Carmen and her family (her sister and her parents) couldn't have been better hosts. When there were any issues, one of them solved the problem quickly.
Carmen lives in Madrid with her family and since we arrived in Madrid at the beginning of the summer, she invited us for dinner with her family and was very friendly. That set the tone for the whole summer since she checked in on us frequently and helped us in many ways.
We were Carmen's longest guests ever, she told us, since we stayed in Valencia for 10 weeks. It was a wonderful summer and the city and her warm apartment was perfect for our purposes. We wanted a total immersion in Valencian culture. While Carmen's neighborhood was not the cleanest in the city, it was still safe and we were never afraid to walk back home even late at night. After a while, however, the dog poop and the litter on the streets got a little old, but that was typical all over the city.
Carmen's neighborhood was what you would call "commercial." Within a few blocks, however, it was more residential looking and a little cleaner.
But there were so many advantages of Valencia and Carmen's location. It was a relatively inexpensive place to live. It was close to bus stops and the metro to go anywhere in the city, including to the old historic section, the ultra-modern Arts and Sciences area, or the Mediterranean beaches. However, we chose to walk most of the time all over the city.
The apartment had excellent airconditioning thankfully. It was the hottest summer in Valencian history, but we were always comfortable.
The beds were perfect. The bathrooms were functional. The kitchen had almost everything we needed and what we didn't have, her parents arranged to get it for us. We did a lot of cooking in her apartment and the neighborhood Mercadona and Consum had almost everything we could want. Sometimes we went down to the famous Mercado Central to get special things or because it was such a fun experience.
I would rate Carmen's apartment very highly.