It seemed like a good idea at the time.
The couple prepared for the long flight for a visit to the land of their birth, they planned to rent an apartment for this visit. Privacy and the ability to stay in for the evening, chill, and watch TV, maybe visit their favourite Indian restaurant.
Booked online with a local site known as “Home from Home”, relatives annoyed that the couple would not be staying with them. Little did they know that this was a well-prepared plan to avoid the organised visits, we needed to see Family first and then surrender to our friends. It was indeed a good idea to book an apartment, Home from Home certainly knew their job, little did the couple know of the disasters that waited for them.
Walking out of an airport arrival area after a lengthy International flight and seeing a friendly face holding up a card with your name on it, sighs of relief, their adventure was off on the right foot. Into the comfort of a hire car to take them on their way from London to South Wales. Three hours later arrived, jetlagged out of their brains, this set in motion a couple days, where one falls asleep at rather strange hours and wakes at stranger hours still.
Their apartment in a marina area was metres from the water, fabulous views, yachts, and buildings. Jet lag left behind they prepared to deal with relatives all wanting to see them, lots of cups of tea and chats about old times and memories shared.
One morning the wife threw back the 2nd storey apartment bedroom curtains and screamed quite loudly, there looking through the bedroom window was a painter painting the window frames, he politely said, “morning luv” and held a conversation as if nothing untoward had happened. Relieved that she was wearing her nightdress, or the painter may well have fallen off his ladder. The “Home from Home” site had forgotten to warn about painters.
Next morning the wife awoke and could hear her Husband talking to someone, she investigated, and found him chatting to the same painter, but this time through the open kitchen window as he made the morning coffees. So much for the good idea of privacy, at least they both had a good laugh about it. There is no gentle way to describe the next happening, early hours of the morning and the bed collapsed. The legs on the husband’s side of the bed snapped of the base. The crash woke the neighbour’s dog in the apartment below; the dog started barking as the couple started laughing. This apartment was rapidly turning into a John Cleese bed and breakfast stay.
They got out of the leaning bed, removed the mattress, and placed it on the floor, the Wife complained about it for most of the next couple of hours. Problem reported to the owners of the apartment. A carpenter arrived, yes, a carpenter; the wife looked him up and down as if to say, “You are joking right” no he was not. He measured up, came back with a length of timber, and repaired the bed base. Always one for a chat the wife found out that the carpenter had bought the house that her father was born in and lived in most of his younger life. Repairs completed, new friendships made, this good idea was like some sort of dream sequence.
Another beautiful morning another scream from the wife, this time she was in the bathroom looking up at the ceiling. The glass light bowl shaped shade was rapidly filling with water from the apartment above. Next action was a dangerous one; the husband stood on a kitchen chair and removed the bowl shade, trying to stop the water level reaching the electric socket, (WHAT?) yes, live electric socket. Water was now pouring through the ceiling. The Husband now went up to the upstairs apartment and knocked then banged on the door, no answer.
Plan two, spoke with newfound friend the painter, he said that there was someone home up above, how did he know that. Obviously another one of his through the window chats. He placed his ladder up to the upstairs apartment and proceed to bang on a window, thankfully they (a female) answered. She was having a bath and had let the bath get too full of water causing it to overflow. She did not answer the door because she thought it was some maniac trying to gain access to her apartment. Yet more tradesmen arrived; ceiling repaired along with electrical wiring replaced. Couple looked at each other and thought to themselves whose idea was this.
Not finished yet, one early evening there was a power outage; phoned, “Home from Home” they advised to check the main fuse control box in the apartment basement. All clear with no blown fuses, neighbours were now gathering to discuss what was going on, the apartment lights were on in some of the apartments. “Home from Home” sent out a representative, the young person was not sure as to why he was even sent to report on the problem. He entered the apartment and tried to find a fuse box situated in a cupboard, which one was anyone’s guess. The culprit was found, no screwdriver to open it, as if by coincidence there was a toolbox with all manner of tools also in the cupboard.
Night-time now set in, impossible to see inside the box. Mentioned the danger of live connections, was met by a shrug of the shoulders by the young man pretending to be an electrician. Out came his trusty mobile phone, the light from the phone flashlight lasted for seconds, battery gone flat. Thank goodness, he listened, when asked to leave the dangers of electricity and report back to base. The elderly neighbour downstairs saved the day, he reported that the outage was genuine, affecting only some apartments in the area.
The affect lasted 48 hours without power, had candlelight kindly donated by home from Home. For two evenings, the couple enjoyed this ambience of sitting there in the evening with a glass or two of wine and chatting about planned adventures the next day. Whose idea it was to book this apartment was never mentioned again.
The owner of the apartment caught wind of the happenings, he arrived one day and apologised for all the craziness. The good thing to come out of it was he gave back 50% of the cost of two months stay at his apartment. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Despite the experiences, they are planning to return.
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