Wednesday was a very busy day. We started at 8am with our first apartment inspection, at the Sisters' apartment one floor below us here. Not enough sleep after the late night before, and little time for exercise. The Balzottis did this inspection with us to show us how it works. We found a few real issues, such as the propane sensor alarm not being plugged in. It took about an hour to complete the inspection.
Next we headed out to fill up our car and drive to our first district meeting, at our ward building (Roma 3) which took over half an hour to drive because of an accident on the GRA (beltway). In the district, there are four young elders, two young sisters, and another senior couple, the Spragues. We are still learning how all this works, but they were all really sharp and it was good to start being part of the group. The ward is small and struggling, so they work a lot with the newer members to help strengthen and teach them.
Then we drove up to Ladispoli (almost an hour drive) to inspect two apartments: one sisters', one elders'. Ladispoli is a beautiful seaside town, and the ocean view from the sisters' fifth story apartment balcony is stunning. That inspection went very well and quite quickly, with only a few minor issues. The elders were not able to be there in person, so they left their apartment keys with the sisters to give to us. Unfortunately, only two of the three keys worked, so we were not able to get into the apartment. Bummer. However, we got permission to wait until next time around to inspect that apartment, since it's so far away.
Next we drove back to the west side of Rome for two more apartment inspections, for the sisters and elders in Roma 1 Ward. That all went pretty smooth and quickly, though parking was a pain, as is typical around here.
We then drove home, stopping briefly at Ikea to get a few things, such as a small rolling set of drawers to match my computer desk. By the time we got home it was after 5pm and we were exhausted and famished. After some dinner we felt a bit better and walked to the local "Chinese" store to get a few things, including tools to mount a new door plaque at the Institute tomorrow. It's always fun to peruse the aisles there -- so many different kinds of stuff. Hopefully we can get a full night's sleep after a short night last night.