Well, this is embarrassing. Can think of a number of mitigating factors. Renovations in Cyprus frequently (and especially in this particular establishment) surprisingly incomplete. And every place we stay has its peculiarities and mostly we’re adapters not complainers. As in toilet handle in one otherwise pretty satisfactory London hotel where we stayed for years frequently refused to function so picked up a plastic basin at the pound store round the corner and used it to pour flushing water in the toilet bowl. And no, you can’t lift the cistern cover off many British toilets to open the outlet valve. Anyway, anomalies to be expected.
Such as the false ceiling in the kitchen, the hallway, and the entry way. (The loo has a more modern false ceiling and the rest of the flat a plain white stipple that politely doesn’t call undue attention to itself). So where one might wish to have access to the wiring or other unmentionables there is a false ceiling. Other than in the loo this consists of brown metal slats, quite a few of which look like they’ve lost previous battles with none too gentle workmen. Could say workpersons, but a) this is Cyprus and b) you only have to look at them. Could have been neat tiles on the grid that holds them up, but that’s not the way it went. First photo is of the entryway, also home to an unaesthetic but fortunately accessible fuse panel.
Second photo is of the kitchen ceiling. Pretty similar bent out of shape effect and smoke detector (not shown) cunningly placed so that results of any burned toast or similar has no other direction to head. But so far so good. Hotels not good places to trigger smoke alarms as evacuation can include a great many unhappy people, all of whom can point to the guilty party. Have never, happily, been cause of same but have participated in the resulting exodus a number of times at various locations.
Which leads to the embarrassing bit. Our assumption was that the kitchen had no ceiling light. Inconvenient, but not beyond the bounds of possibility. However, this morning J discovers, just to the left of the small dark spot (actually a hole) in the middle of the second photograph, that a two foot section of the brown metal is in fact a flat section of plexiglass. Doesn’t show up well, especially in the evening, but wouldn’t slow down a burglar looking fo a stash behind it. Anyway, we now have a kitchen light.
Should add, in fairness, that other than the ceilings the flat is pretty nice. Motto: Don’t look up.
Maggi has an appointment with a surgeon and stops afterward for lunch. Soup, cheese, lountza and a mackerel spread J has made. Last bottle of Syrian shiraz. And lots of catch up talk - with twenty years of shared history.
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