Living in the lap of luxury, Italian style

After living with Lisa in her charming, yet distant apartment, I made a move -- I'm now a five-minute walk from the Cantina del Vecchio, so during the afternoon I can come home and relax a little before the evening shift begins. Where I sit typing right now, I'm in the thick of old Rome.

To bring a little perspective to my location, consider this: I'm a three-minute walk from Piazza Navona, a five-minute stroll to Campo Fiore, 10 minute walk from the Pantheon and a 20-30 minute (or less) amble from the Jewish Ghetto, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps. This is my neighborhood. 

How did I luck into this situation? Lisa (who is in Lusanne, Switzerland, for a several days) has a high-ranking pal. I won't go into details, by her pal is traveling, so I'm staying in an airy (about 5,000 square feet) VIP penthouse by myself -- just me and the cat. This apartment is deluxe with all the American amenities including (but not limited to), American style bathrooms (five of them), four large bedrooms, an extremely roomy living room, dining room (that seats about 20), den with 47-inch flat screen and a laundry room complete with washer AND dryer (a dryer is a rarity in Italia). 

My bedroom (as many rooms do here on the top floor) opens to a veranda that's about 2,000 square-feet in size. My French doors lead to the left side of the veranda and just outside are six potted, fruiting lemon trees. A wall fountain trickles constantly and a conversation area with chairs invites me to sit down each morning. An outdoor fireplace divides my section from the larger open area, also filled with flowering trees, dining areas and lined with a flower boxes in full bloom.

NOTE: There's an old-fashioned elevator -- about 2x4 feet in size -- with wooden French doors inside and a woven metal cage that surrounds.  The first day I made the mistake of opening the French doors before I reached the floor level. The elevator stopped between floors and for a concerned moment (before pressing the button for the 4th floor and returning up) there was the risk of being stuck.