It is really true, Parisian apartments reek of charm and history. As a "Southern California tract house survivor", I basked within my new surroundings. High ceilings bordered with wedding cake moldings, herringbone parquet floors, fireplaces in every room topped by ornately encased mirrors and of course - french windows opening out onto curvy iron balconies. They all came along with a price of course. Simply deposit 130% of one year's rent into a blocked account you cannot touch, and all this can be your's too. You've GOT to be kidding!! But, no, they were not. We gulped and handed over the money which, by the way, had to be converted to euros from our rapidly devaluing dollars. What price is beauty?, you ask............a lot.
Poodles and Pearls
The 16th arrondissement of Paris is a stately and posh quarter inhabited by the bourgeois of the city. Why we chose to live here can only be explained by receiving some skewed advice from a new "friend" and the easy access it afforded Jane to her new school. It is a beautiful neighborhood for sure, but lively or typically "Parisian" by many standards, it is not. As described in one tour book - it is the "poodles and pearls" quarter. Well, we DO have a poodle after all!
As I write this post, I am eyeing the stack of moving boxes in the entry. My procrastination must come to an end here shortly because I have packing to do. The moving truck and lift arrive in one week's time. We are off to the 15th arrondissement and a less expensive apartment and a less stuffy neighborhood. The adventure continues.
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