Arrival in Paris

We arrived late in the afternoon and found our landlord Frédérique waiting for us at the tea cafe just downstairs from the apartment.  Despite the record-breaking 99 degree heat, she gamely grabbed one of our bags and guided us up the four flights of stairs to show us the apartment.  You never know what to expect when you book things over the internet, but this place truly lives up to the online listing.

It's just 41 meters square (roughly 440 square feet) but it has a fully equipped kitchen including oven and washer-dryer.  The whole layout is amazingly efficient.

Many of the places we considered were studio apartments but it is nice that this one has a separate bedroom.

The bathroom is a little tight, but the spa shower more than makes up for that.

There are interior windows facing the courtyard, making it way too easy to spy on the neighbors.

The windows in the living room let in light and air but are thankfully double-paned so we can't hear the noise from the street when closed.

Our street is a pedestrian-only zone.  Which in Paris means that the occasional car or motorcycle sneaks through but for the most part you can safely just stroll down the middle of the street.  There are shops and restaurants lining both sides of the street and our nearest metro stop is less than a minute's walk from the front door of the building.

View up the street; the metro stop underpass is just around the corner on the right.

View towards the Seine.  At the end of the street is St. Eustache, a 16th century church.

Downstairs is an Indian restaurant.  With the windows open, the fragrance of curry and naan floats up and invites you down for a meal.  Our first meal was a tasty chicken tikka with lentils for Kevin and a tandoori salmon for me.  We are off to a good start here in Paris!