Dear Mr and Mrs Ranken,

Both my husband and I are very happy to know that you will definitely be coming to stay in our house next month. We are greatly looking forward to our stay in your home in Rome and also to go sightseeing about the place.
As we agreed we are enclosing a few instructions about the house.

First of all the keys. There are 4 of them. One -the largest- corresponds to the front door. Two medium ones open the door to our flat on the fourth floor and a tiny one is for the post. Please do not open any of our letters while we are away!

Remember to water the plants (all of them!) every three days. Ah! I forgot to mention that the keys will be inside an envelope at the chemist on the basement.

As far as the water, electricity and gas supply is concerned, everything is working at the moment so you needn't worry. In case the hot water did not run, note that there's a button with the letter "R" meaning Reset. That should bring it back to normal.

Oh! Also you will find two freezers in the kitchen which will prove very convenient, you'll see.

As to the washing machine the right button should be set to program C and the left button to the temperature needed. A tip: Press the door gently with your knee to make it start. Do remember that dark clothes take low temperatures!

Finally, when you leave at the end of your holiday, remember to close both the windows and the shutters.

Well, that's all for now! We hope to keep in touch with you in the future and wish you a very happy stay.

PS: Sorry! We forgot to mention that you should not forget to give the keys back to the chemist! Please check that out!

Dear Peter and Wendy,

As we agreed in our last e-mail exchange last week, here are the instructions for what to do when you arrive in our flat.

First of all, collect the keys from the chemist on the basement (which is open all day round). The keys are in an envelope with your name on the outside. They will be expecting you and they also speak a little English. The larger key is for the main entrance door on the basement and the two smaller ones for our door on the fourth floor. (Please, when you leave the flat, remember to lock both of them!)

The electricity, gas and water supply are all working so, you needn't worry about those. The heater for the water starts automatically as you let the water run but if it fails to work at some point, press the bottom marked "R" on the bottom part of the heater and it will be automatically reset.

Note that there are two freezers in the kitchen. Please water our plants every three days, as it is quite hot at the moment. The flat will be cooler and your stay more pleasant if you open slightly both the front and the back windows and allow for some air current.

Then the washing machine is easy to use. Turn the right button to letter C and the left one to the desired temperature. Pull the right button to get it started. If it doesn't work note this little trick: push the door of the tumbling barrel gently with your knee!

Before leaving for good please close the shutters and the windows and return the keys to the chemist.

Well, have a lovely time and keep in touch once back home!

Love to you all!