15 Wednesday Jun 2016
Came across this just by chance the other day – Km0, or the very centre of Sevilla. And it’s just around the corner from my house. You might remember how I also found the Km0 of Andalucía a couple of years ago. Apparently the Km0 of Spain is in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Didn’t think of this when I was last in Madrid, but now am determined to complete the set. 🙂
10 Friday Jun 2016
Ever since I took my first summer holiday in over twenty years (when I ended up taking with this little munchkin to Málaga with me) I have spent every summer since then frankly delighted that I am finally able to afford to take some time off and travel a bit. But I remain unused to travel plans that can’t be decided last minute and achieved by a shortish train journey.
For this summer I was suddenly faced with the delightful dilemma of having several fab and affordable opportunities present themselves in Málaga, Santiago de Compostela, San Sebastián and London. So of course I want to do them all! Well, I mean, why not, eh? I have a generous rental offer in Málaga, a free place to stay in London, great off-season airbnb price in Galicia and the offer to stay at my friend’s place in the San Sebastián. So it is ALL do-able. And this is where my panic sets in.
I almost cancelled Málaga this month because I was so busy, there was this and that to take care of, how could I justify taking time off….. until my friends Elena and Thane convinced me that the summer will feel extra long if I don’t take a few days now. So after much dithering… Málaga Getaway is GO. June 20-25th.
Once I got that far I realised I should seriously look into the Galicia Getaway, as my friends Anna & Jorge @thekilomeaters have been urging me to come up there for, well, almost forever. So today was the day! I not only booked my flights for the end of August, but also booked a cute AirBnB place just ten minutes from them. DONE.
Feeling empowered, I thought I should then go ahead and book my London Getaway… and I actually had possible flights based on the availability of my friends flat there (such a generous offer!). And then it hit me… what’s the expiry date on my passport? (turns out it’s Oct 2016) And will that affect me being able to travel to the UK in August 2016? Of course by the time I’d come to this point it was after closing hours of all consulates and embassies everywhere in Spain (ie Friday at 2 pm) so I shall have to wait until Monday morning to see what the deal is. Looks like I will have to renew my passport FAST, but can I still book my London flights? We shall see?
As for San Sebastián… that is something I was hoping to enjoy in July. Depending on the availability of the ONE PERSON in SS @tenedortours (ie, the me of the north 😉 ) who would make the whole experience worthwhile. But I still have time to book that one.
What I found interesting was how much every fibre of my being rebelled against booking flights and accommodation SO FAR IN ADVANCE (2 months?) and it made me realise how I very weirdly don’t like feeling “locked in” when it comes to plans. I’d always rather buy a last minute train ticket than feel like I have to be somewhere at a certain time. Anyhow, I also realise that some things need to be planned in advance, so I am totally thrilled now about Málaga, Santiago and London. And I suspect SS in July will be confirmed too.
What are you guys doing this summer?
30 Monday May 2016
19 Thursday May 2016
Posted in home, retail therapy, sevilla, shopping, spain
Tags
For years I’ve had a love-hate relationship with IKEA, but no more. We’re going for the full-on HATE-HATE from now on. Yesterday I spent FOUR FUCKING HOURS in IKEA, deciding on some new purchases (easy part) and later figuring out where to find them (not so easy), then finding someone to help me lift the flat packs, then losing another half hour of my life waiting to arrange delivery and installation. Yes, that’s right. After my last IKEA FROM HELL experience, which ended up in IKEA HYSTERIA and a RETURN OF IKEA to fix the mess, I decided to be grown-up about it this time and just pay for everything to be put together for me. Big sigh! But hey, it would be worth it, right?
Well, no. First of all, it costs 39€ to have something assembled up to 150€. My new bed frame cost 169€ which meant it would then cost 79€ (up to 300€ of merchandise). So I added on a chest of drawers I’d bought to also be assembled and – so I thought – a chair. I mean, why not, since it was going to cost me the same anyhow. Turned out the chair got missed off the assembling order thingy. But that was just the beginning.
Guys showed up today. Not from IKEA, these are contracted delivery and assembly guys. They are polite enough but not exactly friendly. Three of them lugged the stuff up the stairs and when I asked about the chair – NO WAY. It wasn’t on their list. So I called IKEA while they were still here to see if something could be done. I mean, seriously. It’s a CHAIR. Would take them 5 minutes, would take me at least half and hour. AND I’D ALREADY PAID 79€ FOR FUCKING INSTALLATION UP TO 300€ OF MERCHANDISE. No go. The guy on the telephone “Help Line” said I would have to go back to the IKEA store I’d purchased the chair from and sort out the problem with the person who’d taken my order.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
Next up… I’d seen this cute chest of drawers thingy as we were finally making our way through the self-service area to pick up the bed I’d originally gone there to purchase. And I thought – hey, I like it. There was also a big banner saying it was on special offer for IKEA FAMILY card holders, so we grabbed one of the flatpacks directly behind the display model (there was nothing else on display anywhere near this model) and piled it onto the cart.
So imagine my surprise when I ended up getting this instead… and frankly didn’t even realise the mistake until one of the team today had already assembled it. I kind of just left them to do their thing, since really, that’s what I’d paid for them to do. So it wasn’t their fault. But was it my fault? Do you honestly have to scrutinize everything you think you have purchased in good faith at IKEA just in case THEY have fucked up? Apparently so. I’d chosen the box sitting directly behind the chest of drawers on display. There was not another chest of drawers anywhere nearby. Why would I have thought this wasn’t the correct item?
And so I am semi-fucked. I have a nice new bed, all freshly-installed (for double the price since it cost 19€ more than their cheaper cut-off point). But I now also have a chest of drawers I don’t actually want, and a chair still sitting in a flatpack on the floor because IKEA forgot to include it in the assembly order.
I feel totally cheated, scammed, and dismissed.
18 Wednesday May 2016
casa azahar 