I don't know what it was but today, something about something got me thinking about the little "quirks" (to put it nicely) that come with living in London apartments. I could say English or UK apartments, but since I have only lived in London I am going to limit my complaining to London abodes.
First of all, what is up with the water here? And why would you put a black counter top in a kitchen when the water is so bad? I don't get that. Both of our apartments have had black granite counter tops. And they both got the nastiest, stuck-on stains. The water here is so hard (I think that's the right term) and so minerally/limescaley that the counters get stained with the limescale almost immediately. The owners of our current apartment left a note saying the counter had to be wiped down every day. OK, yeah, I try, but you know sometimes, call me crazy, water ends up on counters. I don't know why, maybe because there is a FAUCET? No matter what you do the counters get white. And on black counters that is not good. Some may find them aesthetically pleasing (not me after living here), but they are just not functional.
And building on that, black counters also show every teeny, tiny crumb and water mark. I'm not even talking about the limescale residue, just in general. You wipe down a black counter and unless you completely dry it then voila - water spots. So for a person who maybe isn't quite the neatest then black counters aren't good. And conversely, if you are anal and start wiping everything down to get rid of every last crumb, then black counters can make you crazy. You just keep wiping, and wiping, and wiping. It is truly a vicious cycle.
Another thing - why are there NO outlets in bathrooms? Why? WHY? I do not understand that. The first apartment Dave lived in, before I moved here, did have one little outlet, located in a shelf in the back of the bathroom. Out of the way, but still handy. Our two apartments since have had NO outlets. Dave said he was talking about this with people (common complaint) and someone suggested it's a safety issue. But why have shaver outlets then? Every bathroom seems to have those, but yet try to dry or straighten your hair IN the bathroom and you are out of luck. Not to mention using an electric toothbrush. I keep on thinking of getting one (I like good oral hygiene) but then I'll have to charge it in the bedroom and that kind of grosses me out. So my teeth suffer. And I end up straightening my hair in the hallway because there is a mirror AND an outlet there. Someone thought ahead, what a genius. But seriously, why aren't there outlets in bathrooms? I am wondering if they are just not used to having them so no one ever puts one in. That makes sense to me, more than the so called "safety" issue does.
And speaking of safety, we don't have an outlet in the bathroom, but we do have a marble step leading up to the shower. So when you step OUT of the shower you have to step down, onto a MARBLE step with wet feet (slippery) that happens to be about five inches deep. Smmmaaaaarrrrtttt. I know one of us will eventually fall off it. It's bound to happen. But at least I don't have to worry that when the fall happens either Dave or I won't be simultaneously holding an electrical appliance that could electrocute us. I feel so much better.
Another complaint? I now hate mail slots that are smack in the middle of the door. We didn't have one like that in our old place, and certainly didn't back home so we were unaware that some people like to stick their hands through such mail slots and open other people's doors and then walk in and rob them. Cute little pastime I say.
Oy, I guess I should stop. I feel like I could go on and on...carpet that sucks up every piece of dirt, and god forbid liquid; the idiotic dual washer/dryers; those tiny dishwashers that hold about two cups and two bowls. But enough. For today. And I promise the upcoming posts will be more upbeat. I still have to write about our trip to Helsinki and Estonia. So you can look forward to that!
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