Day 2 in Paris - Wednesday March 4, 2015

Ok, so, about the apartment. I had to rent it sight unseen because I needed to have a lease in place in order to get a Visa. Kinda backward but . . . anyway, so I saw pictures of it and what I asked for was "clean and safe". Kinda basic. I told them I didn't need big, just clean and safe. So, here is what I got:

Bedroom: the pictures that I got via email made it look really small so I was expecting to have to slide in beside the bed in order to get in but the bedroom is more spacious than it looked. Typically, French bedrooms did not have any closets in the past so this room has been modernized. I also have a desk off to the left.

 

I don't know if you noticed the picture on the wall behind the bed but it is photographs of the construction of the Eiffel Tower. The construction progress starts January 7, 1988 and runs through June 19, 1988. I guess they were making the Eiffel Tower for the World's Fair there in Paris and then were going to take it down but, luckily, it stayed and became one of the world's great landmarks!

 

 

Bathroom:  So, on to the bathroom off to the right (in this picture) from the bedroom. It is a sink and a shower that you step up into.

Note: no toilette and no electrical outlets! To shave or blowdry or curl your hair you have to use an outlet in the bedroom and do your hair (or shave) in front of the bedroom mirror!

 

 



Bonus - there is a heated towel bar in the bathroom! Score!

Toilette:  And you ask, (or maybe not!) where is the toilette? it is by the front door. It is just a toilette in a very small room where your elbows can very easily touch the walls. Kind of like our guest bathrooms by the front door of our American homes. So, built in on top of the water tank for the toilette is a mini sink. You can wash your hands there. I have added a hand towel so you can also dry your hands there.

 

Le Kitchen: So, for those of you who have been abroad you have seen all these types of things before but each time we are in a new environment, there are little things that are new to us. So, here is the kitchen:

 This was the kitchen before I moved in. (BC) (Before Carrie)

This is the kitchen after I moved in. (AC) (After Carrie)
A little clutter does a body good!
As you can see, the kitchen is white and silver and had parkay floors. There is a washing machine behind the doors to the left (not pictured), with a microwave oven on a shelf above the washer.  Then the cabinet you see with the magnets on it, is filled with wine glasses, mixing bowls, silverware, knives, pot holders, placemats, pots and pans, casserole dishes and other miscellaneous things. Then there is the window that you see to the back a little to the right, then a sink, some counterspace with a small refrigerator under it and a cooktop stove with oven below it. There is a drawer under the oven that is about  2 - 3 " deep.

That's it! I thought of doing a "Where's Waldo" mini video to scan the kitchen and ask for responses to "What is missing here?" To which I would reply - Any space for any food storage! None!

I heard the French shop daily. I guess so! We Americans have cupboards full of canned goods and boxed mixes. Our fridges and freezers are full to the gills with "stuff". Maybe I'll learn to think like the French before I leave! "I'm becoming a minimalist" will become my new slogan! Travel lighter!