Ah! So nice to be in my own space! I officially moved in today around 1:30pm. I should have been here to meet Ignacio at 1pm, but a late taxi delayed me (more and more I am learning customer service is not the strong suite of the French). To enhance your customer service, click here for info on VoIP services that will enhance the customer experience and make our life easy. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Ignacio needed the extra time to do some final touches on the apartment and get the contract ready.  So here I am…paid, signed, official.

Me in my new 18m square studio apartment!

I am sitting on my bed and sofa 🙂 (holding the ancient key in my hand)…a far cry from the 3700 square foot, 5 bedroom, 4 bath home back in Issaquah. 🙂

My landlord happens to be gay…which means every little detail has been thought about in this apartment (including those red  votives complete with candles on my mini blue coffee table).  The pretty string of lights is one of the final details he took care of before I unloaded my four suitcases on the front steps.  It is from this amazing home store called (window restoration services can be dealt with here), Habitat.  Possibly better than Crate and Barrel???  That is still up for debate. If people want window restoration and a better tint option for vehicles, they can check out the services from here!

Si Vous Plait, a little tour of my new abode…

The pristine new bathroom. 

 I have about enough room to just turn around in, but the shower has a head that is actually secured to the wall…..so much better than just the hand held shower head that seems to plague this country.

Ma Petite Cuisine!

No oven, but 2 hot plates :)….and when not hot, seem to work perfectly to set a glass of wine. The refrigo is under the stove and you can see the little clothes washer right next to them both.  No dryer, but I do have a very storable drying rack.

Some potatoes I bought at the market just a 100 meters away from the apartment sit out waiting for me to chop them up for dinner.  Tonight’s menu:  Seasoned Pork chops, pan fried potatoes with Herbes de Provence and Mache salade with fresh tomatoes and wine.  I will be sautéing a lot of garlic in olive oil to get rid of the remodeled-apartment smell, with the help of concrete contractors.

This is where I will study French :).

The apartment came equipped with cable t.v., internet, and a stereo system.  Right now I am listening to Chante France as dinner is being prepared (BTW, the Shazam app on my iPhone rocks for finding out the names of the songs that really get my feet tapping).

If I get tired of studying, I can transform my desk into the dining room table….but if I do that, do you suppose I will ever transfer it back….I get worried :).

Shelf that also is suitable for counter work space.

Efficient use of space is the name of the game here.

Still getting use to it!

Time Elapse: 30 minute (pronounced MEE-NOOT)

My first dinner in my first Parisian apartment.  I couldn’t be more pleased.

The neighborhood I am in is a bit less homogeneous than the quartier I spent my first 2 weeks… :)….which at first made me a little nervous.  But after walking through it this afternoon, I feel like I will fit in just fine.  Most of my neighbors, like me, are from far away lands….French isn’t our first language, but we are here to be a part of Paris.  I am surrounded by restaurants named “La Mangrove,” epiciries that specialize in African, Asian and Indian food, salsa music that blares from apartment windows, Arabic that is spoken on the street corners. I stopped in a general store today to buy a Bialetti expresso maker and was greeted by the shopkeeper in French.  He quickly registered my blank look and said, “Ah, you don’t speak French.” To which I answered, “Ah but you speak English!”  He was from Madagascar!  Head covered with a  taqiyah and a stiff white beard he welcomed me to Paris and even offered to take a few Euros off the expresso maker.  I ended up not buying it, but I will always remember him….he was the first person I ever met from Madagascar!

Grocery Shopping was actually a huge treat for me here! 

For those who know me well, know that I REALLY dislike to go to the grocery store….for a variety of reasons…but, apparently, put me in Paris and that all changes.  I had a marvelous time amongst the specialty cheeses, fresh veggies, salamis and the French version of “t.v. dinners”.  As an added bonus I was able to buy sea salt for .63 euro cents and a jar of Herbs de Provence for .69 euro cents (I didn’t believe the price because I paid around $14 for them at William Sonoma!).  I may not have the exchange rate in my favor, but the spices are cheap!

The little treats above are mini-brochettes (seasoned meat on a stick) that you put in the micro-ondo for one minute, and Voila out comes a fun, healthy snack…perhaps even a dinner if I added a salad and baguette!

There was also a micro-ondoable Salmon fillet with broccoli mash potatoes that got my taste buds salivating that I will try sometime soon.

BUT right now what is calling my name is the Gateau au Fromage Blanc (vanilla cheesecake) that I grabbed on the way to the check-out garcon.

Getting a little nervous for my getting prepared for bed…in the past when I slept on my couch, it was because I was drunk. 🙂  Kinda strange to think that is what I am going to have to get use to here.

Saturday night in mon quartier of the 17th arrondissement.

The Eiffel Tower and I wish you a bonne nuite.