Staying for a week in Malena's apartment was ideal for me. I am an artist and get bored of being in the same place day after day, so needed a change of scenery for fresh inspiration. It certainly worked. I was able to use the living room, the balcony and the roof terrace briefly. The accommodation is quite basic, but it had everything I needed. The bed was a little soft for me, but that's my only criticism. The lights are a bit erratic - you have to turn them on and off a few times. That adds to the charm though. There are six rooms or so and two bathrooms. It might be a bit of a squeeze if all the rooms are occupied, but while I was there I only shared with an Austrian and then several Frenchmen turned up on the last night. Malena showed me around, but lives elsewhere and I didn't see her again. Her parents, Jorge and Graziella, are friendly and in and out quite a lot - they let themselves in. Graziella keeps the place clean and is house-proud, putting up lots of xmas decorations while I was there. They live in the flat below. Jorge has good English and, although Graziella doesn't, we got by OK with sign language. It's a great location, as it's handy for shops and not far from the city centre. I found the street itself fascinating - good for people watching from the balcony. The city itself isn't the most beautiful I've been to and is quite dirty, but then again, it has a unique character and certainly isn't dull.