Home Sweet Home

We arose to sunny skies again today so it seemed a good opportunity to head to an amusement park near the edge of the city that's been entertaining tiny tots since 1860. The Jardin D'Accilimatation is toddler heaven and we could not have picked a better day to go, sunny skies and all the local kids back in school after break. We basically had the run of the place to ourselves. For such an old school place it is remarkably well maintained and is really delightful. Pierce LOVED it. He turns 2 a week from today, so I don't doubt we may go back again for his birthday.

Mitch was still recovering a bit from his Ireland adventures and I was tired from a toddler filled frenzy weekend, so we enjoyed a quiet lunch and trip back to the apartment for the rest of the afternoon.

The apartment at 39 Rue de Turenne has served us incredibly well in our time here. After seriously looking at about 150 possibilities online, we could not be happier with the choice. I've already mentioned the incredible location. Should lottery winnings come our way, we'll add a small pied a terre here to our housing collection :). The apartment itself is two bedrooms with a living room/dining room combination and a separate kitchen and bath. By Paris standards it is large (about 750 square feet). It is on the 3rd floor (really considered the 4th floor in America) and is situated at the back of a courtyard, which is fortunate since the main street I imagine could get slightly noisy. One of the best features is the abundance of light. We get flooded with light from front to back with windows on two sides. The way the apartments are situated we don't actually share any walls. But we do hear the upstairs neighbor's stilettos on the floor each evening. :)

Pierce actually considers the apartment a 3 bedroom and enjoys bringing a pillow into a little cabinet that he has converted into a bedroom. Maybe he's channeling Harry Potter's early years.

The 'elevator' and I definitely use this term loosely is not for those with even the slightest inclination towards claustrophobia. It can hold exactly two people and they cannot be large. Generally Pierce and I take the elevator and Mitch hikes it up and down the stairs. Architecturally though it is really cool to see how they have to retrofit these buildings to accomodate modern luxury. The staircase is this gorgeous wide and widing beauty and they just dropped the elevator in the little space that fit into it.

Having a bathtub was pretty essential for us and the bathroom, while small is well equipped. The tub is perfect for Pierce's nightly dips. The kitchen is enough for what we need and nothing to write home about good and/or bad.

High praise for our landlord David, who provided the crib Pierce is crashing in while he's here. And most importantly a very sweet babysitter for those nights out. Two HUGE advantages and big decision factors when we were making the final apartment choice.

Being able to experience Parisian life and all the small intricacies and day to day interactions is made more possible as an apartment dweller rather than a hotel guest. Obviously for us a month long stay really requires an apartment. However, I would not hesitate to book an apartment over a hotel for even a short stay of 5 nights. It's a completely different and refreshing experience and one we are truly cherishing.

Pierce enjoys playing the courtyard of our building, where we are greeted each morning by the conceirge of the building, a really pleasant lady who manages the property.