It seems that summer is on its way. We have a beautiful few days and I have made a good start on my tan! Although some italians still insist on walking around in puffer jackets! How do that do that?! They must be dying in them! Supposed to hit 27 this weekend. The parents arrive on Friday so i'm looking forward to all the Englush goodies i miss!!!
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Roma-Torino 4-1
What a great first half! 4 goals in half an hour and it was time to party in the Curva Sud. As you can see from the below photo there was a bit of a water fight! Some end of season fun. We just need a draw and a win to keep Juve off our backs. And how wonderful it is to see Lazio 35 points behind us!!! Che bello!
It seems that summer is on its way. We have a beautiful few days and I have made a good start on my tan! Although some italians still insist on walking around in puffer jackets! How do that do that?! They must be dying in them! Supposed to hit 27 this weekend. The parents arrive on Friday so i'm looking forward to all the Englush goodies i miss!!!
It seems that summer is on its way. We have a beautiful few days and I have made a good start on my tan! Although some italians still insist on walking around in puffer jackets! How do that do that?! They must be dying in them! Supposed to hit 27 this weekend. The parents arrive on Friday so i'm looking forward to all the Englush goodies i miss!!!
Sunday, 20 April 2008
The dream is over
Roma drew 1-1 with bottom of the table Livorno yesterday. As usual we wasted far to many chances to finish the match off at 1-0. It happens every game...I'm not even going to mention it any more. Even worse was the injury to Totti. Seems he was operated on today and will be out for 4 months. I'll watch Inter-Torino tonight and hope hat Torino can perform a miracle but I fear I'm asking too much.
Not doubt this result will mean even fewer fans at the stadium. Up until this weekend we have been in with a chance of winning the title and we still cant get the fans to the stadium. As you can see there were about 5 Livorno fans and far too much blue can be seen (empty seats). I finally got my new bright blue seat. I have to say its the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on!!! I want the old seats back that don't meet UEFA regulations!
I managed to get sun burnt for the first time this year today! We have had a beautiful weekend. I just hope it continues.
Not doubt this result will mean even fewer fans at the stadium. Up until this weekend we have been in with a chance of winning the title and we still cant get the fans to the stadium. As you can see there were about 5 Livorno fans and far too much blue can be seen (empty seats). I finally got my new bright blue seat. I have to say its the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on!!! I want the old seats back that don't meet UEFA regulations!
I managed to get sun burnt for the first time this year today! We have had a beautiful weekend. I just hope it continues.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Semi-Final Coppa Italia, Roma-Catania 1-0
We have one foot in the final, although again we had so many chances to score and just wasted them. It’s so frustrating. Great performance by il Capitano again, and great to see him scoring again. Hopefully we can meet and beat Lazio in the final. Sweet revenge for our recent Derby defeat. Not sure who came up with the clever idea of playing the match and 6pm on a work day. Do they not realise that people work?! The result being that the stadium was almost empty (15,000 spectators). Rather sad for a Cup semi-final. They complain that the Cup isn’t taken seriously here but then they do little to encourage support for it.
I had to go to the post office this morning to post a parcel and pay a bill. I thought my luck was in when I arrived at it was most empty and all 6 cashier points were open. It took me half an hour to post a parcel and pay the bill. They only have one cashier that can actually weigh and send parcels or letters!! Am I the only one that thinks this insane for a POST office?! I had to sit there and stare at the vacant cashier points and wait for the 3 people in front of me to send what seemed like 200 letters! Crazy!
I had to go to the post office this morning to post a parcel and pay a bill. I thought my luck was in when I arrived at it was most empty and all 6 cashier points were open. It took me half an hour to post a parcel and pay the bill. They only have one cashier that can actually weigh and send parcels or letters!! Am I the only one that thinks this insane for a POST office?! I had to sit there and stare at the vacant cashier points and wait for the 3 people in front of me to send what seemed like 200 letters! Crazy!
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Nothing is ever straight forward......
OK…so it seems that since I’ve started writing this blog all I’ve done is complain about this country and I’m afraid I have one more complaint! I promise to list some god points soon!
