Benjamin Franklin said, “Every civilized man has two homelands, and one of them is France.”The studio--not as large as my bedroom in Houston (16.5 meters or about 178 square feet) with an alcove for a kitchen and a "don't be bigger than a women's size 14" bathroom--is located in the Marais (3rd arrondissement) near the Place de la Republique. I arranged the rental with a lady (originally from New Orleans) who's business is to help people find and purchase property in France. She purchased and renovated the unit last summer so everything is brand new, very efficient, and comfortable--because of the decor, she calls it Le Provencal. I was the first person to book the apartment; three others have stayed since she finished it in August. And except for two weeks in April, it is booked solid until the end of July. She is currently purchasing another to renovate as a second rental (the two-bedroom she bought to live in seven years ago has tripled in value.) She truly is living what she sells. If you want to see pictures of the inside and read about all the amenities provided, go to www.parlerparisapartments.com/rentals/provencal.html.
(BTW, I negotiated a better price because this is the lowest tourist season and because I am staying for 10 weeks.)
To get into the building from the street, you enter a numeric code and walk past the mailboxes through a short, wide hall to another door. This requires a key, which puts you into a courtyard--very typical of French buildings. My stairway is D and I climb 48 narrow and wind-y steps to the 4th floor (which in Europe, is the 3rd floor--they consider the 1st floor the ground floor, the second floor the 1st floor, etc.). I am the only unit on this floor off of this stairway.
The stairwell reminds me of the one that was in my Amsterdam B&B during my first European visit in 1989. And I'll never forget how that old lady lifted my suitcase over her head and marched right up the stairs! Lucky me--I will be able to eat all the chocolate and drink all the wine that I want while I'm here--with all the walking and stair climbing, I should keep quite -
trim. Yippee!
(BTW, I negotiated a better price because this is the lowest tourist season and because I am staying for 10 weeks.)
To get into the building from the street, you enter a numeric code and walk past the mailboxes through a short, wide hall to another door. This requires a key, which puts you into a courtyard--very typical of French buildings. My stairway is D and I climb 48 narrow and wind-y steps to the 4th floor (which in Europe, is the 3rd floor--they consider the 1st floor the ground floor, the second floor the 1st floor, etc.). I am the only unit on this floor off of this stairway.The stairwell reminds me of the one that was in my Amsterdam B&B during my first European visit in 1989. And I'll never forget how that old lady lifted my suitcase over her head and marched right up the stairs! Lucky me--I will be able to eat all the chocolate and drink all the wine that I want while I'm here--with all the walking and stair climbing, I should keep quite -trim. Yippee!
