Un Palau, Sisplau

Well after 3 weeks of living in the prison known as Aparthotel Conseller I am finally free from such pleasantries as water being turned off without notice, paying for an internet that worked 1/300th of the time, and breathing in fumes from the construction that never seemed to cease. After some mild trauma with respects to securing a 4th person for our 4 bedroom apartment, Mike, Alex, and I convinced one of the Oxford students to take the 4th spot until she leaves around Christmas. After that...who knows...but for now it works out well money-wise and we are happy as clams.

The place itself is located in the main Andorran city, Andorra la Vella, more specifically in the Ciutat de Valls, a neighborhood somewhat elevated and hence named "City of Valleys" literally. Since all four of us work in different locales (Encamp, Ordino, Santa Coloma, and La Margineda), it made sense to find something central and with easy access to buses going to all parts of the principality. Instead of a 30 minute walk to the bus every morning I now walk a mere 4 minutes. Wunderbar. Though it is at times a bit of a workout trekking up the stone streets to our new abode, it is totally worth it and something we are more than used to. Within a 10 minute walk are a multitude of restaurants and small shops, the bank, the main government buildings, and the city's main public plaza. Pyreneés, the more luxe French-run shopping center/grocery store is our new headquarters for serious shopping.

The apartment itself is located on the 5th floor of an I believe 6 story building. Walking into the apartment you first have a massive closet space were we keep all of our luggage. The first door on the right is the first of the 4 bedrooms in which Mike resides. It has two beds, both of which are actually murphy beds, i.e. they fold into the wall. This will certainly come in handy for when we have guests visit. The next door on the right is my own bedroom, the smallest of the 4, but fully equipped with a twin bed, night stand, chest of drawers, and a big armoire with hanging space, cubbies, and drawers. Across the hall we have the first of two bathrooms, quite modern and in line with the rest of the apartment. Next door is Alex's room, slightly bigger than my own but with more or less the same amenities.

Moving on, the next door to the right is the kitchen. It is quite sizeable and includes a large new fridge/freezer, oven, washing machine, a double sink, ample counter space, and a small table with 3 stools that is nice for breakfast or for food prep. Its window also gives access to the four clothes lines from which we dry our clothes. Not having a dryer is perhaps the only bad thing about the place, but that is basically the norm for Andorra. Oh well. The kitchen is fully equipped with utensils, pots and pans, a coffee maker, and everything else you could imagine. The only thing lacking that we may invest in for the year is a food processor, an obvious necessity.

Straight down the hall past the kitchen is the apartment's largest room, the living/dining room. It is extremely spacious, and its huge windows keep it bright and sunny for most of the day. We've already purchased some herbs to take advantage of this. There is a couch and reclining chair, coffee table, TV with digital cable, lamp, and functional fireplace in the living room space. In the dining room half we have a huge glass table with 6 metal chairs, some shelving, and then a hutch filled with a variety of plates and glasses.

Off of this room is the master bedroom, which we have given to Rakhee for a slightly elevated rent price. It comes with a double bed and a ton of shelving and storage space. It also has its own master bathroom attached with basically the same amenities as the other. It has its own large window that looks out over the town, though it is slightly obstructed by the neighboring apartment buildings.

All in all we are EXTREMELY pleased with our new home and look forward to taking full advantage of the space for holding a multitude of feasts and banquets. Cheers!

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Part of trip: Life in Andorra

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