Much to my amazement I got my deposit back from my old landlord yesterday, which was a nice surprise as it doesn't happen very often here. So off I went to the bank to pay in the cheque. My bank (bank X) merged with another bank (bank Y) around a year ago and now has a different name. I went to a branch that used to be Bank Y as it is right under my house. How convenient I thought this would be. I queue for 15 minutes and reach the cashier only to be told that they have only changed the name outside the banks and on all documentation; you can’t actually go to a branch that used to be Bank Y if you were originally with Bank X! I apparently won’t be able to do this until June!!!!!! So if all of the branches now have the new name outside how am I supposed to which ones were originally Bank X and which ones were Bank Y! Only in Italy! In the end I managed to deposit the cheque which will only take 8 working days to clear! Not long then..................
Much to my amazement I got my deposit back from my old landlord yesterday, which was a nice surprise as it doesn't happen very often here. So off I went to the bank to pay in the cheque. My bank (bank X) merged with another bank (bank Y) around a year ago and now has a different name. I went to a branch that used to be Bank Y as it is right under my house. How convenient I thought this would be. I queue for 15 minutes and reach the cashier only to be told that they have only changed the name outside the banks and on all documentation; you can’t actually go to a branch that used to be Bank Y if you were originally with Bank X! I apparently won’t be able to do this until June!!!!!! So if all of the branches now have the new name outside how am I supposed to which ones were originally Bank X and which ones were Bank Y! Only in Italy! In the end I managed to deposit the cheque which will only take 8 working days to clear! Not long then..................
Monday, 14 April 2008
Anyone seen a plumber?
Oh well… we are back to 4 points behind Inter. Not looking good for the Scudetto any more. There is always next year.
I am still at home waiting for the plumber to call. Nothing is done with great speed here. RB tells me to chill and relax but it’s just one way of the Italian life that I can not adapt to! I don’t think I will ever understand the patience Italians have with these things. All of the hanging around waiting and not knowing what’s going on until the last minute! It drives me insane. Some how everything usually seems to work out and fall in to place in the end and I am the only one that has completely stressed out. I always wonder what happens to this amazing patience when an Italian gets behind the wheel of a car. Seems to flying out of the window then!
I am still at home waiting for the plumber to call. Nothing is done with great speed here. RB tells me to chill and relax but it’s just one way of the Italian life that I can not adapt to! I don’t think I will ever understand the patience Italians have with these things. All of the hanging around waiting and not knowing what’s going on until the last minute! It drives me insane. Some how everything usually seems to work out and fall in to place in the end and I am the only one that has completely stressed out. I always wonder what happens to this amazing patience when an Italian gets behind the wheel of a car. Seems to flying out of the window then!
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Remind me why I live here.....
So last night as I was preparing dinner in my lovely new apartment and suddenly the pipes under the sink collapse and i have a flooded kitchen...
Renting here is not like renting in the UK.. For the first time I am renting through an agency following my previous bad experience with a landlord that wanted to take my money but not look after the house...prime example being the kitchen cupboards falling off the wall, nearly killing me, smashing all my stuff, then having to live 6 months without any kitchen cupboards and not receiving a penny to cover my loss.. the list goes on...
Well...it seems that an Agency here is not exactly how I imagined. I should have known... I get to pay a huge fee for mmmm..nothing! I found the add for the apartment in the newspaper so all they actually did was show me round the apartment. I now have no further dealings with them.. the rent isn't paid via the agency, I cant call them when something breaks...back to dealing with the Italian landlord again, except this time I get to bankrupt myself in the process!
It seems the previous tenants taped the sink pipes together with scotch tape - thanks - and i now have to deal with it. The landlord will pay for the plumber but at 6pm on a Saturday in Italy I'm going to have to wait until Monday to see any sign of a plumber.... Shall I book that one way fight home now?!
Renting here is not like renting in the UK.. For the first time I am renting through an agency following my previous bad experience with a landlord that wanted to take my money but not look after the house...prime example being the kitchen cupboards falling off the wall, nearly killing me, smashing all my stuff, then having to live 6 months without any kitchen cupboards and not receiving a penny to cover my loss.. the list goes on...
Well...it seems that an Agency here is not exactly how I imagined. I should have known... I get to pay a huge fee for mmmm..nothing! I found the add for the apartment in the newspaper so all they actually did was show me round the apartment. I now have no further dealings with them.. the rent isn't paid via the agency, I cant call them when something breaks...back to dealing with the Italian landlord again, except this time I get to bankrupt myself in the process!
It seems the previous tenants taped the sink pipes together with scotch tape - thanks - and i now have to deal with it. The landlord will pay for the plumber but at 6pm on a Saturday in Italy I'm going to have to wait until Monday to see any sign of a plumber.... Shall I book that one way fight home now?!
