Closed for vacation

Being the hottest months of the year, July and August are vacation time for the citizens of Madrid. In particular, large numbers of them flee during August. It is not unusual for small businesses to put up a sign in the window that says, "See you in September," which is fairly incomprehensible to someone raised in workaholic America. The larger restaurants and supermarkets are still open, but even offices will reduce their hours in summer.

I decided to follow their head and go somewhere cooler too. This past week I've been in Oviedo, the capital of the autonomous region of Asturias, in the north.  They have a climate similar to the UK or Seattle, WA, and so it seemed like a great place to get away from the heat. It is also one of the few places I have considered living besides Madrid, and once of my goals of the coming year is to visit more of Spain and make sure that Madrid is the best fit for me.

Oviedo turned out to be really, really lovely. It is full of old architecture and a huge chunk of the city center has been turned into a pedestrian zone, which makes it walkable and quiet. It was cool and humid (except for a single day that was hot and therefore especially miserable in a city that isn´t used to even having fans available).

The surrounding countryside was lush and green, something I am already missing. There are huge craggy cliffs and tiny houses and villages tucked in between.

I am not sure it is the place for me long-term, though. Oviedo has 200.000 residents, and its nearby sister city Gijón is about the same size. When I lived in Gainesville, which is slightly smaller, it felt too small to meet people who share similar interests. I think this might be a good place when I am already fluent in Spanish and integrated fully into Spanish culture, but I´m not there yet. 

Still, I had a great visit. My friend P lives nearby, and he make sure we went to a sidra tavern. Sidra is the alcoholic drink in Asturias - a sour, alcoholic apple cider. It´s not really carbonated, so the waiter pours a small amount in your glass from a great height (like this), which adds a few bubbles. Then you drink it up right away, and wait until they come back a few minutes later to pour you a bit more. I liked it, and am hoping I can find a bottle or two in Madrid. (Although I won´t be trying that pouring technique. Even the experts relied on wood shavings covering the floor to soak up their spills.)

P and I at the famous statue of Mafalda, who stars in Argentinian comic books. I will be looking her up next time I go to the library.

A beautiful and very old 9th century church. I climbed a very big hill to get to this. During the tour, I noted the guide´s warning that we were not to take picture while standing on the patio, which is the open area in front without rails, so that we wouldn´t fall. Then I saw people taking tons of photos, which means that either the Spanish don´t follow directions or I don´t really understand the language. Probably both are true.

Home, sweet home

To properly appreciate my apartment in Madrid, you need to know what my options were. For example, I loved my neighborhood the first time I walked through it, because there is so much green. Parks, and even trees or bushes can be extremely rare in parts of downtown, Some streets don´t seem to have left room for anything except a narrow car path, and you pretty much only get trees if there is regular irrigation. (Here is one of the first neighborhoods I looked at, for example.)

I managed to snag a small apartment with a terrace overlooking a very quiet street and a few trees. (That´s my place, on the second story behind the green awning.) The neighborhood feels suburban, filled with apartment buildings, but most of the businesses like restaurants and grocery stores are tucked into the ground floor space of each building. And the public transportation is better than what I had in Maryland - I can walk to two different metro lines, a few bus lines, and lots of shops within 10-15 minutes. 

Furnished apartments are really common in Spain, thank goodness. And I´d describe the style of mine as 1990´s elderly lady with a cat. I think the owner previously lived here, and she did not see a spare foot of wall space that she couldn´t fill with seating, shelving, or hooks. I am now the proud owner [renter] of seven bookshelves, and I own one book. Perhaps I will rotate it so that it can visit a different location each day of the week?

The kitchen looks small from American standards, but many small apartments here omit ovens, and have only counter-sized fridges. I have tons of storage space and cooking is very efficient - you just rotate in place to reach oven, sink, counter, and fridge.

More shelves in the bedroom. I´d estimate the apartment is about 350 square feet (32 m2). My place in Miami was about that size, and I shared it with a dog, a cat, and another human. So this feels quite spacious, if you discount the eleven chairs plus one sofa living with me. 

And the very best part is that I have air-conditioning. I have realized that when it is 38C (100F), which is often the case in summer. I am sad and think about returning to the US. When it is 28C (82F), I think, "Golly, gee whiz, I live in Madrid! How amazing!" Climate control literally makes me happy.

It turns out minimalists need stuff too.

I had one week from the time I rented the apartment until I moved in to procure household goods. Luckily, furnished apartments are really common here, so I only needed things like towels and kitchenware. When I've lived outside the US in the past, I stayed with other people, so this is the first time I've started from scratch, which had meant shopping and sleeping bags of stuff from all over town.

My go-to for household goods are thrift stores. Unfortunately, selling used goods is not really a thing in Spain, except for furniture and clothes. In a city of 6 million, there are perhaps a dozen thrift stores, and I visited most of them. With diligent searching, I managed to find many useful things. But as is the case for all moves, you eventually end up at IKEA.

Ikea turned out to be a 6-hour adventure, what with navigating public transport to the very edge of the city, purchasing lunch (the meatballs are ubiquitous, but now come in vegetarian as well), and briefly getting locked inside a metro station (but that is a story for another day).

As everyone knows, I don't like spending money and I don't really like shopping either. I decided everything I bought would be white and the plainest, frugal-est version I could find. I did realize that there should be a few exceptions, and I carefully considered where I would appreciate quality. It turns out I don't care about dishes or sheets or tea cups, but I like luxury when drinking coffee, helping my groceries around, and keeping warm. 

My new favorite things: a beautiful French press, a three -season down duvet, and a rugged, large-capacity shipping cart.

So, answers on a postcard (or in a comment): what would you splurge on if you were replacing all your household goods?

Things are looking up

I have lots of good news to report. Most importantly, I have an apartment! The key was that my agent contacted all possible landlords and asked them if I could pay a year in advance. But, I hear you say, I thought you said you couldn't prepay! I did say that, but I was wrong. I have said on this blog that I frequently don't know what is going on, and this is proof. In this case, I'm delighted to be incorrect. It still took some time, because many apartments were rented by the time we even contacted the landlord, and only if a few would even consider me. But the first place I was able to see I took immediately.

It has many good features: it's on the second floor so I only have to climb 1.5 flights of stairs, it's in a lovely neighborhood which is quite green and tree-filled by Madrid standards, and it has an air conditioner. It also has a bidet and a tv, which were two things I didn't think I'd ever possess. I have already made friends with the portero ( the combination front desk / superintendent / custodian that many apartments have here) because I couldn't figure out how to unlock the doors without an extensive tutorial from him.

I will move in at the end of this week, when my house sitting gig is done. Just one week after I arrived in Madrid, I met some lovely people who were friends of friends and they asked me to house/dogsit while they were on vacation. It's been almost like a vacation, because they have a beautiful apartment with a tiny pool, plus the most adorable dog ever.

Having a signed rental contract means we could proceed with scheduling the many appointments I need for my visa. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will register my address with the police, which is what they do here instead of taking a census. There are several more steps after that, but I wouldn't want to reveal them to you all at once and spoil the suspense.

Celebrating a new home!