Temporary Wheels!

Yesterday was eventful: visited some apartments, set up a bank account, and picked up my rental car, which my company has so graciously provided for 4 weeks as we get settled.  The car is a Renault Twingo, manual transmission, and tiny and zippy enough to race through the narrow streets that lead to my temporary apartment in Bures-sur-Yvette.  Driving here feels much more like a sport than a leisure activity: sharp turns, roundabouts, narrow streets and single-lane bridges abound.  Fortunately, my boss had enough foresight to also provide me with a GPS unit; without it, I truly would not be able to find my way out of Bures.

First things first: apartment hunting!  I've been told that the rental market is tight right now, and that's no joke.  Out of 6 appointments booked on Tuesday, 3 apartments were rented by Thursday, which left 3 more to see.  Another one was rented Friday morning, when I had a Friday afternoon appointment.  Thus, I only got to visit 2 of the original 6 apartments.  I may be able to visit two more on Monday evening, but at last check on the realtor's website, they aren't listed, so I'm not quite sure if they are still available.  The good news, though, is that we may have found a place.  The first apartment I visited on Friday was a surprisingly nice find.  It's small by American standards (660 square feet), but seems about average for 3-room units in this area, which range from ~500 to ~750 square feet.  Sunny windows, wood floors, and floor-to-ceiling kitschy pink tile in the bathroom.  The real bonus, though, is that it comes with both a cave (basement storage room) and a box extérieur (garage).  Holy storage, batman!  And no lugging a stroller or bikes up and down the stairs!

The way apartment rentals work here is that if you like a place, you submit a dossier to the listing realtor.  Your dossier includes bank and employment information, as in France there are strict limits on how much you can spend on rent (most places use 33% of your take-home income; some will allow 38%).  Our dossier has both some strong points (I work for a well-known and respected large company), and some weak points (I am new to France, no rental history, and am a new hire).  We should hear back by Monday whether we were accepted as renters.  There were several other dossiers submitted by other interested parties, so I honestly don't know what our chances are.  We'll just have to wait and see.

Whether we end up with this apartment or some other one, there is one inconvenience: the vast majority of apartments here come with unequipped kitchens.  No fridge, no stove, no other appliances, and, in this case, no countertops.  There is a nice double sink and lots of cabinets for storage, but that's it.  On one hand, this means that we have a little freedom to organize the small kitchen in a way that suits us.  However, the prospect of immediately having to purchase major appliances is also a little daunting.

Now, on to the car.  Having wheels means that I can run some errands, which is a great relief because there are no grocery stores in Bures.  There is a fantastic bakery (more on this later), a butcher, and a fruit stand, but when your grocery list also includes an iron, hangers, and deodorant, there's just nowhere to go.  France has their own version of Fred Meyer (for Pacific NW peeps; Super Target for the rest of you) - a superstore (or hypermarché) called Cora.  It's completely overwhelming, even for an American.  Cora has everything - major appliances and small appliances, TV and electronics, housewares, auto parts, a home improvement section, a massive clothing store, jewelry, a lingerie section that might make Hugh Hefner blush, a full grocery store, a travel agency, and many other departments that I missed altogether.  They have a huge selection of wine, fresh fruit and vegetables, and even a fishmonger.  Their fish section (which sits right in the middle of the store) consists of massive ice-covered tables with fillets, steaks, and whole fish on display.  In the middle of the table, a massive shark head and shark tail were artistically displayed so that the head appeared to be breaking through the ice, about to leap dolphin-style through the air.  The shark also had a lemon in its mouth.  In the middle of the superstore.  Right across from the pineapples. 

Clearly, it's easy to get totally overwhelmed in a place like this, so I spent a good 30 minutes wandering around and getting my bearings.  I'm glad I took my time watching the other shoppers, too, or I may have missed out on an important difference between US and and French grocery stores.  Here, after you bag your fresh produce, you must get each bag weighed and affixed with a price label before heading to the checkout.  Fortunately, I caught on to this before loading my purchases onto the conveyor belt. 

Groceries successfully purchased!  I headed back to the apartment and then walked into Bures (10 minutes through the woods) and went into the local bakery.  The baguettes looked enticing, but I was pretty hungry and ordered a ham sandwich (€3,70) instead.  Freshly made, it was heavenly in its simplicity: a fresh baguette, sliced open, with 2 thin slices of ham, a little lettuce and tomato, and the BEST homemade mayonnaise I have ever tasted.  Creamy, and thick, with a little Dijon to brighten the flavor, I swooned over this stuff.  I plan on being a regular customer for as long as I stay in this temporary apartment, for sure.

I also got to Skype with L and the little one last night.  At first, the little guy wasn't quite sure what to think of mommy being in the computer screen, but after a few minutes we exchanged waves, high fives, and fist-pounds.  So much fun.  I can't wait for them to be here in a week and a half!  Between now and then, though, there's lots to do: work starts on Monday, and the apartment rental is far from finalized.  Here's hoping to a productive week.

- E