The rest of the view...

After yesterday's post, some of you wrote to me and oohed and aahed about our view. So I thought I'd show you the rest of the view, which segues into a post on laundry (bear with me...).

These are some of my favorites... after a snow storm, and a winter sunset. Spectacular, aren't they?

But these photos don't tell the whole story. They were taken from our balcony. But if I back up a bit with my camera... there in the foreground of the breathtaking scenery, you'll find...

our laundry.

That's right...it's hanging on a drying rack, smack dab in the middle of the view. "Why does she hang her clothes out to dry?" you might ask. Because we don't have a clothes dryer, and neither does 99% of the Italian population. Electricity is outrageously expensive here, and dryers use up too much energy.

I can hear your next question: "It's not like there's always laundry out on the balcony, right?"

Wrong.

3 children + 1 Italian washing machine= me as a perpetual laundress

Here's why...

This is the opening to my washing machine...my hand is in the photo to give you an idea of how small it is. And no, I don't have gigantic hands--they're normal-sized. Try cramming a bedspread in there...it ain't easy.

And here's my 13-month-old son in front of the machine. And no, he's not a gigantic 13-month-old...he's regular-sized.

So if anyone was feeling a bit envious after yesterday's post of the view from my window, I hope today's post has made you feel better. In fact, let's designate today as National American Washing Machine and Dryer Appreciation Day. Go ahead--put 10 pairs of jeans, 20 towels and 50 shirts in your washing machine, then pop them in your dryer, and have them come out soft and fluffy.

Sigh. I think I'll go now and stand at my window...

The view from my window...

I live in Trieste, a city on the Adriatic Sea tucked way up in the northeast corner of Italy. Except for a handful of people, most of my family and friends haven't seen where I live. Those who have never been here say things like: "Italy! You must love it there!" or "You're so lucky!" And I am.

Most of the time.

But then there are the other times...wading my way through the infamous Italian red tape (which I'm pretty sure is represented by the red stripe on the Italian flag ...), the Italian postal system (where "snail mail" takes on new meaning), and parking...don't get me started on parking.

But I didn't want to begin this blog on a negative note, so I thought I'd post a picture of the view from our living room window. On those days when I've battled red tape, something important has been lost in the mail, and I've had to park on the sidewalk because I arrived late to pick up my kids from school, I just take a deep breath (okay, maybe three) and soak in the view from the window...it works even better with a glass of wine in my hand.