Third Day in Paris

I arrived on Saturday, flying overnight from the States.

Finding the apartment wasn't hard, since I was armed with a map and a cab. On arrival, I met the owner of the flat, a lovely woman and her young son. She greeted us, then asked (a little nervously) if we knew that the flat was on the fifth floor (for those of us from the US, translate that to mean "sixth," since the ground floor or rez-de-chaussee is uncounted in France) and that there was no elevator? We said, yes, we knew.

We all hiked up to to the top floor, up a winding stair. I admit I had to stop once.

But! The apartment is a due-piece (two room) with a sitting room and a bedroom, plus what I call an American bathroom and a two-person kitchen. This means that the bathroom has a sink, a vanity, a full-size bathtub with shower, and toilet. The kitchen has the washing machine, a 60" refrigerator/freezer, a four-burner stove/over, a microwave, a double sink, an espresso machine, and a hot water kettle. Pretty nifty.

The rear view is nothing, plus there's a lot of construction supposedly going on there. But the view out the front windows is, in essence, Paris. We look out across the roofs of Montmartre south, past the Tour Montparnasse, the Pantheon, essentially to the southern peripherique. Plus the sky.

I'll post pictures soon, once the sun returns. The weather is cloudy and in the 60s--perfect for walking around, but not so good for photos.

Oh, and to get to the building? We walk uphill (anyway) from the nearest Metro stop. Either the longer, winding way, or the shorter winding way, or up what is about two stories worth of stairs. Your choice... but yes, uphill. Before you get to the building and its five flights. My thighs are not thanking me.

On Saturday, we didn't do much but unpack and familiarize ourselves with the apartment, then go out for dinner, groceries, and a walk. On Sunday, we went to the market at Richard Lenoir and then I came home and worked/read for the rest of the day. Today, we went downtown to get our BNF cards renewed--although we were an hour early for it (!) the process itself was a snap once 10 am came around.

After, I bought some items I needed (shampoo, for example), then came back to the apartment. I spent the afternoon working.  Now a glass of wine, then back to work.

But when I turn my head, it's Paris!