Our Granada Digs

When your husband turns to you and says “did you ask if she had another place available?” immediately after the rental agent leaves, it’s a clear sign that he does not like the place you’ve rented... For three months… For a small fortune. Gulp!

Malaga ruined us. While there, we rented a charming, albeit tiny 2-room flat a stone’s throw from the beach through Homeaway (VRBO). The location was prime: just a few steps from the newly renovated port, 10 minutes from the city center, tapas bars and restaurants. As a corner unit, the narrow deck wrapped 2 sides on the 9^th floor, with a view to the ocean (when leaning out) or to the port. At night the sound of crashing waves drifted through the apartment. Since it was so high, ocean breezes blew through continuously. Fully-renovated in January, the place practically gleamed, everything was so new.

Our Granada apartment, advertised as Jolie Granada (which is supposed to appeal to the British as we’ve seen no French tourists) is a bit smaller than our main floor in Incline Village and much larger than the Malaga apartment. The main part consists of a “great room” kitchen/dining/living area and 2 bedrooms, each just large enough for 2 singles and a double. The closets are spacious with built-in dressers. Unfortunately, it’s on the ground floor, which means it’s noisy, and the street is a busy throughway for Alhambra buses. The view is limited to the shuttered windows of the retired nun’s home across the street. The décor is IKEA, which I generally like, but the color scheme tends to bland natural woods, which I don't. On the bright side, the sun shines in afternoon and we’ve a small private patio with 2 large storage closets. JT has made this his spot for practicing headers. I describe it as perfectly adequate; Tom would likely use less flattering language. The most important aspect: location, location, location…it’s just a 3-minute walk from the kid’s school, and about 10 minutes from my school. The neighborhood has many bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants and even 2 bike shops.  It's not perfect, but it'll work.