fairytales can come true

visit this historic apartment

bonsoir amis! i just had to share some of what’s going on, it’s been a whirlwind of fun putting the trip together. i have friends coming, clients, maybe even my guy for the SIAL food show (which is held in the same halls as the maison objet but not nearly as exciting ;)

suffice it to say there’s a lot going on, and one thing was worrying me, my own lodging. for a minute i thought i may be nuts to spend a whole month in france when holding it all down here is hard enough. but i just kept hoping something would turn up. and boy did it ever!

i mentioned on my blog that i had clients who wanted an apartment with a fireplace, and got a comment from a blogger who actually had two in her apartment and it was available!(rare are more rare).

well, the clients wanted to be in the 6th, (this is the 2nd) and they didn’t take it, but we started chatting that maybe i could rent it.

but i was looking for a swap, so that was out, but they wrote and told me of it’s past, its 400 year old history and it really came to life as a character. imagine my surprise a few days later to get an offer to barter…exchange some errands for them, AND help redecorate the bedroom too!

of course working on a real paris apartment has always been a dream and now i finally get my wish :)

soooo, i’ll be there for the first half of my trip. oh, yes, and the best part of our agreement was that i write all about the my discoveries at the apartment and can use it in my book.

and, well, going on about it isn’t too hard. the details look impeccable. Mauviel cookware! but there is work to be done. oh yes, i did agree to have the apartment polished up by a crew & give it a real once over. it will be an honor to oversee it!

as for the location, it dawned on me i know nothing of the 2e arrondisement per se. so i started digging and like all the various hoods, it’s loaded with its own history AND there’s even a fleamarket i didn’t know about! (Bourse twice a week)

it was home to many great thinkers and artists who had apartments all tucked into this little pocket. and the fun they must have had! Alexandre Dumas, Stendhal, Liszt, Simón Bolivar, Zola, and Goya were just a few of the neighbors running wild. and Napoleon and Josephine were married at the town hall there.

this part of town has lots of those gorgeous passages that were built in the 1800’s. they’re such gems and it’s wild how some are perfect and others are really run down. i’m really looking forward to seeing these. i have a slight obsession with them. searching led me to peter who’s also way into them and lots of other wonderful things!

the main street is pedestrian only, Rue Montorgueil. its home to the pastry shop, Stohrer which was founded in 1730 when Nicolas Stohrer retired as pâtissier for the court of Versailles. Supposedly the decor alone is worth checking out. oh yeah, and the pastry. see what peter had to say: peter olson

for now i’m taking in the sites online and trying to get the lay of the land. i only vaguely recognize any of it, i’ve passed it but not really dug deep. there was a great tour at the other paris.

alors, i’ll be adding to this new neighborhood as i discover the uncharted territory in this is a tiny little area that’s sort of untapped of late. i read it’s because les halls sort of overtook it. just a theory, i’ll reserve speculation till i feel it out. anyway it’s mine thru the nov 10th and i now i may talk liz into coming for a long weekend after all!

if you’re looking for an apartment in paris for your next trip, do check out this place that’s now in the hands of a really lovely american couple who just treasure it. this is their website, and shows a lot of the love and work that’s gone into it so far.

more soon!

xo

c

September 27, 2008. Paris Apartments. 14 comments.