The Great Apartment Hunt

The first couple of weeks the kids were in school I spent my days wandering the neighborhood around their school with the idea that we would find an apartment within walking distance.  I was trying to find the parts of that area we liked and the parts we didn't like, and as it turns out we didn't like most of it! Much of the area around their school feels very residential and quiet. In our apartment in the 9th arrondissement we are used to having a boulangerie on every block, not to mention a butcher, green grocer and grocery store all less than a block away from our front door. They have these same things in the 17th, except they are much less prevalent and so more spread out. What can I say, we were spoiled there!

Our (former) boulangerie.

Why don't we stay in the area where we currently are then? Because every morning on our way to school the train pulls up with people literally smashed against the doors - and then we have to try to fight our way on. Because it's so crowded it takes longer to get to school and it is unpleasant the entire way. Not a great way to start the day for the next 2 years.

The number 2 line - not as crowded in the middle of the afternoon!

The good news is that I had been able to identify a couple of pockets of the 17th which seemed to be just what we were looking for. Both areas were centered around market streets and decent metro lines. The next step was actually locating a suitable apartment in those particular spots.

Finding an apartment on our own had proved a bit difficult thus far. I spent lots of time online pouring through ads and sending appointment requests. I barely heard back from anyone. It could have been because I had transposed a digit on my new french phone number when filling out the contact forms, but not much changed even after I corrected that error! After seeing one apartment along with another 8 or so other people and barely deciphering the agent's answers to all of their questions, I decided we were in over our heads and we needed help. Some friends had recommended an agency. I called. She spoke english (a New Yorker originally). Sign me up!

We relayed to the agency our criteria and picked a date to go hunting. The way the agency worked was to schedule all of the viewings in one day. We dropped the kids off at school and the agent met us with her car. The first apartment wasn't bad, but looked as if it had been furnished by someone's grandparents. The next was in the exact location we were interested in, but the apartment directly faced the post office across the street. I spent too much of my life working in a cubicle to spend my time in Paris watching others work in cubicles. Another was in the second location we really liked, but there was a giant mushroom growing on one of the bedroom walls. Another was too far away from the school. Another felt as if it were in a cave....

Out of the 9 places we looked at, there were a couple that we actually liked! Not perfect, nor in the areas we had identified as "desirable", but they were good options. After thinking it over we reached a decision on what would be our first choice. It was a quintessential Paris apartment with a fireplace in every room, beautiful moulding on the ceilings and chandeliers for the lights. It was beautiful. I loved it! ...and we didn't get it. Turns out the owner had accepted another offer the same day we put ours in. Unfortunately we didn't learn that until several nail-biting days later. Luckily our agent held our #2 choice on the line and they waited for us (they had another offer, but for only a couple of months whereas we want 2 years).

...one of the many fireplaces in the apartment
that was not meant to be.

When I thought about where we would be living in Paris, a 60's high rise was never what came to mind, yet here we are! The building is ugly enough that I am not even going to post a picture of it! But - this is what we get to look out upon every day:

The view from the living room window:
La Tour Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe

Sam thinks it's pretty cool too.

Alsace

After heading west the first weekend of the kid's break (they are off of school for 2 weeks every 6 weeks throughout the year) we went east for the last week. Strasbourg was a lovely city, although we only spent time in the Old Town and old town's are always great. I have no idea what the real city is like! But what we saw reminded me of Amsterdam; canals and lots of people on bikes.

 

The cathedral was impressive, even if it only had one spire ;) It was too tall to get the entire thing in one shot!

Some people are reluctant to pose for a picture.

Up 332 steps to the top of the cathedral where a view of a rainbow awaited.

Both the astronomical clock in the cathedral and the boat ride on the canal were highly touted by several travel books and travel blogs. Theo, Sam and I all thought they fell a bit flat. The clock itself was spectacular, but the presentation that we spent an hour waiting to see was a little bit disappointing - the rooster crowed and the 12 apostles went around in a circle and that was about it. I found the baby turning over the hour glass every 15 minutes to be more interesting! The boat ride was warm and cozy on a rainy day, but after a while the boys became bored and I became claustrophobic. It was very informative, however. Theo learned that back in the middle ages they would take "criminals who killed their parents or their children and lock them in a cage and dump that cage off the bridge into the canal." This prompted a lot of questions from my 7 year old. Matt and I were nonplussed by how many times syphilis was mentioned in the audio portion of the tour!

The clock!

Inside the boat. This was at the beginning of
the ride before he ended up in a pile
of boredom slumped in his seat.

The favorite ended up being the carnival rides in Place Broglie, of course.

We didn't think Sam would like to get hit, but he enjoyed crashing into Theo too much to care.

Yes, we got his other boot back.

After Strasbourg we headed to a little town in the mountains so we could visit Haut Koenigsbourg castle. It's a medieval castle fully restored by Kaiser Wilhelm at the beginning of the 20th century and it was super cool. You could wander from room to room and get a feel for what it was like to live there way back when.

...still reluctant to pose.

En garde!

