Well folks, as always in Italy, progress is sketchy. We visited LUBE and he “said” he would come up with a plan. That was Tuesday, and today is Friday. We tried calling and have not gotten through. I am inclined to go elsewhere because I don’t feel he is being responsive. We had an appointment with our Geometra yesterday. But he never showed up. Sigh. So I emailed another Geometra who was recommended to us and am waiting for a reply.
We have managed to get most of the boxes unpacked. That’s not to say the stuff that was IN the boxes has anywhere to go other than the floor. But in another week we should have some places to put stuff if the IKEA delivery is good. I worry about that because they usually dump it at the bottom of the steps. That stuff is HEAVY. And I don’t want to have to get it up here. I’m going to ask them to bring it up with a €20 note in my hand.
Today, we went to a different kitchen store. Called Ronti. They got good reviews on Amazon. I was very impressed. We arrived without an appointment. They were very accommodating and we picked out everything, counters, cabinets, sink and appliances. I think it will be a nice kitchen. And the good news is, we can get it in 20 days! He has already paid a visit to our apartment and checked the space and done measurements. Whew. A load off of my mind. Although, it was an unnecessary expense which we had not counted on.
For the interim, I bought an instant pot. I thought I could make one-pot meals in it. It seems pretty complicated. I am going to try it out this weekend.
For next week, the big IKEA delivery and the next day Task Rabbit to assemble it. We want to buy a pellet stove. We need to pay a bill. It is ridiculous that here, you need to chase people down to pay them. If we ever get a Geometra then maybe we can see about painting the house and then talk about the upstairs kitchen. And I still need to order a table for outside and a sofa for inside the upstairs. It will all happen in time. As they say here, piano, piano. Sorry, no pictures today!
Little late for that John. Remember we have been here 8 years and all was going very smoothly. We needed to get off that walk up so this was a necessary move. I admit it is chaotic right now. But we go step by step and we will enjoy our new place in the end. Piano, piano. I do miss the Centro.
Hi Louann, my pot didn’t come with much in the way of instructions. But I’ve been watching YouTube videos which are pretty good.
Nancy, I fear Italy may not be for you all–it’s way too chaotic for most Americans! After eight years of living in Italy things should be going a lot smoother… Maybe it’s time to pack up and find a more ‘peace-able’ place to spend your sunset years. John
I’ve been using an Instapot for several years. I find I don’t really use most of the settings. You can use the manual button for most everything. It cooks dry beans in 4 minutes. Most Veggies in 2 min. The instruction book is easy to follow. Just adjust the time button to how many minutes you want. The book tells you when you want to release the pressure valve all at once or gradually. The Pot is better than a crockpot or pressure cooker as it allows you to sauté too before you add the rest of your dish ingrediants to the pot.
Hi John,
Yes, the notion of the seller removing all fixtures to include the kitchen is familiar. But we asked for them to be left. It appears to be a misunderstanding because I am sure our sellers did not need these things. And they don’t seem to think they did anything wrong. Again, somehow a misunderstanding
Hi Phil, I hope you’re right. I didn’t see any option but I will be right there to ask them to bring it up. There is an elevator so it shouldn’t be too hard! Last time I got anything from them was in our previous house and they left it at the bottom of our considerable number of stairs.
We found a bummer when the immobiliare advertised a casa with pictures showing with the kitchen cabinets all in place, then to discover bare walls. Of course this was not a surprise to you Nancy, and perhaps it’s covered in your blog but I haven’t got to that post yet. The whole thing made sense years ago when the kitchen was a couple pieces of stand alone furniture, but really, the practice of having to re-fit out the kitchen every time the casa changes hands only makes sense for the ebanista (cabinetmaker). It makes me wonder if there is some “special relationship” between the ebanista’s and the immobiliares!
Hello Nancy. We have bought quite a few things from Ikea. There is an option to tell them to deliver to the floor. We never had stuff dumped at the door. They always call when they are just about to arrive and have been helpful.
Hi Cynthia, thanks for the tip. I’ll go check it out now. Yes, piano, piano is a hard pill to swallow. Thing will always get done, but it could be a long wait!
No kidding Linda!
No Matt, we don’t. Sometimes it is easier to let them handle it all but I do have the name of a painter so I’ll be calling him.
The lesson of piano, piano sure is painful sometimes isn’t it? Hopefully your kitchen is taken care of.
I’m commenting mostly to recommend a web site as a reference for your instant pot cooking. I have one, too, and hippressurecooking.com has been a good resource for me. Maybe it’ll give you some direction and confidence.
Living in Italy is definitely a lesson in patience!
Wow, how frustrating! At least the kitchen seems to be coming together well. Please don’t tell me you need a geometra to paint the inside walls of your house????