Little "casa rojo"

The house hunting is over and we've found our little casa rojo. Though it's not very Spanish, it works out perfect for us. We love it! It is technically in Madrid though far enough out to have a bit more space. We also will have pretty sweet views of the city from the terraces. It's about 10 minutes from the kids school (though they'll take the bus), walking distance from the village for groceries, short driving distance from suburbia with big grocers and malls, walking distance from park with bike trails, lakes, playground etc., and a just a short jaunt to the city.


Details
The house may not look very Spanish, but it has quite a few Euro assets. It is a Euro mesh from the London imported door knobs with very Cinderella-ish keys, to the German windows (pretty cool, but I won't go into details), and imported from I-don't-remember-where fire place mantels. The mother/realtor/financial backing behind this endeavor for her children, made sure we knew of all the bells and whistles. It is a semi attached chalet (shares a wall with neighbor). I originally thought I wanted private, but private in Spain means PRIVATE (enclosed by tall gates and shrubs). If we went the private route, the kids probably wouldn't easily be playing with neighbors. There are 4 residences within the ivy covered security gate. The kids can play to their hearts content without me having to worry (they can't get out without a key and no one gets in without a key or permission via video security). In the front there are ramps and cement for biking, along with grass for soccer, sand box for buckets and trucks, and swings for... flying. Behind the swings is a common party room for the kids. Each residence has a private backyard with a private pool (pool and yard maintenance are covered in rent -yipee!). There are 2 buildings which house 4 residents in this gated Utopia -all of which have children. There are 4 rooms on the 2nd floor, so Gavin and Eli will still share. All the bedrooms have a private bathroom with bidet (no kids, it's not a water fountain). The guest sweet on the 3rd floor, has 2 large rooms, closet area, bathroom (pictured above with footed bath tub), and terrace with amazing views. So book now! In the basement there is the laundry room, maid's quarters (probably my craft area), ample storage, and garage. The garage has a hose and drain right inside, so you can wash your car privately (nobody wants to see ya shirtless in those cut-off jean shorts, pot belly hanging over, hairy back blowing in the wind). There is a bidet looking thing also in the garage for dumping mop water, or soap suds, rinsing muddy boots, etc. Who thinks of these things? Needless to say, I'm quite excited about this "vacation" from some of our responsibilities. Renting definitely has it's perks, though, I may go crazy looking at all the white walls. The next Madrid post will be equally gag worthy as I've fallen in love with the city. Just a warning.

Excuse me, I just found out it's casa roja. That's why I need Brett around.