Apartment Days are here again

Thursday, we signed the contract for the new apartment. It was the longest contract I’ve ever signed for anything before. A lease in LA is about 3 pages of things you shouldn’t do or they prefer you not to do. Here, it was 14 pages of things you are absolutely not allowed to do and things that the landlord must do. They’re very serious about their rules and restrictions, that’s for sure. After we signed, we had a lovely, though brisk, walk over to the apartment to meet the assessor for the checking-in inventory; she itemizes ever aspect of the apartment’s current condition. This was also a new experience. We had the keys. We immediately began cleaning up the “builder’s dust.” Henry, the vacuum cleaner, and I are looking forward to a productive and mutually beneficial relationship.

Friday, we brought over a few bags (couldn’t handle everything on the Tube in one go) and made our way to Ikea for a few important items, such as a dining table, dishware, and silverware to provide a more enjoyable eating experience. We had been eating pizza out of the box on the floor for the past two days before Ikea. We loaded up our cart of what we considered to be essentials, checked out, and headed to the “home delivery” department. There was no way we could lug two huge bags, two shelving units, two stools, and an all occasion table on the bus no matter how many pieces it came in. We thought it was a good deal.

Today, we weren’t as happy with the delivery idea…
We opted to stay in bed a little later than we originally planned, which led to a slightly disorganized morning of trying to finish our packing and head back to our new place. (This was our official “check-out” day for the temporary apartment in Mayfair.) Just as we had gotten all of our bags together, my mobile rang. It was Ikea delivery saying they were two miles from our place. We were far from two miles away. I said we asked for 30 minutes warning; He said to hurry. Well, we arrived at 40 minutes past his call and he had gone. After two frustrated calls to Ikea, we had to reschedule… and repay! We were so irritated, with Ikea and with ourselves. We spent the rest of the day cleaning, unpacking, and getting things ready for our rescheduled and hopefully successful Ikea delivery tomorrow.

We did have a fabulous end to the day. We made a small chicken roast (that actually came out ok!), then watched Harry Potter 5 and ate frozen chocolate clotted cream (aka ice cream). Mmmm…