Springboards

The Apartment

December 21^st. Let me tell you about our Barcelona apartment, our home away from home. To get to the apartment one must travel up in a one-person-at-a-time lift to the 6th floor. It is also a one-suitcase-at-a-time lift. You open the outer door, open the inner doors, then shut the outer door, then shut the inner doors. Nothing is automatic. When I step in, I step to the back, especially if I am stepping in at the 6^th floor. The floor is soft and it feels like it is giving way underneath me at the spot in the front where everyone steps in. It feels like you take your life in your hands every time you go in the thing. The locals use the stairs a lot in this building.

There seems to be four apartments on each level but we can’t be sure as, for example, we share an outer door with another apartment, then we have an inner door to lock as well. There is also a gate that is locked at night for the whole block of apartments, so we feel very secure. There is even a grill on the bathroom window in case someone tries sliding across a piece of 6 x 2 and clambering across from a neighbouring building. Other windows have a wooden window which we can open, then a glass window behind that which we can open. The side where the washing is hung is six floors straight up, so no extra security needed there.

We have two double bedrooms (as in, a double bed just fits in each) plus a good-sized bathroom and a good-sized kitchen/dining room. There is also a tiny alcove off the dining area that is perfect for a mini-office. We have a microwave and two elements but no oven, a toaster and sandwich maker but no electric jug. We have a fridge and a washing machine.

When we arrived the apartment was freezing and took a lot of warming up. There are two pipes with a mesh over them to allow lots of fresh air in, no doubt an indication of hot summers. Once we had blocked these the place warmed up a bit (heat pump & fan heater but no electric blanket). A work diary wedged with a little stool makes a good hole-blocker.