Sunday, January 27, 2008

A Paris Apartment


Cabinets by Ikea.


Dreaming of the ceiling.


A big red pole in the middle.

What does a Paris apartment look like? This. They tend to be on the small side, but not unpleasant. Necessarily. Sure, ours was a little mouldy and occasionally dripping, but it wasn't like we couldn't get rid of the clinging bacteria after a few days of hard scrubbing. I think it's almost out of my lungs, too.

You might note the double bunk-bed style sleeping arrangement. This is about as good as it looks. Getting up in the middle of the night is not recommended. You can't sit up too fast either. But if you are a sound sleeper and slow sit-upper, you are totally fine.

We had a washer but no dryer. Fortunately there was a laundro just down the street. But when we brought our wet laundry there, we were asked several questions about the source of the washing. Did you hand wash those clothes? Where did you wash them? Are they wet? After passing this test ("Yes", "At home, in our washing machine", "Not too wet, no"), we were allowed to use one of the three dryers. This test happened three times.

Our kitchen was entirely satisfactory, a small oven, yes, but with a little ingenuity you can do almost anything. Sandwiches, boeuf bourguignon, beaver tails and nachos all were conceived in this space. And eaten nearby.

Good times in a great neighbourhood. The 11th. I will miss it always.