Our new home (hopefully)...

Well, looks like we've gotten ourselves a home in Spain! I am pretty overwhelmed at the thought. It feels like so much pressure, since we don't really know areas all that well yet, but I think we are in a good location (Salamanca--just off of Goya) and we are only a five minute walk from Retiro, which is lovely.

The flat is ridiculous. The building was built during the housing boom in the 80's. In its current state, it is the type of crazy, 1980's penthouse that might appear in some James Spader film with dark undertones of cocaine addiction, Wall Street embezzlement, and people who have leopards as pets. It's kind of fabulous.

One of our conditions is that it ALLLLLL be painted a crisp white, so please imagine it as such. Thinking of having them paint the doors all white too, but in a high gloss, as well as the trim... Not sure yet... That would give it a more Mediterranean vibe--Very Santorini with the spiral staircase and dark wood floors...


HUGE open space when you walk in and the main room looks out onto this fabulous terrace that has a shade made entirely of vines in the warmer months. I hate that half wall, but there is a chance it can be removed... It has some odd nooks and such, but I think after everything is painted and fresh, I can make them cute...

 
The master looks out over the terrace too... It has a very open concept--The bathtub and double sinks are exposed to the rest of the room, while the shower and toilet are in a seperate space, and closed off (thank goodness!).





The kitchen is just off the main room--I'm not in love with having the kitchen be in a totally separate space, but it will work just fine. I love that it is right off the living/dining room and not down some endlessly long, narrow hallway past the bedrooms. The landlords pointed out that it is ideal for our maid. Maid? Yes... Maid. Apparently most people with our budget have one in Spain--which explains why a lot of the places we looked at had itsy bedrooms adjacent to the kitchens (maid's quarters).


The stairs lead up to a cozy, attic-like space with windows slanted from the roof. There are three bedrooms upstairs and and very spacious landing, that would make a great TV room.






One of the bedrooms is covered with this absurd elephant print fabric, but we want to leave it, since it is so bizarre... PLUS! This will fulfill a longtime dream that we have a room we call 'The Jungle Room' just like Elvis had at Graceland! Can't wait to decorate this room in the most ridiculously chic jungle way possible!


 
The other two bedrooms are big and have the slanted windows, just as the landing. They share a 'jack and jill' bathroom, while the Elephant Room has its own.
 
So... That's the crazy penthouse! We love that the upstairs can be entirely for our guests, while we can live in the downstairs. It has an amazing storage space (VERY unique for Madrid) and we think it will be an ideal spot for us, since it is still in town, but on a main street heading out of town, making Navy's commute quick and easy!
 
What do you think? Will you come stay with us?


On My Own (Humming some Les Mis)...

So, Navy is in Germany for the week... Which leaves the Poodle and I all alone in Spain. Though it totally blows being without the Navy Man, we are focusing on the positive and trying to keep busy. We met one of the other NATO wives and her dog at Retiro Park--To get there, Poodle and I took the Metro all by ourselves! SO proud! Lame, right? It's the small victories that you have to celebrate when you live overseas... Poodle has to ride in my bag to get on the train, which she hates, but I hate having people stare at my blonde hair as if it's on fire--Get over it, Poodle! We've all got stuff to deal with here! It really was a gorgeous day, and I was thrilled to get out of the hotel...





When we got home, I dropped off the Poodle and headed to a new grocery store. Uh, turns out it is some sort of weirdo-European-city-only-sells-their-brand kind of store. Naturally, I didn't want to buy some cheese with a logo of a dancing gnome, so I tried to leave without buying anything. Um... Didn't work. I literally couldn't figure out how to exit, since you have to go through a one-way gate to go in and any lane that didn't have a checker and a loooooong line is locked up tight! So, I bought hairspray--just to be able to exit! Felt like a total goose, but as least now my hair will look good for a while...

Mad City

We have been in Madrid just over two weeks. It is remarkable so little time has passed... It feels so much longer. As we explore more and more of this city, we fall more in love. We have walked many miles... Over three hundred year old cobblestones, and down streets with shops that haven't been open more than a week... There is an electric pulse to this city that is intoxicating. Everywhere you look, you see life lived to its fullest. The Spanish don't live life indoors--Cafes are always full to bursting, fashion and design provide a feast for the eye, and young lovers kiss openly on corners... My favourite people to watch are the more 'mature' ladies of the city. Anyone with an extra Euro to spare owns some sort of full-length fur coat. They saunter around with fluffy dye-job hairdos, wearing low heels (even though many need a cane). Truly fabulous. This woman must have been at least 80 years old...



Our hunt for the perfect flat has been grueling, but we have made an offer and hear on Monday if they will accept! It is a penthouse with a fabulous terrace in the Goya area of Salamanca--Two blocks from Retiro park... Very weirdo European vibe to the place, but we kind of love it! The open floor plan is a rarity here, and though it's not in one of the old buildings with fabulous gargoyles, I would rather have a kitchen just off the living area (and not in the very back of the apartment, so the maid can sneak in), than 100 year old floors and charming leaded glass windows... Keep your fingers crossed for us!

We have arrived...

I've been negligent in updating this, since we have arrived in Spain. It's been a bit of a whirlwind. We landed on Feb. 7th around noon. Our first taste of the relaxed Spanish attitude came when we tried to go through customs, but got waved right on into the country! No one looked at our passports or even Junie's paperwork that I was so stressed to have done correctly! We were greeted by some of the NATO contingent and whisked away into the city. I'll admit, my first impression as we drove in, wasn't so positive. The outskirts of the city are pretty dirty and with an extreme lack of sleep, it was hard to see any silver lining to everything around us.

Luckily, our hotel wasn't too hard to find and we were treated to a lovely efficiency apartment quite close to Gran Via (a popular shopping/tourist area--think Times Square, for comparison).

Since that first day, my impressions of the city have totally changed. It is beautiful! Everywhere I look, I cannot help but gasp at the ornate architecture. We have toured some amazing barrios so far... Centro, parts of Salamanca, we walked through Retiro Park... It's breathtaking.

My blonde hair affords me MANY stares. More than when I was in Singapore! Since we know very little Spanish, we are relying on lots of hand gesturing and broken words here and there... We have been told that out of all the countries in Europe, Spain speaks English the least and Madrid in particular...

Funny mix-ups so far: I bought baking soda, thinking it was salt... Eric took someone else's coffee at Sbux, and didn't notice till I asked if he had switched his name to 'Minosh', as it was written on the cup... I spilled water all over the table our first night at a restaurant...





While we are missing our friends and family, we are still too hyped up to be too homesick right now. Our house-hunt starts tomorrow and I am so excited!
               

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An American girl living in Spain...
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