Thursday, June 7, 2012

Susan took a look at another “piso” yesterday and with one rather large exception it had just about everything we were looking for.  The exception was the fact that the master bedroom was on a second level and there were eighteen winding steps that led up to it.  Although it would be manageable at the moment, in terms of the future it would be a risky proposition having to climb up and down those stairs several times a day.

We looked at another apartment this morning.  It overlooks the Botanical Gardens and has a large patio.  That was the good news.  It has been unoccupied for two years and needs some major renovation and has no air conditioning.  The owner is asking 1,000 Euros a month and the renters will be responsible for all repairs.  We would also have to supply all appliances.  Truth be told, in renovated condition, the apartment would probably go for 850 a month.  The search will continue.

Yesterday we had lunch at Carosel.  Rather than order the menu of the day we opted to start with a huge dish of clóchinas, which were plump and juicy and cooked to perfection.  Next came a salad with a mixture of lettuces, mushrooms, artichokes and Serrano ham.  Lastly there was a plate of shrimp from Denia, a small beach town in Alicante.  They are reputed to be among the best in the world and we will bear witness.  They were small in size, but incredibly sweet.  We passed on dessert and had coffee instead.

We spent the evening at home and we watched the recent PBS documentary called “Here’s Johnny!” – a very thorough look at the private and public life of the King of Late Night.  The documentary talked about the importance of magic in his life from a very young age and that resonated with me because my good friend, Dean Dill, was Johnny’s magic teacher and it was a Johnny’s insistence that Dean made an appearance on the show a month before Carson retired.  After the documentary we watched an episode of The Mentalist and by then it was midnight and time for bed.