The Synchronica is beautiful. I wish I could have an E61 as well as a lever, but one big machine more just would not fit in... like, anywhere. Possibly if I got one for my oldest kid, who just moved into a flat of his own. But he would most likely be better off with something like an Odyssey Argos. Most people would, I guess... time has moved on and sometimes way past the big ole boilers.
Bambino is still a smart choice, too. I loved my Arrarex Caravel gravity lever, but honestly, if a machine is already 40 years old when you get it, you can't expect it to work flawlessly for more than maybe 5-6 years before something or several things break, and you end up googling 6 hours a day for spares, and waiting 6 months for delivery of said spares. Just to make it work. So, it was a good idea, I wish they still made them just like that, but they don't. Today a full fledged programmable PID circuit board is about as expensive as a thermal strip and a microswitch, and we end up with 5 meters+ of copper wire inside the machine. Will it be just as long-life as the old Caravels? We will see... the old boy is standing unused and defunct in a shelf at the office now, and it makes me sad to see it. Something like a Bambino I could happily recycle if it went belly up. I just can't do that to mr Caravel!
Bezzie is running again though
She got a new portafilter from the repair guy. As a Christmas gift, I guess
He was complaining that he could never repair machines like mine all day what with the time it took, he would have been run out of his business... but you could see the pride shining in his eyes when we took it away from him. He really loves Bezzie. And he made her work