You will notice that ' holiday' in the title is in quotes and that is with good reason since an owners time in the villa is only ever part vacation.
My guests often ask me what we do during our holidays in Florida and so I hought I woud give you an idea.
It starts with the packing; clothes and personal items take a back seat in our suitcases. We often spot something that would be just right in the villa so that creates an ever growing pile; then some polyfilla since Spackle does not do the job as well (according to ' im indoors! ) Next comes some English items for people we know living over there; this could be Cadburys chocolate, gravy mix or marmite. Oh, and
of course everyone wants English tea bags.
So having weighed and re weighed the luggage and got the dog to sit on the case til it closes we are on our way.
As soon as we arrive at the villa we have a quick walk round and then head to the supermarket for a snack for the evening and the next days breakfast. That done we can get a cup of tea and a slice of toast before a comfy bed beckons.
Next day we have a relaxed start to the day with a refreshing swim and breakfast on the deck. Cereals, toast and many pots of coffee later we are ready for the first task of the holiday. This is an inch by inch check of the house with notepad and pencil in hand.
The first list is maintenance; this could be touch up painting or repairing a cupboard. Next list is deep cleaning; whilst our wonderful cleaners keep the homes spotless, there are several area that do not fall within their remit.
Next is checking to see what needs repacing and that goes onto a separate page and becomes a shopping list. Next is to check all the appliances and TVs etc to ensure all is working as it should be.
If we need to call any tradesmen or utility companies we do that on the first day as well.
We also make an appointment to have a long chat with our manager to iron out any probems and to thank them for their hard work.
All of this can take several hours so we then make a food list and head off to get enough groceries to last us for a few days. Also we need to stock up on all the cleaning stuff we require to get straight on with that. On our return we start cooking an early dinner and then collapse on the deck to contemplate the next day
More of that in part two!
My guests often ask me what we do during our holidays in Florida and so I hought I woud give you an idea.
It starts with the packing; clothes and personal items take a back seat in our suitcases. We often spot something that would be just right in the villa so that creates an ever growing pile; then some polyfilla since Spackle does not do the job as well (according to ' im indoors! ) Next comes some English items for people we know living over there; this could be Cadburys chocolate, gravy mix or marmite. Oh, and
of course everyone wants English tea bags.
So having weighed and re weighed the luggage and got the dog to sit on the case til it closes we are on our way.
As soon as we arrive at the villa we have a quick walk round and then head to the supermarket for a snack for the evening and the next days breakfast. That done we can get a cup of tea and a slice of toast before a comfy bed beckons.
Next day we have a relaxed start to the day with a refreshing swim and breakfast on the deck. Cereals, toast and many pots of coffee later we are ready for the first task of the holiday. This is an inch by inch check of the house with notepad and pencil in hand.
The first list is maintenance; this could be touch up painting or repairing a cupboard. Next list is deep cleaning; whilst our wonderful cleaners keep the homes spotless, there are several area that do not fall within their remit.
Next is checking to see what needs repacing and that goes onto a separate page and becomes a shopping list. Next is to check all the appliances and TVs etc to ensure all is working as it should be.
If we need to call any tradesmen or utility companies we do that on the first day as well.
We also make an appointment to have a long chat with our manager to iron out any probems and to thank them for their hard work.
All of this can take several hours so we then make a food list and head off to get enough groceries to last us for a few days. Also we need to stock up on all the cleaning stuff we require to get straight on with that. On our return we start cooking an early dinner and then collapse on the deck to contemplate the next day
More of that in part two!