We arrived late Saturday night, and we decided to take Sunday easy. After visiting a church that had been recommended to us by friends of friends (which we liked very much, by the way), we spent the day wandering around a bit. To understand our search, you'll need a basic understanding of Paris' arrangement. The entire city is divided into arrondisements (basically districts) that are numbered in a spiral pattern (like a snail) from the center outward. The famous Louvre museum is in district 1, for example, Notre Dame is in district 4, and so forth. Everyone in Paris equates everything by districts; some districts are posh, others are sketchy, some are purely touristy, others are more residential. We had to decide what district we wanted to live in before we could even start looking for apartments. To add to the complications, we still had not heard from the relocation company that was supposed to be helping us because Chris's company had run into some delays on the financial approvals. Therefore, we mostly wandered, prayed, and made game plans on Sunday.
On Monday, we began a trek across the districts we were considering: the 16th, 7th, 4th, and 3rd. The 16th is much more residential feeling, a little quieter than the others, and with easy access to grocery, hospitals, etc. It is still very typically Parisian, though, with the beautiful 6-story buildings and windy streets. The 7th contains Les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb) and the Eiffel Tower, which obviously lends itself to some tourists, but the actual residential portions between those sights are relatively quiet, with great outdoor market shopping, a safe and classy feel, and easy access to other cool places like the Orsay museum. The 3rd and 4th are basically connected and comprise the area known as Le Marais. It is an area with a sort of "village" feel - no chains, lots of cool individually owned shops and restaurants, narrow and windy streets, and some really cool old buildings. Unfortunately, it is also the hotspot for the 20-something night life. It is a really cool place to be, especially during the day, but there can be a lot of noise and some sketchy people loitering about at night. Our goal Monday was to see each of the neighborhoods in the daytime and the night time, to get a feel. Thankfully, on Monday night, we heard from the relocation company and set up to view apartments with the realtor on Wednesday.
Since Monday's goal was a bit too optimistic, we used Tuesday to finish our neighborhood scouring, and drew the following conclusions: the 3rd and 4th posed the above-mentioned problems for Chris; he was concerned about me walking home at night by myself in that area. Plus, since you sleep several months of the year with your windows open, a noisy street can ruin a night's sleep. However, there were some parts of the area that were probably ok. The 16th would be nice and safe, but maybe a little boring. The 7th seemed the best balance of the two. Plus the 7th is right on the Seine, which makes for a lovely place to take a stroll, obviously.
That left Wednesday to work with the realtor. Thankfully, she had lots of answers for us concerning things like hospitals, shopping, bank accounts, etc. I think these relocation people will really earn their keep. She had six apartments to show us, some in each of the neighborhoods we were considering. Although we some some beautifully Parisian apartments like the one below (it was the one with the red flowers on the balcony, and was in the 4th district) with gorgeous balconies and elegant moldings inside, we confirmed that we wanted to live in the 7th.
The apartment was saw in the 7th seemed wonderful: 2 real bedrooms (big enough for queen beds and closets and nightstands, which is not always the case in Paris), a balcony that ran the length of the apartment and included a great view of the Eiffel Tower, in a building set back from the street in a pretty little courtyard (which helped with noise and provided extra security)... It seemed perfect. Unfortunately, we found out this morning that the landlord accepted another person's offer. Apparently there had been an offer in the works when we went to see it, so they beat us to it. So where does that leave us?
It looks like we are still planning a Dec 1 move date. The plan will be to stay in a hotel the first few days and work with the realtor to find an apartment. Due to the quick turnover possibilities that I mentioned before, we should be able to be in a place no later than Dec 15, Lord willing. Since we are moving to a furnished apartment, we will only have clothes and personal belongings to pack, making a hotel transition doable. At least we now know exactly what we're looking for and can work over the next month to find it online and have appointments ready for viewing upon our arrival. Most importantly, though, WE NEED PRAYERS! I must confess that I am struggling against anxiety - not terrible, just a faint murmur of butterflies in my tummy - and I don't want that. I want to trust fully that God is and will be faithful as He always has been, that He will provide the perfect place, and that it was NOT the apartment we thought it was. I want to be thankful that He steered us away from that apartment for whatever the reason, and I want to be excited about what He has in store. Thank you for your prayers, and sorry this post became so long... But that's the scoop.
