Are your senses tingling?

We slept in late this morning, waking up to a cold, dark apartment. The power was still out, which struck us as odd. Ira messaged Niccolò to see if he could contact someone to help. 

To charge our phones and warm up a bit, we decided to go back to the coffee shop in Borgo. The barista remembered us from earlier in the week and greeted us warmly. Ira ordered a cappuccino, I had a caffe with ginseng and we each had a pastry--all for just over €5!

Afterwards, we went for an early walk, hoping the power would return before our meeting with Andrea from Fineco. Unfortunately, it hadn't, so we signed the documents using the light from the window. Despite the circumstances, it worked out fine. 

Andrea had driven all the way from Florence to deliver our paperwork, but he hit traffic and arrived over 40 minutes late. This left us rushing to make our lunch date with Niccolò.

He had invited us to join him for lunch with his friends Charlie & Fru at their beautifully renovated farmhouse in the valley below Massa. Originally from the UK, they moved to Italy just before Brexit, which made it easier for them to get their citizenship.

As we sipped wine and waited for lunch, we learned that Fru, short for Francesca, works in marketing and Charlie in finance. Niccolò has renovated three homes for them and is currently building another, as well as renovating their apartment in Rome.

Fru shared that they'd rented an apartment in Rome for 10 years before buying their current one with a terrace big enough to host 200 people and a view of the Palatine Hill--or perhaps another ancient landmark (I may have misheard). Niccolò noted that their apartment is in one of the safest areas of Rome, between two heavily secured locations. 

Lunch was three courses, prepared by Janet, who works for them; a caprese salad to start, followed by a spinach ricotta ravioli with homemade marinara sauce (from their garden tomatoes) broccoli and roast beef with a tuna sauce. Everything was delicious.

Before excusing herself for a rest, Fru exchanged numbers with us and mentioned that if they stayed in Massa for New Year's, we should join their party--they're known for throwing greate ones. 

On our way out, Charlie pointed us their stunning view of Massa and explained that the house was a compromise; he wanted a country home and Fru preferred the city.

Before leaving, Charlie insisted we see the garden sculptures.

E.T.

Spidey in the fish pond

We didn't have time to learn the story behind Spidey, but it's definitely a question for next time!. Ira thought I should point out that there were other traditional sculptures as well, but we didn't take any photos of those.

Niccolò drove us back and came in to help troubleshoot the power issue, which still hadn't resolved. 

Cabinet by the front door

Inside the cabinet

Inside the cabinet by the front door, Niccolò explained that our apartment is limited to 3KW of electricity at any given time. Although there had been a power outage the night before, we had exceeded our allotment by 29%, which tripped the breaker. A simple flip of the switch was all it took to restore power--something we could have done hours earlier if we'd known! 

The culprit? The space heater we bought. It uses more energy than central heat. Moving forward, we'll need to manage our appliances carefully to avoid overloads--no running the dishwasher while using the heater, for instance. Thankfully, the apartment we're buying will have a 6KW allowance.

All in all, it was a relief to have power back and not face another night in the dark and the cold.  

At piano practice we were happy to see Dr. Ronzoni's daughter, Elena, again. We had a nice long chat before I got to practicing. Since we arrived a bit late, by the time I was finished, it was time to close up. Her father drove home, bu Elena walked home with us. She joked that she needed the exercise, especially with the amount of cake she eats when visiting her parents. 

Also, she promised to show Ira her "soov" or SUV. It was a German Skoda. German cars are very popular in Italy. Oh, she also added that the construction in the square was for an ice skating rink==something fun to look forward to!

Tonight's movie, Gemini Man with Will Smith.

A dopo!