All postings from new places start with "Liz has found us a wonderful apartment/house/boat/location/etc". Of course she has done it again.
We are in the centre of the "Old Town" part of Barcelona, just one square away from the main Cathedral. Our 5th floor abode (that's Liz on the balcony) looks out over the Cathedral Spires, the Harbour Cable Car and, charmingly, our neighbour's laundry.
The cathedral is undergoing extensive restoration; hence the cranes and protective nets
Not sure when the apartment was built - turn of the century probably. It's big, with 12 foot ceilings. Two bedrooms - one with ensuite; a big office, large living/dining room, second bathroom and a fully equipped kitchen. It has been recently renovated and the level of finish is lovely. Comes with high speed internet access, two stereo systems, 100+ channel cable, central heat and A/C and what we love most - 4 sets of french doors opening onto balconies overlooking the square.
Following are lots of pics - the corner shadows are from a fish eye lens
The kitchen is the best provisioned in any residence we've ever rented (15 to date). Big frig, dishwasher, microwave (in a neat, but never used, "garage"), other appliances and dinnerware and flatware (including a lot of silver). Best of all it came with a great set of knives and other tools.....except after years of travel we now carry our own - could have saved a lot of luggage weight!
The kitchen has been a learning experience for we self assumed appliance leaders. The stove is an induction cooktop. It can boil water faster than you can get the lid on the pot. We seem to be getting the hang of it. The oven, which convects, dissects, bisects, and might resurrect, still has the best of us....but random knob turning and button punching appear to be negotiating a compromise.
The bathrooms are modern, clean to OR standards and supplied with infinite amounts of hot water - we're happy.
Perhaps most welcoming of all, the apartment is very, very comfy. Paired couches that we curl up on, objects d'art everywhere, lots of books and paintings and a full pantry of things you need but forget to stock up on when you arrive. By the second day we were settled in and our phrase after wandering around the city was "let's go home"
We're very happy here. Had our next door neighbours from Rome (they now live in London UK) visit us for 3 days a couple of weeks ago and our dear friends George and Josie came last weekend for 4 days - the apartment is built for entertaining.
As much as we love living here, it's the neighbourhood that enchants. We have an excellent Gellateria 8 feet from our front door - we never make dessert. The local grocery store delivers (Richard is just old enough to remember grocery stores delivering!). We're 5 minutes to two of the best food markets we've ever seen (after discussion - we agree - "the best" markets we've ever seen).
Now - on to the markets, the cathedral, underground Roman Ruins, the Maritime Museum, the Rambla and what is usually the core of our travel blogs....restaurants.
Check back soon!