New Place

Lazy Saturday morning in Bures: it's raining, I'm (finally) getting some laundry done in the hotel laundry room (€7 for 1 load means I don't want to do this too often), making a grocery list for this afternoon, and finally have a moment to upload some photos of the new place. We don't move in for two more weeks but I can't resist sharing the "before" photo of the kitchen, which is by far the worst room in the apartment.

Those of you who know us well know how much we like to cook. We will definitely need to perform some kitchen updates to make that possible. For starters, we need a fridge, stove, and oven. Oh, and a countertop. What you see in the photo is what you get: a double sink (sweet!) and some cabinets. On the plus side, this means that we get to customize our kitchen a little bit. There are several large superstores here that sell relatively cheap appliances (goodbye, stainless; hellooooo, cheap white fridge!) with free installation. There is also a French version of craigslist (called "leboncoin"), but given the heft of most major appliances and the lack of vehicle, it just makes more sense to get these items new. Plus, I really don't want to install large appliances on a power grid that I don't understand.

The rest of the apartment is considerably better. Below are the living room and bedrooms:

One peculiarity is that windows in France don't tend to have screens. On the first floor with both two-legged and four-legged children, I don't see that working too well during the warm weather months. Fortunately, we have a good 6 months before we need to worry about that.

The apartment also has a toilet room (typically separate from the bathtub/shower and sink in French apartments) and a bathroom (tub, sink, and washer/dryer hookups). Both of these rooms are tiled floor-to-ceiling in kitschy pink tile. It's the type of thing that you just have to embrace. Decorating ideas are welcome - and, on the bright side, it will be easy to keep clean.

Unlike many apartments that open right up onto the sidewalk, this apartment also has a nice, grassy courtyard, is 2 minutes (walking) to the bakery, 8 minutes to the train, and 15 minutes to the grocery store and library. I have no idea what the schools are like, but we have a year and a half to figure that out (kindergarten starts at age 3 here). In the meantime this will be a convenient home base from which to explore the area, with easy access to Paris (about 20 minutes by train) and to a great outdoor recreation area with bike paths and hiking (about 25 minutes by train).

Because we may want to travel both with animals and bikes, I was curious to see what the rules were for local travel. I have seen several dogs (and bikes) on the train (including a full size labradoodle on someone's lap in downtown Paris at 11pm). It turns out that on the Paris metro system, no dogs are allowed, but on the RER trains (that pass through the heart of Paris), leashed dogs are welcome. You must, however, purchase each dog a "reduced fare ticket", same as a child. Bikes are allowed during off-peak hours. Awesome on both counts!

That's it for the apartment.  We also get a basement storage room and garage (for bikes and strollers) which will be incredibly helpful as we cram into 660 square feet.  Obviously it will be nice to get our furniture, kitchen accessories, and extra clothes, skis, and bikes - but oddly enough I don't really miss anything that's packed away.  As much as we pared down (viciously!) before leaving, I have a feeling that once our container arrives, we'll have the urge to pare down our stuff even more.  Perhaps I will get to be as familiar to the Goodwill collection guys (or the equivalent) here as I was to the Goodwill staff in Portland!

As far as plans for the rest of the weekend, I am feeling the need to just curl up and do absolutely nothing at all.  I'm sure part of it is the weather, and part of it is that I miss my wife and son terribly (listening to Christmas-themed Vinyl Cafe podcasts is probably not helping, either).  Two weeks is a long time to go without seeing your loves, especially when one is pregnant and one is just a wee one: a lot happens in 14 days.  I feel like the little one will have grown two inches, and that L's belly will have grown so much.  Nothing like a little absence to make you remember how much you have to be grateful for.

- E