Cathy & Robin's Empty House
		This is our house - our English country cottage. We have a small plot on University Avenue in Palo Alto. Our block is one third of the size of a standard plot, but to us it is perfect. The house is a one storey, two bedroom property with a built in garage. Our land is pretty much all to the front of the house, but there is a large patio to one side and enough room for a sun lounger round the back. We have mature trees virtually all round the property, including two lemon trees.
		This view shows the right side of the house, with the garage. Note the garden which has been well laid out with long flowering plants. One of my first tasks will be trying to explain to our Spanish speaking gardener exactly what we want him to do to maintain the garden for us. Note the car - this is not Robin's car, but Steve's - borrowed for the purpose of moving in.
		Our front gate. This leads out onto University Avenue, one of the main streets in Palo Alto. The road can be quite busy, but the combined effects of the gate and the quite thick hedges around the property insulate us from much of the noise associated with this.
		This is the front of the house. There is a small path and hedge between the verandah of the house and the garden and a gate between the garden and the patio area.
		The verandah of our house, leading to the patio. Intention is to put a couple of wicker chairs here and so we can sit out on the verandah and sip wine as the sun goes down.
		The patio. Will look much better when our patio furniture arrives. However, the patio is a real sun trap and we are looking forward to a summer of barbeques and outdoor dinners. We have ordered furniture made in Australia of jarrah wood which we hope will look perfect in this setting. Hedge to the left needs a bit of a trim though!
		The patio from the back. The patio leads from the lounge dinning room - again perfect for entertaining.
		The lounge dinning room. A quite large and very light room, thanks to the windows that take up most of two of the walls. The shape and size of the room is very similar to our house in Sydney, so we have found that our furniture slots into place perfectly.
		Lounge dinning room from the other direction, which shows the windows effect much better. The lounge dinning room and the spare bedroom have wooden floors which add to the feeling of space in the house. Note the view out over the front garden.
		The kitchen. The kitchen is another large room (the kitchen area only is shown in this photo). Property sales in California generally include all appliances, such as the cooker, dishwasher, fridge, washer, dryer, whether built in or not. We therefore have been saved the expenditure, and hassle, of having to go out and buy appliances. Kitchen has excellent storage space and work surfaces. No excuse then not to hold dinner parties!!
		More of the kitchen.
		Even more of the kitchen. Beyond the breakfast bar shown there is another reasonably sized breakfast area, with French doors to the side of the house. We plan to put a small table and chairs here for everyday meals.
		The garage. Enough size for one car, plus the bikes, skiis, boxes, etc that we would want to store. We can also probably get two cars on the drive way, so no problem with storage. Having now had our things delivered from Australia, the garage now looks very different, being now half full of paper and boxes.
		Robin moved into the house whilst I was on holiday, and before our things arrived from Australia. This shows his camp site in the spare bedroom.
		Another view of the spare room. Note the walk in closet and french doors to the back of the house. We intend to convert this room into the entertainment room (rumpas room) by putting the computer and the television in here, keeping the lounge as a more formal room.
		The guest bathroom. Has a bath with shower, whilst our en-suite just has a shower. Bathroom is fine for the moment, but we have big plans for it in the future!
		The master bedroom. This is the only room that is carpeted. The room has two walk in closets, french doors to the back of the house and access to our en-suite bathroom.
		Master bedroom from a different angle, showing the second closet and the en-suite.
		Our bathroom - with a very nice, and large, shower unit.
		The back of the house. The house has obviously been built to maximise space at the front, but the back still has its attractions. The deck shown is just outside of the master bedroom. Behind it (not shown) is a small area that we could use for barbeques, or for a spa!! At the end of the path, nearer the spare bedroom, is the second of our lemon trees.
		The side of the house - from the potential barbeque area towards the actual patio area.
Now compare to the neighbouring houses on the block!
		As mentioned earlier, our house is on one third of a standard block on University Avenue. This is a rarety. This photo is a good example of the type of house that is more common, and which gives University Avenue its exclusive reputation. As 851 University, these are our close neighgbours!
		Another example of the property very close to us.
		My favourite house on University (after ours, of course). This house must have some kind of history, as there is a bronze plaque out front (that we haven't gone to read yet). However, I love it for its sheer opulence. What other house could get away with those palm trees?
		The tops of the palm trees - way higher than the height of the house itself!
		A final example of the neighbours. Just a simple style, but huge - and made bigger by the conservatory type extensions to both sides. The owners of these houses are very happy to display their wealth - no hiding behind security gates and heavy vegatation for them!