Back in Genoa after the holidays! Feels good. We went to Finland for Christmas and oh boy, it was dark, dark, dark - no snow whatsoever, quite unusual for this time of year and very depressing too. Normally, I would expect Helsinki to be closer to the temperatures currently experienced in Chicago. It was a quite a relief to arrive to Genoa, where we enjoy at least a short periods of blue sky and rays of sunshine on most days, even though it is quite cloudy and rainy too. The temperature has been between +9 to +14 C this week, not bad at all.
On New Year's eve we went to a party in Nervi with friends and staggered home at 4 am - something I have not done for about 30 years! Seriously. The first day of the year 2014 was a very quiet one...
But last week it was time to get back into action.
For quite some time - almost a whole year actually - we have had a problem on the wall in the lounge area. Structurally, this wall faces outside and is therefore open to the elements. First, it was only a little stain on the wall, but last winter was quite stormy and with time this developed into proper rain damage and the plaster started peeling off at an alarming phase.We alerted the landlord early on, but apart from a visit to assess the damage, nothing has really happened for months. I have to say, that we have very good landlords and I mean it. If ever there has been the tiniest thing wrong in the apartment, they have repaired and fixed it in record time.They definitely have tried to get some action on this. But it is a bigger problem and clearly involves negotiations with other people who own properties in the same building. Essentially, it is probably a question of how to share the cost of structural repairs.
The whole thing got a little bit more urgent last week, because - apart from the peeling plaster - we also had a proper leak on the ceiling. There were couple of days of rain and clearly the weight of the water sitting on the roof became a bit too much. I went to the lounge and was surprised to get my socks wet, which made me to look up to the ceiling and notice the very big drops of water happily coming down to the parquet floor. A bucket and a large bath towel were on constant duty for hours. Luckily, the rain eventually stopped and we have been able to assess the seriousness of the latest problem a bit better.
This week we have had a committee of people coming to see the damage. Measurements have been taken. The outside wall and roof has been inspected. Everyone is in agreement that it is a big problem. No promises have been made but the general consensus is that speedy action is necessary. We have been told that there is a plan to repair this, but it will take time.
This has also made us think one other issue: if we ever decide to buy an apartment, the top floor may not be ideal. These old houses are clearly built for sunshine only. Farewell to my dreams of a roof top terrace.
In the meanwhile, I have a bucket and a towel ready.
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