If all goes well, next Tuesday morning we will sign a lease for the apartment at 6, Avenue de Madrid in Neuilly! (Google map it - http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS248US248&q=6+avenue+de+la+madrid%2c+92200%2c+paris). This was originally our #2 choice but really was the best in terms of location. From the apartment we have everything we need within a couple of blocks - boulangerie, shops, parks (including the Bois de Boulogne & jardin d'acclimatition), metro/RER, etc. The apartment itself is nice - large, plain classical style, has what we need (including a guest room!) - it just didn't have the character and style of the one that had been our first choice. But it will be available August 13th! P&G is now provisionally arranging rental furniture for us so that we can move in likely on the 14th. So please just keep your fingers crossed that come Tuesday we will be able to sign this lease!
Samuel is very pleased that we received our air shipment yesterday. Not only does he now have his bathtub again (no more baths in the sink), but he also has his activity mat, crib, mobile, etc. Even the cats are happy as they got their water fountain! As for us, life is definitely improving now that we have the Mac (we are back on Skype), our printer, music, and other bits and pieces that make this seem a little bit more like home and less like camping. With the transformers we shipped we also were able to use our steamer again last night. Thank goodness that P&G will also pay for the movers to help us move from here to our final apartment given all the stuff we now have!
We had lunch yesterday with a group of expats. It was interesting to meet other international people living in Paris - some who had been here a while, some almost as new to it as we are. The group seems to be quite large and diverse and has monthly gatherings (we found it online - it is a 'meetup' group). It was fun to hear other people's thoughts and reactions to Paris and compare them to our own. In a nutshell... did you know that French children start school at age 2? Paris public toilets are mostly closed due to vandalism... hence activities like what Dave mentioned in his last post; and yes, tourists are considered very badly dressed :-)
On Monday we will start to have new adventures - now with wheels! - as we will pick up my company car. For the automotively-inclined, it is a Peugeot 605. (What a surprise... live in France = get a French car!). I have no idea what this car will be like, so will give a review once we have tested it out. We will first head out to the nearest large hypermarket to explore that and see how prices and sizes compare to what we can buy at our local supermarket in town (has everything, but in mini-sizes - even for Europe). We can test out our new French bank cards! We are also planning to go to London for a quick trip (long weekend) later next week to see family/godparents. If we are lucky, we will find both the boulevard peripherique and also our way off it in the right direction. If not... we may drive in circles around Paris for a while...
- Julia
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