My Room

When I was searching for a place to live in OSJ I knew that finding a place with a balcony was essential.  The buildings here are narrow and built right next to each other, meaning no windows in between.  I knew that I needed an opening to the world--a place from which to watch life happen.  My place is on calle San Francisco and my balcony is my favorite place to people watch from.  I have two sets of doors that open up to the street, allowing me to watch from above and also to hear many of the everyday happenings.  My street is a main road that runs across the whole city and my block just happens to be a place where something is always going on.  In front of my building is the famous restaurant and pastry shop La Bombonera, which attracts locals and tourists alike.  Their pastries are displayed in the front window and many people cannot resist the temptation.  Luckily, I'm not one of those people!

My New Hood

Everyone knows I love the beach, and even though Puerto Rico has many beautiful shores, I knew exactly where I would live when I moved to the island.  Old San Juan (OSJ) is unique, as it is the city which lies inside the walls of El Morro, a famous fortress built by the Spaniards in the 16th century.  The fortress took about 250 years to build, guarding the San Juan harbor and protecting the city from intruders.  The structure boasts massive walls and many sentry boxes, which soldiers would stand in to keep a lookout for potential enemies.  The architecture in OSJ screams of Spanish influence, with its narrow cobblestone streets and colorful buildings, each with their own charming balconies.  My neighborhood is full of history and each time I sit in a plaza to write or just to observe life I always think about how cool my surroundings are.  People come here from all over the world to see what the Spaniards (with the manual labor of Tainos and Africans, of course) were able to construct 500 years ago.  It is quite impressive.  The first picture shows a sentry box and the others are of the fortress walls at El Morro.