Hello!!
We love being in Madrid in August but a friend needs a housesitter for her sick cat in France and we need to go help her.
Madrid is GREAT during the summer. Tons of free activities everywhrere (festivals, concerts, fiestas patronales, theater, exhibitions, shows, etc.)
We have A/C in both floors. Madrid gets hot in the summer, but not crazy hot. The worst month for heat is July, August average temperature is 31º maximum and 19º minimum so really not bad at all.
THE HOUSE: House with a yard in Madrid Center (very rare). 8 minute walk away from Madrid Río. 30 minute walk to the famous neighborhood La Latina (beginning of the old town). 50 minute walk away from Puerta del Sol (very heart of the city). 100m2 house (1 big bedroom (40m2), living room, kitchen, 1 bathroom, yard and terrace). 125m2 Green yard and plants (automatic sprinklers in most of it). Right next to one of the biggest parks in the city (Pradera de San Isidro). We also have a big 15m tall cedar!!!!), plastic 3x4m swimmingpool... It's very easy to park your car in the street right across and it's free.
THE ANIMALS: We have 4 calm, small adopted pets (2 chihuahuas and 2 cats). They need food and water and lots of love :) They are VERY CALM and nice and they all get along. They are from the animal shelter we volunteer at.
The dogs: Fox & Diane need to walk 3 times per day (not much because they're very small and Fox is "middle aged"). We have a big park 1 minute away. They like to walk for 15 minutes each time. Diane would walk forever but Fox gets tired soon. Diane and fox were both rescued from a puppy farm. She takes 1 pill twice a day (with food, so very easy).
We have 2 cats, they are very loving, they will probably want to sleep with you... They get along but not much. The 2 girl cats are young and healthy, they just need love! Kleo is very social and eats everything, while Spidercat is more of a shy "loner" but very affectionate once you get to know her.
We have plants inside the house that need to be watered.
We have automatic system in the yard so no problem with that, and there are some outdoor plants that need to be fed.
We expect our housesitter to have experience with both cats and dogs, to keep the door to the street closed & locked (so the animals don't go out!), spend quality time with the animals both day and night. Also, to maintain good, respectable levels of cleanliness/hygiene inside the house and treat it and our belongings with love and respect, not to smoke inside the house, and not to bring people we don't know into our home.
Very quiet area but... if you walk for 5 minutes you'll find a big street with many markets, supermarkets, restaurants, cafés, stores, subway station (URGEL or MARQUÉS DE VADILLO), bus stops, etc. The house has two floors and a garden. Downstairs is the living room, kitchen and bathroom. There is a washing machine but no dryer (we have drying racks for the clothes). Upstairs is the only bedroom of the house, with a 160x200cm firm mattress, Japanese-style bed which sits on a low Tatami platform. This type of bed could be uncomfortable for people with limited mobility because it is much lower (closer to the ground) than a "typical" bed. There is also a terrace upstairs, which is big but we never use it because the garden is so big.
Besides the TV downstairs, we also have a projector upstairs (to watch from bed).
We have 2 bicycles but they need to be put "in shape". We never use them.
We put up a swimmingpool on the summer. Next year we are planning on building a real one. Air conditioner/heater on both floors. Tons of books and cds... Art books...
Enjoy the capital of Spain!! Museums, cinemas, shopping, restaurants, tapas bars, wine bars... you are 15 minute away from the absolute heart of the city with the subway, 50 minute walk, 20 with the metro or bicycle.
AND ABOUT US...
We are Lluvia & Kevin. We're a couple in our 40's. I'm an actress and a university professor (film analysis) and Kevin is an English teacher, musician and photographer. I am from Madrid (Spain) and Kevin is from NYC (USA) but we both live in Madrid.
We LOVE animals. We are vegetarians. Now we live with 2 rescued cats and 2 rescued chihuahuas but we've fostered tons of kittens, injured dogs and a vietnamese pig. We volunteer at an animal shelter and are used to take care of healthy and injured animals.
We usually travel using (we have 2 apartments listed on (Madrid and Tangier) and sometimes we manage some more apartments for friends) but we find this way of travelling so much more interesting. Our neighbors usually take care of our animals and plants when we travel but we just love the idea of having housesitting!!