No longer homeless!

Well, we managed to achieve our goal of finding a place to live within our first two weeks here in Granada – thank goodness! Despite sending out several dozen inquiries and requests, we only got three responses from owners who were willing to consider a lease with a 6-month term (apparently a year is the expected minimum around here). The first place we looked as was not in our ideal neighborhood and was pretty run-down, and I was surprised at how much they were asking for rent. We told the agent we’d think about it, and I was starting to feel like we might have to take it since we were getting desperate. Then we got a response from the second agent, so we went out to look at the next place. This one was WAY outside our target neighborhood, since I apparently read the listing wrong and got Plaza Nueva and Parque Nueva mixed up…putting us ~45 minute walk away from the lively area where we wanted to be. The upside was a great price that included parking, a pool and a play area in the complex for Coco. Tempting, but not really what we wanted.

Our final response came from another agent saying that the place we’d inquired about was no longer available, but he had something else with 3 bedrooms in our target neighborhood that was a little over our budget (at least, I was pretty sure that’s what he was saying on the phone!). We set up a showing, and thank goodness it was great. Very spacious living/dining room with 2 balconies overlooking the plaza, our bedroom and Coco’s bedroom also have balconies overlooking the plaza (which can be a little noisy when we’re trying to fall asleep and everyone else is down there having dinner), guest bedroom and kitchen are downstairs facing the interior courtyard and I’m slowly getting used to the process of hanging laundry out there to dry on the lines. If Eric writes a blog post one day saying I fell out the window and splattered a few stories down, it’s probably legit.

There was some minor confusion about what the address of the flat actually was, which caused a bit of a headache since we realized that AFTER we’d gotten some residency card paperwork stamped (oops!). We’re still working on getting TV/internet/phone set up, and getting the electric and water bills in our name (perhaps not possible until we get our Spanish bank account?) but we’re feeling MUCH better about things now that we have a home again :)

The other big thing that we were able to do was find a school for Colette. It’s a 10-15 minute walk from us and has ~20 kids age 3 and under. She has only gone 1 day so far since everything in Granada has been shut down for the big feria of Corpus Christi this week. Let’s just say it didn’t go very smoothly :( She was pretty scared for us to leave her in this weird place with lots of loud kids who spoke a different language and wanted to inspect her, especially after being with Mom & Dad 24/7 for the prior 2 weeks. Fingers crossed that it will get better when we try again on Monday!

Weather here has been a BIG improvement over the chilly rain of the first days – it’s been non-stop sun with high’s in the 80’s. We took a quick 1-night road trip over to Córdoba last weekend to see their thousand-year-old mosque/cathedral…Eric and I thought it was pretty amazing, Coco just wanted to go back to the hotel pool. Tomorrow we’re going to head into the Alpujarra region of the Sierra Nevada, known for its picturesque ‘white towns’ in the hills, and explore there for a few days. Again, I’m guessing Colette will find the hotel pool to be the biggest draw :)

We’ve got a few visitors booked now for June and July, so really looking forward to seeing one of Eric’s buddies (who’s tacking a few days onto a work trip) and my sister/brother-in-law who are meeting us in Barcelona before we all pop over to Croatia and Italy. It’s probably going to sound a little bit ridiculous, but Eric and I haven’t been able to find the time to lay out our 2-month train journey that we have slated for August/September…hopefully we can get that planned in the next few days so we can start getting reservations booked before the trains are all filled up!

One week down...

Well, we are just over a week into our journey, and we are doing great. We have taken a road trip to the Mediterranean Sea and had some cervezas on the beach, walked around the old town of Granada and stopped in little bars for tapas, woke up on Sunday and went to a Catholic Pentecost mass in Spanish and Latin in the old Catedral, and went climbing in the Sierra Nevada mountains…but most of all, started to ease into our new life.

While the Instagram and Facebook pictures may look glamourous and carefree, it is easy to spend a day just trying to complete one simple task, like finding a place to print, scan, and email a legal document, or trying to get a car service to come jump our dead battery, or looking for a longer-term rental apartment. All relatively easy tasks, but in a new land and new language present themselves differently. All in all, though, I think we are doing a good job of keeping a sense of normalcy in a rather abnormal situation. Colette definitely helps with that. Her naps and relatively early bed-time (10pm!) are keeping us to a semblance of a schedule.

What is interesting to me is that I can now see how retired people fill their day. I always wondered what they did, but they do this! And somehow it is still rewarding and interesting, with a few less restrictions.

A typical day looks like this…Colette wakes up between 8 and 9, and one of us gets up to feed her breakfast while the other lays in bed for a bit. We eventually all get up and have a little coffee and snack before we head out of the apartment to do XYZ, which usually involves a lot of wandering around the city, stopping at parks for Colette to run and play in, and getting lost. Kate and I perform a basic task, like making a phone call, and then find a place to eat lunch around 1-2pm. We usually pick the meal of day, which is typically a starter, a main course, a dessert, a drink and bread for around $10 per person. Not bad. Then we usually wander a little more, eventually getting Colette back for a nap (or quiet time in her room) while we catch up on emails or phone calls back home (as it is +7 hours here to CDT in the US) to catch their morning. When she gets up (around 5pm), we head back out to discover a new part of the city, eventually finding a nice café or bar to grab a snack and drink while Colette runs around (she has lots of energy). After that, we may head back to our place, or the park for a bit before making a small dinner at home around 9pm. A quick shower for Colette and she goes to bed, while Kate and I watch a little Netflix or GoT episode. Not bad huh?

