We had already been in Paris for a couple of days and were getting settled in. The apartment was really nice, everything we had expected, and the neighborhood also seemed great, a vibrant and convenient location. I knew we were going to enjoy living there.
Our building, according to the architect's signature on the facade, was built in 1893. You arrived at the
portes cochères (carriage doors), a massive double door at the entrance that was hardly ever opened; you'd actually enter through one of the two smaller doors within the large doors. On the other side of those doors was a small passage that lead to the
Gardienne's apartment and to the actual entrance to our building, as well as to a courtyard that lead to a smaller interior building.
We were on the first floor, which in France is one flight up from the ground floor. So fortunately we didn't have to use the tiny elevator that much, which as with most old buildings in Paris had to be retrofitted. As you entered the apartment, a small foyer lead to the living room and a small bathroom. This small bathroom is known in France as the
toilette, literally, the toilet. A convenient French invention, having the toilet separate from the rest of the bathroom.
The living room was large and comfortable and got some nice sunlight in the morning. It also had a great desk from where I could work. From the living room you accessed the main bedroom with an adjacent
salle de bain (a
bath room, which is a bathroom without a toilet), as well as the dining room, which also was quite spacious. The apartment did not have a hallway; you reached every room from the living room or the dining room.
From the dining room you accessed the kitchen as well as the other two bedrooms. The kitchen was well equipped, and
was large for Parisian standards—it even included a small table where we would have coffee and, if we squeezed together,
breakfast. From the kitchen there was access to another bathroom, which was about the size of an airplane bathroom, with a shower at the end, but it was functional.
This would be our house for the next 10½ months. It was a big change for us, coming from a typical suburban house in the States that was about three times as large as the apartment, yet we did not have trouble adapting to such a small space. Perhaps because we knew what to expect and were willing to sacrifice space for location. Or maybe it was due to the fact that we
knew we didn't need much and that everything we wanted was outside in the magnificent city of Paris. Or simply because we were delighted to be there. Whatever it was, that apartment was more than a house, it was our new home!