Udinese-Roma, 1-3
Well for at least 3.5 hours we are only 1 point behind Inter… Time to support Fiorentina against Inter tonight! I think my life expectancy has dropped dramatically since I started supporting Roma! It must be so relaxing supporting a team like Man Utd, Juve or Inter. Roma certainly never like to make things easy for themselves. Today being a prime example. We were all over Udinese, numerous shots on goal and we end up going 1-0 down. We finally equalised through Vucinic, who I must admit I am now starting to like after 1.5 years of absolutely hating the guy! He still can’t score an easy goal but when he does score it is usually something amazing! This goal followed many heart attacks, jumping up and down and screaming at the TV until Taddei finally made it 2-1. Giuly closed the match 3-1. Great to see Capitano Totti back and playing well. I just hope the fight between Doni and Panucci, which resulted in Doni storming off at the end of the match without talking to anyone, doesn’t disturb the group.
Udinese-Roma, 1-3
Well for at least 3.5 hours we are only 1 point behind Inter… Time to support Fiorentina against Inter tonight! I think my life expectancy has dropped dramatically since I started supporting Roma! It must be so relaxing supporting a team like Man Utd, Juve or Inter. Roma certainly never like to make things easy for themselves. Today being a prime example. We were all over Udinese, numerous shots on goal and we end up going 1-0 down. We finally equalised through Vucinic, who I must admit I am now starting to like after 1.5 years of absolutely hating the guy! He still can’t score an easy goal but when he does score it is usually something amazing! This goal followed many heart attacks, jumping up and down and screaming at the TV until Taddei finally made it 2-1. Giuly closed the match 3-1. Great to see Capitano Totti back and playing well. I just hope the fight between Doni and Panucci, which resulted in Doni storming off at the end of the match without talking to anyone, doesn’t disturb the group.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Sabato 12 Aprile
Ciao a tutti!
My first post! Hopefully I can keep it up! Instead of posting on so many forums I thought I'd just create one blog where I can rant and rave about life in this wonderful, but frustrating country!
Ive finally moved in to my own place last week, which is surely going to bankrupt me, but at the age of 30 I thought it was time to grow up and go it alone! Although the average Italian wouldn't understand this... hint hint to a certain 37 year old still living with Mamma e Papa.... At 18 us Brits can't wait to leave home. We choose the university furthest away from our parents infact... here, the average age for leaving home is 37! Something I've long since given up trying to understand.
This morning I was woken up at 745 by my bed shaking...I started to think I'd moved in to some dodgy building or some one upstairs was banging around rather excessively! I didn't think anything more of it til Roma Boy (RB) called me and asked if I'd felt the earthquake! Good to know I'm not living in a building that is about to fall down then!
The miracle of all miracles occured today! You will probably need to live here to understand what a big deal this though.... Two months ago I bought a new suitcase with funky wheels that turn everywhere... well...on my first trip to the UK last month I soon found out that the wheels didnt exactly turn! I finally got round to taking it back to the shop today and they replaced it immediately! No questions asked! I nearly fainted on the spot! Here you can never ever return anything, and if you can you usually have to swap with something in the shop there and then! Are things finally changing here?
My first post! Hopefully I can keep it up! Instead of posting on so many forums I thought I'd just create one blog where I can rant and rave about life in this wonderful, but frustrating country!
Ive finally moved in to my own place last week, which is surely going to bankrupt me, but at the age of 30 I thought it was time to grow up and go it alone! Although the average Italian wouldn't understand this... hint hint to a certain 37 year old still living with Mamma e Papa.... At 18 us Brits can't wait to leave home. We choose the university furthest away from our parents infact... here, the average age for leaving home is 37! Something I've long since given up trying to understand.
This morning I was woken up at 745 by my bed shaking...I started to think I'd moved in to some dodgy building or some one upstairs was banging around rather excessively! I didn't think anything more of it til Roma Boy (RB) called me and asked if I'd felt the earthquake! Good to know I'm not living in a building that is about to fall down then!
The miracle of all miracles occured today! You will probably need to live here to understand what a big deal this though.... Two months ago I bought a new suitcase with funky wheels that turn everywhere... well...on my first trip to the UK last month I soon found out that the wheels didnt exactly turn! I finally got round to taking it back to the shop today and they replaced it immediately! No questions asked! I nearly fainted on the spot! Here you can never ever return anything, and if you can you usually have to swap with something in the shop there and then! Are things finally changing here?
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