A Swedish (meat)balls up

One advantage of still being a bit on UK time is that we wake up early and can get out and about before the crowds. So today we were at Ikea just before the store opened at 9am. We had been here earlier in the week and had seen some sofas we liked as well as a desk. As soon as the barriers were opened (actually red & white scene of crime tape) we raced to the furniture department to grab a staff member who are as rare as hen's teeth. Gus stayed with her to check & reserve the stock whilst I went and sat down on the sofa in question. Not because I am lazy - but to check how comfortable it was. And I just wasn't sure. I have short legs.....Gus has long legs - so for me, the depth of the seat is important. This felt a bit too deep. But it was the right shade of white and Gus loved the style so we went ahead and bought it. Along with the desk and some cheap as chips bits and peices from the marketplace which we will need before our furniture arrives. We'd asked about delivery and had been told that all we had to do was collect our stuff at the collection point and then push it to the delivery company's desk who would charge us about $140 to deliver it. Bit steep I thought but we didn't have much choice in the matter. So we queue to pay. Then we queue to collect the goods. And whilst we are waiting I pop across to the delivery people to check out the price, only to discover that they only do next day delivery. Big problem. We don't get into the new flat until Friday. Slightly pissed off that no-one had told us this on the furniture department when we asked about delivery, we ask at the collection point if we can collect the goods later in the week. No - they have to be collected now. Well they don't fit in the car (VW Golf) and we can't get them into the new apartment, so we have no choice but to cancel the collection. We then have to queue again for a refund.

I am secretly relieved because I wasn't really that keen, but I daren't say anything as Gus had set his heart on them. We leave Ikea and go for lunch in the foodcourt in the mall - Rhodes shopping mall in Homebush - quite a nice place. We head home. Not really saying much. Gus is directing me along the Parramatta Road (the satnav is on and also giving me instructions - I must be some sort of masochist) when I see a big furniture store called Milano on the other side of the road. So we do a U-turn and call in. We are in Leichhardt - which is the Italian area of the city, so no surprise that this place has Italian furniture. All at sale prices. We try a few sofas and then actually find one we both like. I ask the salesboy (anywhere else his jeans, jacket, open necked shirt and fancy shoes would set off my gaydar - but here he's just being true to his ethnicity) whether they have stock available. Only the floor model he says -which he then offers us for a generous discount. Sadly he didn't throw himself into the deal - but hey, we now have new Italian leather white sofas for the same price as the Ikea ones.

So we bought furniture, returned it and bought different furniture all in the same day. We are Olympic standard shoppers. Now I need a cup of tea, a biscuit and a lie down.