L'appart non-meublé

Les apparts non-meublés in Paris are, indeed, plentiful, and I think I saw about 90% of the available ones in the Seizième during the course of my search.  The challenge became one of finding one reasonably close to the #82 ligne d'autobus and one that would not cost me an arm (un bras) and a leg (une jambe).

"Un appart très charmant ... parfait pour vous, Madame ..." became the buzz phrase when they would see me coming, and, indeed, all I saw were perfect (parfait) and charming (charmant), except that one would require two (deux) Métros and deux bus to get to work; another was in a quartier that lights up at 10 pm (22h); and others were so expensive (si chers) that I would not have been able to meubler them!

One must also consider that non-meublé means non-meublé.  The rooms have four walls ... period! (Point final!)  The cuisines are not only not equipped (équipée) with stoves (les cuisinières) and refrigerators (réfrigérateurs); they frequently do not include cabinets (les placards) or countertops (les comptoires de cuisine).

I quickly concluded that the French must really love their appliances and cabinetry because they seem to take them along from place to place.  I also concluded that this is what keeps the eight IKEA stores in business.  (And don't think I didn't check every bathroom [la salle de bains or SdB] to be sure there was a toilette.)

Not having found un appart in the first few weeks, I became somewhat découragée et frustrée until one Saturday morning (samedi matin) -- the 7th of March (7 mars) to be exact -- when, while strolling down the Avenue Raymond Poincaré, I encountered Olivier as he was opening up the local ERA Agency, one of the few real estate agencies (agences d'immobiliers) I had not yet encountered.  Nearly in tears (See initial blog, Lesson #2 regarding tears), I told Olivier of my plight, and without missing a beat, he said, "Madame, j'ai un appartement très charmant ... parfait pour vous!"  (Been there ... heard that!)

He picked up the phone (le téléphone) and made a call, but Madame la Propriétaire was not at home.  He asked me to call him in an hour, which I did.  Madame had returned!  Madame would love to see me!  The appointment was set for an hour later, and within two hours, I had signed (signé) the lease (le bail) on a deux pièces, non-meublé sur la rue de Longchamp (no. 90) dans le 16è, une rue de l'autobus Ligne #82.

By now you should be following along quite nicely in French.

Next up: The Hardware Store (La Quincaillerie)