Finding an Apartment

So, now that you all know I'm not dead, I feel like I should share the story about the almost 9 hours I spent in Paris technically homeless.

This one has pictures.

We had to be out of the hostel on Saturday morning at 9:30. Naturally, instead of spending my time packing and then going to bed early to wake up on time, I decided to go out and see what the clubs here were like. I only went to one, and it was fun, but it wasn't long before I realized that it was almost 3 AM.

I headed back to the hostel, and tried to fall asleep, but couldn't so I decided to use up the last hour of my WiFi card. Meaning I didn't fall asleep until after 4:30, and nothing was packed. I figured I could wake up at 8:30 the next morning, I mean I did that kind've stuff all the time last semester. Easy peasy, right? I woke up at 9:15... Oops...

So I as I was running around trying to grab everything packed, I realized just how terribly messy I am. I ended up having to tuck dirty socks in every bag I had. There were even dirty socks in my otherwise empty camera bag. I don't understand how I came to have so many dirty socks. I packed the same number as the rest of my stuff, and yet all that fit nicely in my backpack. Why this sudden sock explosion?

After finally getting packed up around 10, I bounded downstairs and asked Pranav to see if I could leave my stuff in the room, since he was extending his stay. After he said yes, I sprinted up and down a few more times from forgetting things, and then I was ready to set off for the day.

Petry had an appointment to see a small studio just outside of the city, so we headed out to La Defense for breakfast and seeing the apartment. It proved unproductive, though, since the woman seemed to have forgotten that Petry called for an appointment and turned us away. Oh well.

So instead of seeing an apartment and then killing time, we suddenly had almost 3 hours to kill before seeing the our first apartment together. So where did we go? Don't worry, I'll give you a photo clue.

This embellishment resides on a certain famous monument.
Can you guess which one?

Got it? I thought it was too easy of a photo, but maybe not. Need more time? Okay!

Haha. Alright, for 1000 points of awesome, the answer is...

If you said l'Arc du Triomphe, you were right!

L'Arc du Triomphe! Just inside the city limits from La Défense, this monument is surrounded by a large roundabout, once called the Étoiles because of how each avenue and boulevard shoots off to create a massive star on the edge of the city, it is now Place de Charles de Gaulle, in honor of the famous general.

Construction of the arch started in 1806, and it was inaugurated 30 years later in 1836. Standing at 50m (164 feet for my other American friends in the room, or 2 subway cars for those visualizers) it is a massive tribute to those who gave their lives in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. It is so large, that at the end of World War I, Charles Godefroy actually flew his biplane through the structure during the victory parade.

Another sculpture on the arch. This is La Paix de 1815.
There's a sculpture on each leg, depicting a different moment of
French military history.

The arch is accessible via an underground tunnel, to keep tourists safe from the hectic traffic in the roundabout above. We weren't sure if it was required to pay to go to the base, or only to climb to the top, so we ended up taking photos from across the roundabout.

La Resistance de 1814

After some photo ops with the Arc, we decided to take a tour of the area a bit more. The two major boulevards stretching out from Place de Charles de Gaulle are Boulevard de La Grande Armée and the Champs Élysées. We were on the side of Grande Armée, so we began to peruse the many upscale stores in the area, and not just expensive clothes. With both Lamborghini Paris and Ducati Paris, this boulevard is also known as the home of expensive cars and motorcycles.

One of the Lamborghini's on display in the street.

Petry posing with the Ferrari that was also at the Lamborghini dealer.

After looking at cars that cost more than my entire college education or any home I will ever own, we decided to stroll down the other major boulevard.

Known for some of the most expensive designer brands in the world.
Perfect for a homeless guy, right?

We didn't even enter any of the stores here. It was nice to see some familiar brands though. Not that I actually own any of them, but after so many Monoprix and Franprix signs, you look for any kind of brand that looks familiar.

After we found the Metro station (named Franklin D. Roosevelt), we headed off to our apartment visit. We were still early, though, so we decided to grab lunch at an Indian restaurant across the street. It was fantastic, with cheesy naan bread to die for. It might get a whole post to itself...

The apartment is pretty nice and large. Most importantly it's move in ready and EVERYTHING is included. Let me say that again. EVERYTHING is including. Electricity, internet, phone, TV, water, heat, and even a washing machine. We jumped at the chance to take the place. He gave us some time to get the security deposit and first month's rent together, but we were able to move in that night.

So that's it, in less than 12 hours I became homeless, found a home, and moved in. It all made it seem so easy...

Next post is the actual moving in story. There may be a bonus post tonight if I'm feeling it. It'll depend on if vimeo will let me post...