This was before the big snowfall, in the park across from our apartment

The town we stayed in was called Le Howald and it was lovely. We were up at a high enough elevation that there was a little snow when we arrived and on our last evening there was a big dumping of new snow. As a Minnesota transplant to Seattle I miss snow every winter so I was ecstatic. Theo and Sam were psyched to have lots of snowball fights with us. I was less excited as Theo's aim has gotten too good and I had one too many snowballs hit me in the face ;)

The kids quickly had the advantage in our snowball fight when they found higher ground.

Sam proudly displays his snow baby.

....and Theo his snow tortoise.

Mont Saint-Michel

Years ago Matt and I spent a lovely time in Normandy, and had planned on visiting Mont St. Michel while we were there. As it happened, we ran out of time and didn't make it, even though we were about an hour away! For 12 years it has vexed me that we missed seeing it - we we so close! So for our first trip away from Paris, the Mont was at the top of my list. It was pretty impressive and well worth the wait. It still feels weird that we were able to do this as a weekend trip and not as part of some colossal trip that took months of planning. I don't think it's sunk in yet that we are actually living here ;)

Selfie with Mont St. Michel.

Don't let the drawbridge close on you!

The kids were fairly impressed with the Mont. Sam dubbed it "The Fairy Kingdom" and it inspired lots of sword fighting during the climb up to the abbey.

It was a long climb to the top!

Theo draws his sword.

Some of the favorites included being able to stand upright inside an old fireplace and seeing how supplies were once loaded up into the abbey (by a giant hamster wheel attached to a pulley) when it was made into a prison after the French Revolution.

Room for everyone in the fireplace!

The giant wheel. It took 6 men (prisoners)
to get inside and make the wheel turn.

A long way down.

As impressive as a 1200 year old abbey built on top of a rock in the sea is, it was no match for our next destination....

Yay, we're done!

The alligator farm! Yes, there is an alligator farm just outside Mont St. Michel. I'd say this is pretty random except we see this kind of thing all over the French countryside!

Theo still hasn't learned not to stick his head inside an alligator's mouth.

While I feel like we see a LOT of zoos, I have never before seen one with PILES of alligators and crocodiles. It was a little creepy.

It is best not to fall in here.

Enthralled.

Only in France

One of the things Matt and I have always loved about traveling in France is that it is not uncommon to come across things that are quirky, bizarre or just plain weird! Last weekend's outing was one of those times where we just looked at each other and shook our heads We were headed to one of the 3 or 4 museums in the city (at least that I know of) which houses display of taxidermied animals. What do we happen to pass by on our way to such a museum? Nothing less than a store dedicated to....taxidermied animals!

Sam gets a taste of what's to come.

At La Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) we saw all sorts of cool things. Guns, gore and everything in between!

The guns. Even Grandpa Shaw
 would be impressed by this collection

The gore. I think the lion is winning.

Everything else! This is just one corner of one room...

My favorite was "the owl room". You step inside a small room and then look up. This is the view from below.

These guys were big! Their heads were the same size as Sam's!

They even had examples of furniture made out of animal parts.

No, you can't sit here.

I didn't think I would be so impressed by a collection of "stuffed" animals. After all, we can see live animals in a zoo, right? But here you can get up close and really get a sense of how big and powerful some of these creatures are.  Even though it was dead, looking into the lion's eyes was intimidating!

Theo prepares for battle.

Sam gets in on the action.

Those claws are BIG!

Even the grownups loved it!

Why the Grocery Store Makes Us Laugh

We are fortunate enough to have a Franprix just 30 seconds from our front door. It's a tiny store but it works!

 Some of what we find on the inside, however, can be a bit strange to us foreigners...

Canned Tripe. Need I say more?

Cheeseburger flavored chips?

I have to wonder who buys this?

Apparently there's not a lot of storage space at the store. When a new shipment of something comes in, it's just left right in the aisles!

After all of my lamenting a few weeks ago about not being able to find bacon at the store, what should appear this week but (practically) an entire row of different kinds of chopped up bacon! 

Bacon Fumées, Lardons Fumées, Allumettes Fumées...Why the different names? They all look like the same thing!

Now this one's no laughing matter. Cassoulet (with duck confit) is one of my favorite French dishes. I like it so much that I might just try it from a can. Someday...

Monuments and Tapestries

I decided to take a day off from sitting in our dark apartment, poring through even more apartment ads (we need to find a permanent place here) and take a trip to one of my favorite museums, The Cluny. I got off the Metro at the Notre Dame stop, thinking I should at least walk by it on my way as we have been so inundated with figuring out daily life here that we haven't really seen any "sites". I took a quick pick to send to Matt while he was at work  - not sure if that was nice or not ;)

I figured I should get a closer look and then noticed that admission was free so of course I felt the need to just take a quick peek inside...



They had a special exhibit of tapestries created by a guy named Dom Robert, who was a Benedictine Monk as well as an artist. There were six tapestries in all, but I was particularly entranced by the color and design of this one...

I was so transfixed by the tapestries that never made it to The Cluny Museum that day - maybe next time!

Although we haven't been up the Eiffel Tower yet, we did finally get close enough for a picture while on our way to the aquarium. No matter how many times I see it, I always think it's amazing!