The second week

Week two in Roma can be spent relaxing, eating, with friends or !!!!!!!

Well we did !!!!!

As the day was overcast with showers forecast we decided to trek out to the burbs to see what a Roman mall was like. Well surprise, surprise...no different to any other mall in the world

This was at Euromar in an area called EUR in Roma. The area was built in the Mussolini regime and was meant to be an example of fascist greatness. Today it is a rather bland open boulevards government orientated area.
Getting there was an experience. Metro to termini, then a change of lines to an area about 2 kilometers away and then a bus.

I don't think Carolyna was overly impressed with all the public transport

 Carolyna, "Doesn't Alano know I don't do buses"

What a difference a day makes. Next day, Sunday, was bright and sunny. A beautiful primavera day

We had heard about a great eclectic area out from the city centre and decided to enjoy the day and make the trip out. Via Pigneto is the name of the main street and what luck we arrived on market day

Just a wonderful environment of street stalls, restaurants and bars. Roman were out en mass with no sign of a tourist
We loved meandering along the street looking at the various activities

Lunch was at an amazing restaurant called Necci. Absolutely recommend. Open terraces under large umbrellas with Italian families and friends providing an exciting buzz.

We spent over two hours there of which over 30 minutes was spent with the chef owner having an aperitivo. Ben is an ex Brit who learnt all about Italian cooking working with some of the finest chefs in Italy

So absolutely recommend even though Alano got greedy at the end and selected two dolci...at 4 Euro apiece. He ultimately paid the price

Sunday night was a buzz...stumbled on a gay restaurant bar... What a hoot. Great spot. Buffet and one drink for 10E each.

Well all for now

Cao, ciao a dopo

Carolyna e Alano

First week

Well here we are. Can't keep a good girl down. She insisted on a red vespa
Just borrowed!

Our apartment at night overlooking Via delle Carrozze. Sorry but the vino just sneaked in. We love the apartment and the area it is in.

We have a supermercato close by and a daily street fruit and vegie market. What more do you need!

Of course we occasionally have to eat out and here we are having a buono pranzo on domenica scorsa (great lunch last Sunday)

Well I have finally been able to upload a few pics. Will be blogging again shortly

Dear friends, ciao ciao...a dopo

Carolyna e Alano

Early days

Settling in

Well here we are in bella Roma

No implications with the volcanic ash. We did not even know about it until well after we got here. Skies have been blue and crystal clear on most days

First test passed...Carolyna likes the apartment. She has bought some homely additions and it looks a bella casa. Our new home.

We continue to go through the bureaucratic process here. We have an agent, Relocation Enterprises who are great. Even though we have our visa's we need to register here. So today we went to the Post Office to register for interview with the Questura (police). At that interview we will be finger printed which will result in us obtaining the Permesso di Soggiorno.

We love the Italian style. The people live the piena di vita and are so emotionally attached to living life to the fullest.

For Carolyna's birthday we went to our favourite restaurant, Dal Bolognese. Superb food and wine. Its always a pleasure to dine here. Tragically we have rebooked for later this week.

Sunday really is the Passiagiata day where Romans come out en mass to walk the streets of Rome. The Passiagiata is truly alive and well in Rome. We love it and walked our legs off on Sunday enjoying the occassional stop for an aperitivo or lunch. We have a favourite (new) spot on Campo Fiore where the prople watching is great

On one night we went to an old favourite Trattoria of mine, Hostario Romana. Have to book but love the buzz and waiters. Some appear to have been there forever. Their life seems to revolve around their jobs, as if it is their oxygen that keeps them going. The commitment is amazing and we love it. The food at Hostario is buonissimo, fresh with subtle flavours that complement one another.

So much to tell but will keep that to another day. Love the comments coming in. Special thanks to Fabio

Ciao ciao.......a dopo

Carolyna e Alano

The "Registered Contract"

Based  on the principle "if it is important enough, do it yourself", we decided that I would go to Rome and not come back until I had the contract in my hand.

So off "cattle class" to Rome. I had trawled the web for agents and had organised appointments for when I arrived. So after arriving at 2pm my first appointment was at four. What a let down. It was the worst apartment I have ever ever seen. Small narrow and with a metal winding staircase to a tiny bedroom. My heart sank. All I could visualise was Carolyna and the look on her face. So after going through polite discussion with the owner I was off to the next. An older style apartment in Monte. Met the owner but it did not sing a song. When I left I thought if we have to we will take it but hoping that something better would come up

That night I was depressed and felt like drowning my sorrows.

Next morning the sun was up and it was a beautiful Rome spring day. And did it get better. I was lucky to have found a great agent, Immobiliere Edwards and the apartments I visited that day were excellent

When I went to Via delle Carrozze 25 near the Spanish steps I knew that this was the one. Very good owner, beautifully furnished and maintained. So we struck a deal and documentation was prepared.

Then the agent asked me for my codice fiscale. Well!!!!

I said I did not have one. She said you must, as you come to Italy so often. A codice fiscale is like an Italian tax file number. So another day lost as we applied for that. So after all the trauma the owner and I signed the contracts, then the agent registered them (next day) and we were set.

The process of registration involved government stamping of the documents, payment of 1% of lease vale by both sides and agents fees of one month paid by the renter

When we got back to Sydney all documentation was approved and visa back within the week.

Next post the start of the journey

The Italian Consulate

Six months before departure we visited the Italian Consulate in Sydney after carefully digesting details from the Consulates website.

The website does not provide sufficient information to determine what was required for a visa and a visit to the consulate for an in depth discussion is a necessity.

The Consulate is open from 9am to 11am for the public and is located on level 45 of the Gateway building at 1 Macquarie Place Sydney. When you enter you are given a number at the reception counter. Enquiries do not need an appointment however visa lodgements do and it could take up to four weeks to obtain an appointment slot.

On our first visit we were advised that for stays over 90 days a visa was required.

After some discussion we were advised to apply for a "Residenza Elettiva" visa. Travel to Italy without a visa is only allowed for up to 90 days and you must leave Italy and the Schengan area for an equivalent time. The Schengan area is basically the European union and does not include some Eastern Europen countries and the UK.

We were advised by the Consulate that it appeared we qualified for the visa and we should apply formally within 60 days before departure with accommodation arranged, flights, travel insurance and evidence that we had sufficient means of support during our stay. A visa usually takes a week to process.

First mistake....not asking enough questions when we were at the Consulate

So 60 days before departure we turned up at the Consulate without an appointment and were told we required an appointment to lodge a visa application. No mention of this was made previously.

So appointment made for three weeks later (they gave us special dispensation!!)

On the day of our appointment Carolyn and I were excited to finally be applying and, so we thought, obtaining our visa. Wrong.

The Consulate officer looked at our documents and said our accommodation was not correct. What!! We had beautiful apartment accommodation arranged in Rome but were told "this is like hotel accommodation. You must have a registered contract for your accommodation"

With hearts pumping we asked what did that mean. He said that the apartment contract needs to be registered and stamped by the government office in Rome. He also said we needed police clearances in Australia. None of this was previously mentioned.

Crestfallen we left with the Consulate officer saying that when we came back not to worry about making an appointment just come and see him.

With 45 days to go we had to work out what we were going to do. Our dream was starting to look very fragile