GAINESVILLE. On our way back from Key West and Miami we stopped to sleep in a Sleep Inn in Gainesville, Florida. You may think this is a stupid thing altogether but the thing is I cannot sleep in a room where I cannot open the window. It is not the first time it has happened to me that I couldn't open a hotel room window. I remember once in Boston that I had to change off hotels. Another time it happened to me in Auckland, NZ too. After 24 hours of planes to get there and I couldn't open the bloody window either. I had to leave the hotel too. M reminds me of another time in Buenos Aires, but that time I managed to get someone to come and somehow open the window for me. A couple of inches. Enough for me, don't believe I am too fussy about windows. And people in all cases were always very helpful, understanding too, finding another windows-open hotel for me, or something, even asking for a taxi to take me to the Boston Plaza.
This time in Gainesville the young lady at the reception just stared at me, like if I were mad. I must have lost my charm, or the credit on my VISA, or both I guess. And the window in the room was literally nailed to the wall.
I tried to show a bit a maturity, self-control, and tried to sleep in the sealed box for a while. First I had a beer at the Ale Bar in the Mall across the street to see if in that way I settled down to the idea. But ended with a pillow and a blanket in the van on the parking lot, windows open, a smooth Floridian breeze coming onto my face. The rest of the world slept safely and soundly indoors, nobody seem to care about the breeze or nothing else.
God, couldn't I have felt any better on a feather's mattress on the Bahamas Hilton!
De vuelta de Key West y Miami paramos a dormir en un Sleep Inn en Gainesville, Florida. Puede parecer una cosa estúpida del todo, pero el hecho es que no puedo dormir en una habitación en la que no se pueda abrir la ventana. No es la primera vez que ma haya sucedido que no puedo abrir la ventana en un hotel. Una vez en Boston tuve que cambiar de hotel y todo. Otra vez en Auckland, NZ también. Después de 24 horas seguidas de aviones, llego al hotel y no se puede abrir la maldita ventana. M me recuerda otra vez en Buenos Aires, pero esa vez conseguí que subiera alguien a la habitación y de alguna manera abriera la ventana unos centímetros. Suficiente para mi, no se vaya a pensar nadie que soy un maníatico con lo de abrir ventanas. Y la gente siempre había sido de lo más comprensible y amistosa conmigo, buscando otro hotel con ventanas que se abrieran o lo que fuera, incluso pidiendo un taxi para llevarme al Plaza de Boston.
Esta vez en Gainesville la chica en la recepción solo se quedó mirandome como si estuviera loco. Debo haber perdido mi encanto, o el crédito en mi VISA, o ambos probablemente. Y la ventana de la habitación estaba literalmente clavada a la pared.
Intenté mostrar un poco de madurez, de auto-control, y traté de dormir en la caja sellada un rato. Primero me tomé una cerveza en el Ale Bar del Mall al otro lado de la calle para ver si así me hacía a la idea. Pero acabé con una almohada y una manta en la furgo en el parking de la calle, con las ventanas abiertas, y una suave brisa de Florida sobre mi cara. El resto del mundo durmiendo segura y profundamente dentro del edificio, sin que a nadie le pareciera importar la brisa ni nada.
Dios, no podría haberme sentido mejor sobre un colchón de plumas en el Hilton de Bahamas!
Interesting....your take on a sterile typical American hotel. Nobody can ever open a bloody window. I can't remember the last time I stayed in a hotel where one could do this. Small cottages and B&Bs are the way to go. But it is remarkable that you've commented on it. You see, we are all so used to it, we would never try. I have to open the curtains though. At least they still let you do that. And if some of these office buildings and airports had windows that could be opened, they wouldn't need air conditioning. Cheers and a Happy New Year!
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