Starting to feel like home!!

Yesterday Lucas arrived as promised with a new microwave, sheets, pillows, towels and Victor, the handyman of my dreams.  Lucas, my landlord turns out to be a young hip 30ish guy with a wicked wink and a huge smile.   He came in promising me not to worry ‘everything’ was going to be taken care of.   My guard was up and I was determined to be tough but of course there was no way not to adore Lucas………..turns out he is Argentinian, came here to finish school 12 years ago and never left.  Lucas was in and out like a whirl wind as he was leaving for a few days on the coast.  This leaving me with Victor who couldn’t understand a word I said.  If Lucas was all energy and lots of talk, Victor was sweet and extremely gentle.   Somehow without a word between us he managed to fix the light switch that was broken, the fan in the small bedroom, the door jam, the washer that leaked and the sticky keys, all of this with just a smile and a nod.

I’m not sure how it happened since I have never used my nickname with Lucas but instead always called myself Dorothy but anyhow at my request for new bedding he had purchased the most fun set of ‘multi-colored dot sheets’ I’ve ever seen.   Now I’ve never had a bedroom before where these sheets would have been appropriate but here………..the whole apartment instantly went from beige and boring to dots and happy.  To finish off the new look I bought a red and white throw for the sofa and a big old red geranium plant for the table and my new place suddenly started to feel like home!! Dott’s little Barcelona home!! Thank goodness for the New Orleans condo it has taught me well the challenges of living in buildings that are more than 150 years old!!!

To celebrate my day of homemaking I decided to check out my travel book and head for a restaurant that was recommended somewhere in my neighborhood.  To my delight there were several that I had been passing in my travels.  The one I selected is called Schillings and proved to live up to its recommendation.  The décor’ is that of an old library with books and bottles of wine lining the walls.  A grand bar is the focus of the room and large windows allow you to sit there without missing a beat on the people watching.  The bartender was every bit the Spanish hippish type guy, long hair almost to his shoulders, pointed boots, tight jeans, narrow hips………..great English!!  Cristo, it turns out is a native Spaniard who spent four years in Dallas as a flight attendant for American Airlines.   And in fact he is going to Kansas for Christmas with his Brazilian girlfriend whose mother lives there…….you’ve got to love this stuff!!   Needless to say we had lots to share.  His experiences in the states, mind here so far.  And yes, we did share a bit of a joke about Kansas and Dorothy and the whole red shoe thing!  He gave me lots of insider info about good restaurants in the general area.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a regular at Schillings and so are all my friends, they just don’t know it yet!!