Our Wee-Home Whilst in Paris

Some of you have heard us mention our digs in Paris.  Great city - Famously expensive.  Rachel discovered Housetrip.com, where you can rent people's homes, mostly studio apartment, for your stay.  At the last minute, the tiniest (and least expensive) place opened up, and we grabbed it.

Here were the photos we saw online:  As  you can see, it's a one-room studio with a loft, and a couch downstairs, with a kitchenette and bathroom to the left.  Note the fish-eye lens.  I don't think this is used primarily to make it seem bigger.  I think it's impossible to photograph the room while inside it with a normal lens.

But you can't beat the location.  We were "A".  The Louvre is "B" and Notre Dame is "C".  Google mapped the A-B-C route as 30 minutes walking. 

So, what was it actually like.  Well, the building has the most awesomely irregular stairs.  Ben loved to slowly climb them each day.  The wood was totally polished.  Our flat was on the 3rd floor (by the American nomenclature).

Note the lack of anything of anything level.

Here's a regular view in the front door.  The back of the room is right there.  Maggie slept on the couch, and Ben on a duvet cover on the floor next to her.  So, every night at 8pm, Rachel and I retired to the loft to study, read, and plan by the light of a single lamp until we went to sleep.  It was actually quite nice.

The bathroom wasn't insanely tiny, and the kids loved playing in it.

You can see here the back of the front door.  Note the window.  It opened into a 4'x4' space, where one could see the sky if you looked straight up a few floors.  I'm in the "kitchen" here, where we cooked breakfast every morning, and a couple dinners.  The TV table folded out to become a dining table, but then I was trapped in the corner by the table and ladder until eating was done.

So, all in all, it was perfect for our family, and we're thankful.