Our Parisian Apartment Building

We've lived in several apartment buildings in our past, including in Hoboken, the Bay Area of San Francisco and Ohio ... but our apartment here in Paris has been a very different experience in a few regards.

First, it's been under some kind of renovation since we moved in. They've been adding a 6th floor (expanding the attic space into livable units) which included switching off the elevator to add a 6th floor stop that lasted two months. There's also continues painting projects and units that get renovated. For a 1903 building, it's a hum of construction activity.

We also have a women who manages the building, much like a "super," called a gardienne. She lives in the building, near the front door, and deals with the constructions guys, trash, sweeps up around the building and vacuums the stairs. She walks dogs and does grocery shopping for the little old lady who lives next door. If there's an issue with the building, we see her. She knows (and sees) everything.

Our Building, Before the Scaffolding

Our particular gardienne speaks no English at all and doesn't even try to understand my lame attempts. Though, through the year, we've gotten chummy and she's very kind and always has a smile and "Bonjour!" every morning.

There are no little mail boxes in the building, like I'm used to in all the other places I've lived. Next to the gardienne's door, there's an "outgoing" box you can drop letters, but the incoming mail is delivered to her, she sorts and distributes letters around the building. She'll also accept deliveries and hold them until she sees you.

Side note about mail ... THERE IS NO JUNK MAIL!!! Imagine a year going by with NO credit card offers, no catalogs, no grocery coupons, etc. Days go by without a single letter pushed under my door. It's BLISS, I tell you. BLISS!

Let's talk quick about the joys of hard water. In the US, our water is treated and therefore "soft" -- but not here. It clogs the shower heads, leaves a cloudy film on clean dishes and makes your scalp itch. It's not easy to get used to. We quickly learned vinegar is really the only thing that will work. A capful goes into the dishwasher with every run. And is used to scrub off the film on shower doors and unclog shower heads.

Otherwise, it's a quiet building with a few families and some older folks who have all been friendly. The couple downstairs doesn't seem to mind the noise my kids make all evening, pounding instead of walking, since they have never been up to complain. The walls are definitely more solid than any other building I've lived in, so that might help with the noise.

Overall, it's been a great year in this lovely building.