New Home

Hola Blogers,

We are finally in our new home! We have spent 2 nights there now - on an inflatable mattress and surrounded by boxes. Not all boxes mind as there are still a ton in Jose´s office and some at the farm. We don´t have ANY furniture. We have to garden chairs and two stools and thats your lot. However, we do have hot running water, heating, two working toilets, shower, bath and a sink. Apparently the oven works .....but we can´t get it to work (decorater has been sent to track down kitchen fitter to bring the instruction book). Hob will be connected today - so, the cold picnic on the floor (as was last nights dinner) may improve somewhat tonight. Plastic knives and forks though. Which reminds me - I think the removal men have stolen my new boxed cutlery set! Its the only thing, so far, that seems to be missing. Bastards!

We have an enormous bath with jacuzzi jets but I tried it out last night and its so large that the hot water tank doesn´t hold enough water to fill it! So I have instructed the men to take out the brand new electric water tank and put in a gas water heater (hence no limit to quantity). Its actually good living here whilst the work men are around because these things can be sorted before all the furniture comes.

Yesterday we painted two walls (in two different rooms) a really dark chocolate brown colour and I was hoping to god that my idea would come good. Fortunately it did and it looks amazing. The other wals are a sort of biscuit colour so it goes really well. It really picks out the ceiling detail now as well. We are both really happy with that little design adventure.

I have my camera with me but I don´t know where the uplaoding lead is so I can´t show you whats going on. Nor can I show you Fallas - but I´ll take photos all the same and then put them on here later. Right outside our door we have a marquee set up in the street - a beer tent thing. On both corners of the street there are massive, and I mean massive, polysterene structures waiting to be ceremoniously set alight on Monday - the main day of Fallas. Apparently there is no chance of sleeping from Friday on wards. Bangs are going off all the time now - if its not the official big bangs then its kids with their mini (but bloody loud) versions. One big fire hazard if you ask me. I´m interested to see the street parties at the weekend though. We are so well placed for all this - we can go home to the toilet and watch the burning structure from teh safety of our lounge! Our friends Ernesto and Ivan are coming down for saturday night - our first visitors to stay. They have been told to bring inflatable matresses and sleeping bags! Mum and Paul were actually the first to see the flat as they were here last week - but we all stayed in a hotel.

Mum and Paul both love Valencia and prefer it to Barcelona - so there´´s a good recomendation for you.

Right back to scarping paint off window sills.

S xx