Sunday 23rd October 2005 – Meanwhile in Switzerland...

Posted on 2005/10/24 16:29:31 (October 2005).

The day was pretty much like the one before; cloudy, gloomy and cold.
The perfect day for some “inside” shopping.
As we decided to go to Ikea we got our car and moved towards the near Swiss border.

A small digression is needed, as being “border people” we have some special treatments from the government, as well as some limitations.
Apparently a new limitation is that you cannot cross with goods for more than 30 Euro per person, if you are living less than 20Km from the border.
This poses an interesting quest every time, having to device interesting hideouts for goods that we buy abroad.
Of course all these places are really stupid, very easy to find for any border guard, but they need to be so, otherwise we cannot play the usual “Oh my God, I forgot about that!” line.
To give a truthful and complete information we have NEVER been stopped (apart from when John was with us, but that’s another story), nor we are sure about the value that we are allowed to buy.

Anyways, going back to Ikea we reached our target just in time before it started closing, had to fight for a parking spot (and they talk about “CIVIL” Switzerland!! See picture and the proper use of roundabouts!!).
Eventually we sneaked in, mixing into the swetting, stinking, screaming, farting, watch-that-kid-in-your-feetting, look-my-shoes-are-not-a-doormatting, could-you-please-put-that-elbow-somewhereelseing crowd (that I like SO much).

The bounty:

1. Iron bowl in number of two units (complicated way to say: 2 iron bowls), I’ll use them to cook they are well cool!
2. Soft plastic ice makers (strange shapes)
3. Ingenious coil used to keep shoes in shape when you don’t use them..

Interesting points of shopping was the presence of actual people SLEEPING into the Ikea beds. Apparently they were holding a competition where people queued outside in the morning in their pyjamas in order to get into a bed. Ikea would feed them lunch and breakfast, and eventually they had to leave at 5, when they close, happy winners of a picture taken with a Polaroid.

Now….. HOW SAD is that? I’d better not comment to avoid a lawsuit.

We eventually went back to Italy, hiding the goods better than a smuggler, and we drove to what I believe it’s a proper shop.
Not to big, not to small, nice and knowledgeable staff. This time we had to buy a duvet, some pillows and some linens.
I managed to buy a duvet cover + pillowcases and bed linens, I really like them, really liked the fabric and all….
Marvellously, MR.” I KNOW WHAT I BUY” managed to get the Single Bed Version and not the Double one, meaning that I had to swear and utter blasphemies all night because of that!!

Ace guy!

Single bed version. Bad luck. What did you do about it ? Is the shop far from home ?

Posted by Sheri at 2005/10/25 07:52:39.

Was the fabric crunchy? Did it sing?

Posted by John at 2005/10/25 13:21:09.

John: Nope the fabric had an interesting side effect though... Blasphemies. Mmmm I have to propose this new feature for our collection "a fabric that makes you swear against God and all the heavens"...

Sheri: Will try to get it changed today.... :P

Posted by Lox at 2005/10/25 16:00:23.

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