A Flat

So, it is official, we have a house!  Well, actually it is a flat!

So, to start out the story, I took the Eurostar over to France.  Super Handsome met me and we headed to the hotel.  We arrived at the Marriot and then walked down to St Michale.  Super Handsome had found a delicious gelato place.  It was a nice walk, but sadly I did not have proper shoes.  I ended the walk with blisters.  We were also very disappointed as he had planned to take me to a restaurant.  The restaurant was hosting a big party that evening and had little room and a limited menu.  So, we tried a local Italian place.  We ordered Calamari, which in retrospect was also a mistake.  The pizza looked delicious, we should have ordered it instead!

We headed back to the Marriott and had an early night.  We had a long day the next day.  We had to start out with a run to the bank to open an account.  We took the train to Champs-Elysse where I signed the required papers.  Then we met with our housing agent, Laurence and commenced to a long day of looking.  We looked at homes from 9 until 5.  We had a short break for lunch.

We looked mainly near the schools.  We ended up splitting the boys between two schools.  The American School of Paris is very close, Oldest Son will be attending that school.  Due to circumstances that I probably should not revel, the three other boys are going to the British School of Paris, which is located in Croissy-sur-Seine.  The schools are in the same general area and not that far away from each other.

We looked in Saint-Cloud, La Celle-Saint Cloud, Croissy-sue-Seine, Ruil-Mailmasion, and Sevres to name a few areas....

Ironically, we ended up with the first flat we visited.  The family that currently inhabits/owns it, is also a family of 4.  They have 3 boys and a girl.    It is a little on the small side with only 3 bedrooms.  It has a killer living space and hands down had the best kitchen that we saw that day.  We will be able to have visitors stay with us, but it will be a tight squeeze.  We will be using almost every square inch of the flat to live in and when they come, they will be located in the study/den area that is located near the main living space.

Anyway... pictures!  Here are some pictures!  We are renting it furnished so most of the furniture that you see will stay.

Super Handsome on the outside of the building.  It is a duplex that we share with one person, apparently a woman.

 This house was a bit unique.  Remember I said that it had 3 bedrooms.  Well, this one was very large and it was where the three boys slept.  These are the pictures of the room.  Note that each section has it’s own window!

The daughter has her own room painted pink.  They are going to paint the walls white for us.

The room is triangle shaped.

Kids bathroom, toilet is around the corner.

 The laundry is also located in the kids bathroom.

Proceeding onto the Master Bedroom and Bathroom!

Looking into the Master Bath

Italian Shower

Well, you all know what this is!

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom to incude the storage cabinets.  There are more on the right wall as well.

Moving onto the living space....

This small bathroom is located at the top of the stairs.

Looking into the main living space.  You can see the kitchen to the left and the doorway on the right is the study/den area.  You can also see the dining room table on the right as well.

Note the big fridge/freezer.  There is also a wine fridge, two ovens and a microwave.

Blurry picture of the kitchen

View of the living area from the dining space.

 I did not get pictures of the study area.  It was a nice big room with many windows.  The owner happened to be there so I did not want to take a photo.  It will the area that guests will share with us.  

Next is the Terrace!  We share the roof top terrace with our neighbor.  I think that you will agree that it is a great use of space!  And they have a Webber gas grill that they are leaving!  Whoo-hooo!

place to eat

Seating area, I was standing in the middle of the two areas

Skyline of Paris in the distance

Church

We saw many options.  Homes with gardens aka yards and flats.  I was honestly surprised that we ended up with this one.  It is going to be a major change for my family, no doubt.

Oldest son will be able to bike to school.  The other three will catch the bus at a stop that is not far beyond his school.  I won’t have to have a car, but we may decide later to get one.  There is a lovely, lovely artisan boulangerie just down the road from the flat and there is a small hotel as well.

We will also be a short walk from a big park and a metro station.

I will begin life as a city girl.....