There’s a reason why they call America the “New World.” Let’s face it, most of what is still standing there was built in the last 300 years or so….everything else was destroyed or disappeared thanks to the sands of time….what an American can appreciate as “old” is quite simply stated as thus: if it’s older than you, it’s OLD. For example, one of my favorite walks around the Portland on my way to the Rose Gardens gives me the opportunity to gaze upon the “old estates” of the area. Not only are they 100 years old (WoW!!!), but they have these shiny placques adorning their doors, stating they are therefore an American heritage site, part of our true HISTORY. Now that’s ancient!!!!

The problem is, is that I now live in the “Old World,” as we fondly call our neighbors across the pond. And old it is, in comparison, the way they have preserved and culminated really old things. Just look at Rome. The same works for houses, however, and I could not be living in a better specimen of what an American would call “a REALLY OLD house.” Built in the 1850s for an Italian aristocrat, this “villa” is a true work of art, and I can’t feel luckier living and working in it, even if my cozy little room happens to be in the attic. I think of it as my apartment, with my own bathroom and a floor to separate me from my work.

Anyways, the estate is quite impressive. We have a chapel, fountains, small lion statues, and an outdoor pool to boot! (sorry mom, it isn’t olympic sized). The icing on the cake is a perfect view of the Lake with Mount Pilatus perfectly framed by large windows opening up onto the balcony. You feel like you’ve passed into another time, as the wood stairs creak under your feet, the rugs feel thick under your toes, and the paintings and dead animal ornaments glare at you from every angle. My boss once asked me jokingly if I had seen the ghost, and I couldn’t quite shake off the slight panic in my thoughts. After all, a house this old MUST have at least one ghost….and if I were a ghost, what better target could I have to torment than the helpless little au pair in the attic??? I’ll try not to think about that one…

So the house is old, and grand, and amazing….but what about the inhabitants? Well, there are actually 7-11 people who live here at any given time. Relatives, blood related or not seem to be lodged in one spot or another, although there is still plenty of room to spare. But despite the gradeur of the place, I’ve noticed that my employers and their family are refreshingly simple….not in their means of intelligence (they are extremely bright individuals) but in their lifestyle. It is more modern dare I say, with a complete lack of snobbery or finery. In a way, I find this old house just old in structure, but deep down, in the roots of its family, perhaps it has changed and evolved. Despite the house, the people live in the now, and never look back.