Magritte pieces called "Voices of Space" from the Collection, and another of the Guggenheim Bilbao. Each resident of my room has left a poster for posterity's sake, and it makes for an eclectic atmosphere.

4. The bath room

There is one bathroom in the apartment, and it is on the opposite end of the hallway from my bedroom. The toilet and sink are normal. Then there's the washing machine, just hanging out next to the toilet. Strange? Yes. Totally unheard of? No. The shower, however, is the most peculiar thing. Imagine a 2 ft. X 2 ft. piece of porcelain with a hole in the middle, accompanied by a faucet sticking out of the wall into your rib cage. No curtain. No tub or lovely little soap shelf. To give you some perspective, I will quote my roommate Lauren as she was giving me a tour of the apartment: "This is the bathroom. Yes, that is the shower. You will learn to use it in your own way." And I am, slowly but surely, learning.

5. Roommates

My roommates are both very nice and very busy. The few, fleeting times I have seen them have been great. Heather is very tall and thin Canadian woman with a mane of curly blond hair. She is very carefree and energetic, and she has a very animated way of talking, which is entertaining. She has been living in Venice for a few years, and loves it. Kristen, my other roommate, has also been living in Venice for a few years. She is petite with short brown hair. She is way more reserved than Heather, but she is just as nice and very interesting. I like them both very much, and they are very easy to live with.

That's all for now, everyone. I will reveal more apartment and roommate details as the summer progresses. I will also post some pictures when my room is clean and my roommates are present, hahha. Have a good day, and look for a post about the Collection very soon.

Love,

L