Of elevators and lucky charms
On Dec. 27 we moved out of our flat in Montmartre for a week since it had already been rented out. We took this as an opportunity to check out another area of Paris, and found a place on Rue Poliveau in the 5th arondissement (district) which is on the Left Bank of the Seine.
This area is filled with universities and hospitals, although there are many attractions that draw tourists here as well. It is known as the Latin Quarter because it has been the centre of Parisian higher education since the Middle Ages, and conversations between students and professors were usually in Latin. However, we didn’t hear a word of Latin while we were there. (grin)
The flat was on the 5th floor (actually the 6th floor since the second floor is labelled the first floor, etc. as is the practice in Europe), and the view in the photo is from the bedroom window. There was a much more institutional and ‘big city’ feel about this location.
We had been warned that this flat was serviced by a very small elevator. The owner had told us that there was room for two people and one piece of luggage as long as you stand sideways. Well, he was absolutely right!
In the photo I am standing as far back in the elevator as I can get. You can see how narrow it is. There is room for one more person in front of me, and for a suitcase to squeeze in standing upright on the floor. Someone pushes the floor button and the doors close – hopefully nothing is in the way of the doors at that point!
Then up you go! At least the elevator has glass on all sides and you can see out as you go up. It keeps it from being ‘too’ claustrophobic.
Since we had just spent 45 minutes on the Metro with our belongings, neither David or I were eager to climb the stairs. We just had to try to get both of us and our luggage in the elevator all at once. We ‘only’ had 2 small suitcases, a sports bag with various things we couldn’t stuff into our suitcases, and, of course, our computers!
David squeezed in and put the suitcases, one on top of the other, on the floor beside him, and held his computer backpack high on top of everything. I got in and put the extra bag on the floor at my feet, and then held my computer up near my head. It was the only spot left!
Then we realized that neither of us had pushed the 5th floor button. I edged out of the elevator just enough to give David room to find the button and push it (we were actually facing the wrong way – the buttons were behind us!). I scrambled back in quickly while the doors tried to grab my coat.
When we arrived at the top and the doors opened, I practically fell out of the elevator, grabbing onto my computer as I struggled to gain my footing. There he was – the owner of the flat, right in front of me – with a startled expression on his face and his mouth open. I don’t think he believed we actually managed to stuff all of our belongings, and us, into that small space!
After unpacking our belongings, we headed to a local Indian restaurant for an absolutely delicious meal, and then searched out a store to buy some food supplies and a boulangerie for the essential fresh bread.
As you can see from the photos, this flat was quite modern in appearance. The living room had a TV, computer and printer (although the computer was an older model that made a horrible noise; so we didn’t use it), as well as a table and a sofa.
The bedroom was fairly spacious with a fair amount of room for clothing. As with most places we have seen in Paris, the flat had the beautiful tall windows that you can open wide to enjoy the view or get fresh air. While we were there, the temperature got quite warm for a couple of days hovering around 8 to 10 degrees, and I was able to open the windows in the daytime.
The kitchen was narrow but quite functional. Most flats have stovetops with only two burners. We are getting quite adept at cooking a full meal on them. However, we finally got frustrated with the quality of the cooking pots – at both flats! So we bought a new stainless steel pot and a sharp knife at the local Monoprix. That has improved life immensely!
During this time, we discovered that there was a tradition associated with early January in France (and other countries as well.) Epiphany, the celebration of Christ being visited by the Magi, is celebrated with a galette des Rois, a cake for the kings. In Paris it is a cake made of puff pastry and sometimes filled with frangipani, an almond paste. The stores and bakeries are full of galette des Rois of many sizes – for one person, 4, 10, etc. David purchased the one in the picture which was in the shape of an apple and had apple filling in it.
In each cake there is une feve, a lucky charm. Whoever finds the charm in their cake, has to wear the golden paper crown that comes with the cake (see photo above), and buy a round of drinks for everyone. Apparently this lead to some stinginess, and people began to swallow the charm (which was a bean at that time) so that they wouldn’t have to buy the drinks. To prevent this, the charms were then made of china and later, plastic.
David was the one who found the charm in our cake – only it was late one night when I was sound asleep; so he avoided having to follow through with wearing the crown or buying the drinks. He was lucky though – it was a ceramic charm, not a plastic one, and it was a very auspicious Vedic charm – a cow!
Jusqu’a la prochaine fois!
