Coming to Rome, I was expecting that I would have to hang dry my clothes.  But I was not expecting how time-consuming the process of doing laundry here would be.  Each cycle takes anywhere from 2 to 3 hours depending on the temperature of the load.  Craziness.  And then you add on the time it takes for the clothes to dry, and you are talking about a day long process.  Also, I still do not understand what we are going to do when it rains – with an uncovered balcony and a small apartment, are my clothes going to end up eternally wet?  Time will tell.  For now, I love seeing clothing hanging from balconies everywhere throughout the city.