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Today's our last full day in Paris, and, I have to admit, it's a little bittersweet. Being here has been an experience beyond anything we imagined, and we've certainly fallen in love with this amazing, beautiful and complex city.
It feels like we've only scratched the surface in experiencing life in Paris, and yet, we're super excited to spend several more days with our family in London before heading home to North Carolina. And speaking of home, our home-away-from-home, a little flat (650 square feet) we rented in the heart of Latin District of Paris has become quite endearing to us.
Over the past week, we've found our way all over Paris; on foot, via the Metro, by taxi, and Uber cars. We've have experienced some of the big sights like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapel, Luxembourg Gardens, etc., but have also loved just living the Parisian life; strolling along the Seine, enjoying the parks, dining at quaint little bistros and restaurants, nibbling on gelato and chocolate, exploring grocery stores, department stores, flea markets, farmer's markets and street markets.
The best part of each day though, has been coming home to our delightful apartment. It's quiet, comfy and infinitely nicer than living in a hotel. We shared Part 1 of Our Little (very little) Paris Apartment a few days ago, so I thought I'd finish it up today and give you a tour of the rest of our little nest.
My favorite part of the flat (if I had to choose one), is probably the kitchen. It's the most compact, yet very workable kitchen I've ever experienced. There's a little built in dining table for two that overlooks the courtyard. It's perfect for lunch and clean up is super easy. I haven't had the time to cook a lot since we've been here, though I did make a pot of French Onion soup and we've enjoyed lots of simple meals consisting of a baguettes (notice I mention that first?), cheese, sometimes a bit of sausage and French olives. With all the gorgeous greens that are so readily available, I've also loved serving simple salads with a classic French vinaigrette that I learned to make here in Paris (recipe to come).
Although the kitchen has all the modern appliances a casual cook might need, everything is in miniature; the sink, dishwasher, stovetop and refrigerator. My favorite thing is the microwave/oven/broiler, which, surprisingly works fantastic in every mode!
Since pictures speak much more clearly than words, I'll let Scott's photography tell most of the story. Hope you enjoy Our Little (very little) Paris Apartment - Part 2.
We've had lots of inquires regarding how we went about securing our flat in Paris. While we were planning the trip, we checked out several of the major rental companies and decided to go with Paris For Rent. They were recommended by Rick Steves and have been wonderful to work with. They helped us through each step of the process and were great at responding to any questions or concerns that came up along the way.
When we arrived in Paris, their sweet greeter, Eleanor, oriented us to the apartment and made us feel at home. On the table we found a welcome bottle of wine, chocolates and a map to help us navigate the streets of Paris. The place was super clean, and had everything we needed including an ironing board, umbrellas and, what I call, a schlepper (a wheeled shopping cart to carry groceries, etc. home from the market). There is also a nice television that's set up for lots of English-speaking channels, though to be honest, we never even flipped it on once. We did take advantage of the phone which allowed us free calls to the U.S.
We would, in a heartbeat, spend another week (or two) in this charming little Parisian flat, but until we return, we created lots of wonderful memories and took a boatload of photos to be able to reminisce over. Oh, and speaking of photos, stayed tuned. Scott is putting together a post with some of our favorites; the famous sites, from his perspective, and lots of fun, unique, amazing shots of the city he captured through his lens.
Au revoir!! Merci for joining us on our travels!
P.S. Although I have affectionately called this flat "little" in my posts, it's not really little in terms of European standards, or even large U.S. cities like New York, where apartments are often much smaller and very cramped.
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