Kate and I are also working on our Spanish, and trying to get Colette to use a few words here and there. Her being just 2.5, she seems to understand the words, but doesn’t like to use the Spanish words, sticking only to the English. Kate is much more advanced than me, go figure, but I am getting there. We try to use nap time as our study time, as it usually affords an hour or so for Duolingo, our audio books, or dictionary time.

Tomorrow, while Kate and Colette hopefully finalize paperwork for the new apartment (fingers crossed!), I am going to go check out the highest point in Spain, Mulhacén, at around 3500m in the Sierra Nevada. It is unseasonably cold right now, so lots of snow might impact any progress at all. We will see… Stay tuned!

We made it!

So despite all the chaos and craziness of getting things sold and packed, the last few days in Minnesota went pretty smoothly. Between lending/donating stuff, dropping it off at friends' houses for their garage sales (thanks Katy and Erica!) and selling stuff, we ended up with a totally full storage unit and filled up my mom's van with one last load destined for Wisconsin. But the house was empty and clean and we had most of the day Sunday to enjoy - did Mother's Day brunch and went to the Arboretum...along with every other family in the Twin Cities metro! On Monday morning, got the cars sold, finished our packing at the hotel, and closed on the house...with plenty of time to spare, as I promised Eric all along :)

The bag-check lady at the Delta counter thought we were a little nuts as she tagged our 7 bags and the carseat and watched us head to security with 5 more carry-on's and the stroller. Flights to Paris and then on to Malaga were uneventful, although none of us got much sleep on either flight. Feared that would bite us at some point, but we managed to make it all the way without anyone melting down. The only hiccup was with our car...the leasing agency gave us the biggest one they had, but we still couldn't cram everything in. The guy ended up having to call his colleague to come meet us, and I took 2 bags and rode with her back to their garage. With some strategic efforts and the removal of part of the trunk, everything finally got squeezed in and we hit the road for the 1.5 hr drive to Granada. Thankfully Coco was sleeping for this whole process and drive!

From the minute we landed it's been unseasonably cold and rainy, but everyone promises it will finally clear up and get warm again tomorrow. We are hoping so! Our explorations so far have involved umbrellas, rain coats and rain pants, and the plastic stroller cover thingy (so glad we have that!). Coco has enjoyed chasing the pigeons through the puddles and we have to stop at every single park we see so she can try out all the slides and swings. Her new favorites are the mini-trampolines that they have at some of the plaza parks. We have spent a lot of time wandering around all the different neighborhoods around the centro, trying to get a feel for where we might want to live. There are lots of cute areas, but it seems like we may just end up living anywhere that will accept a 6 month lease. Most responses to our inquiries thus far have indicated a 1-yr minimum commitment. Or at least that's what I think they're saying, it's in Spanish!

The language is sort of coming back to us, albeit quite slowly, and Coco seems to be picking up the Spanish things we say to her a little more. As soon as we get the housing situation squared away, job #1 will be to find her a school/daycare so she can get back to spending time with other kids, as well as get immersed in the language. That will also leave Eric and I with more time to do laundry, which is a much more tedious process here - tiny washing machine and no dryer. Didn't think I'd ever miss my laundry room back in Plymouth, but it seems rather luxurious in hindsight :) We will be getting used to many things on a smaller scale...besides cars and washers, beds are smaller, streets are narrower, and the stores are tiny. Even the beers are little, and served in wine glasses. I'm still adjusting to the 'drink beer with lunch' culture, but practice makes perfect!

It's getting real

Eric and I have been busy busy busy this week with all the fun stuff that comes along with any move, in addition to the extra stuff like buying Spanish health insurance and figuring out what we'll need to do to get our residence cards and trying to make sure all of Tom's financial and medical stuff is in order. I'd say we're doing a pretty good job of dividing and conquering...the lady at Verizon who had to listen to us bickering about international phone plans may tell a different story! (Side note, we're keeping Eric's cell number and getting rid of mine, plan is for me to get a Spanish number on my phone)

We haven't yet had time to really lay out what our travel plan is going to be, but we're pretty sure it will be a mix of road trips, flying and train trips. Got our Eurail pass and sketched out a few potential itineraries...I'm sure no one reading this will be surprised to learn that one of the options includes several stops in the Swiss Alps where Colette and I would be wandering around in town eating cheese and chocolate while Eric was dangling off the side of a nearby cliff! Once we get over to Granada and figure out where we're going to live, I think the travel planning will be one of the very next things on the list. That, and me learning how to drive our stick-shift car...ugh :( Those of you who know me can probably picture me gulping my wine as I'm writing this and thinking about how un-planned things suddenly are in our lives. (Side note, gulping that wine from a Solo cup since all of our wine glasses are already boxed up in the storage unit)

Over the past couple weeks, I've kept telling myself to remember these 'lasts' - last meeting at work, last trip to Target, last time the guy came to mow the lawn...they're adding up! Some are more sad than others, of course. There will probably be tears tomorrow during Coco's last day at Primrose (mine, not hers). Definitely won't be tears on Monday when I make the last drive through 3 construction zones that are within 3 miles of my house. I wonder what road construction in Spain will be like? I digress... Anyway, pretty soon we'll be making note of 'firsts' instead of 'lasts' and I hope we can share some good ones via this blog. I promise I'll try to get better at writing posts :)