Domicile

I think everyone can agree that Paris is a beautiful city and part of the reason is the planning of the city. Haussmann, a city planner, renovated Paris in the mid 1800s. There is a slight negative side of this in that there is a sameness to the architecture: most buildings are the same color and about the same height (4-5 stories). Some of the beauty of NYC is the mish-mash of styles creating something unique. In Paris, though, there are also hidden gems you cannot see from the street.

You will see entrances all over Paris for the apartments above the street but access to these, unlike New York, is not a key but a keypad.

So, if you are having people over, you can just send them your keypad number and they can get off the street and to your apartment door. Not a bad system. I am told the number changes about once a year.

My neighbourhood (or quartier) used to be workshops for skilled workers. What is amazing is that beyond the big door to the apartment...

Is a courtyard.

These are varied in size and amount of green, but they are all like a hidden treasure. I have been in some with large gardens and beautiful windows. Ours is not the most luxurious, but it is nice to arrive beyond the noise of the street. These are very much quieter than the street itself.

Like in many parts of Europe, there are few doorknobs. If they exist, they are usually in the center of the door and used for closing, not opening the door. In NYC, we do the same, but we expect the doorknob. Try it, you don't really use the doorknob at all.

In the new year, I hope to have a job and start apartment hunting. It will be a great adventure to see these spaces. I will attempt to capture the beautiful ones or the odd ones to share.