I'm In Love With The 10th!

A Lock on the Canal Saint Martin

The 10th arrondissement, that is!

The 10th used to be industrial, off the beaten path, only some place you went to get to the Gare de Nord or Gare d'Est. It was kind of dirty, working class, not pretty.Except for the Canal Saint Martin with it's bridges.

Once, when I lived in Paris in the 1980s, I wandered up there. I was totally outside of my 7th arrondissement comfort zone. I had been working for a Countess and my best (only) friend was also a Countess, though I never let on I knew!

While I'd grown accustomed to the chic little boutiques selling to the barely surviving aristocratic class, this seemed strange and wonderful. Even I could afford to buy something here. People were selling food selling outside of the stores and people dressed normally - as in NOT in Hermes and Dior!

Why I didn't go back again, I'll never know. I was 23 and who knows what was in my head!

Music on a Friday Night

I just remembered that I loved it and felt that sense of discovery. I was also amazed that my Countess friend had brought me here, but we were going to rue de Paradis to see the advertising museum - which was fabulous. Later, in 1992 when I was in Paris with my husband, we wandered Paris looking for this street and museum, only to find it just as they were packing the museum up to move it into a separate wing of the Louvre building.

Many years later, I was desperate to find an apartment that would fit my family. I once again found myself in the 10th. For two weeks we lived there and now it's "my" neighborhood. It's become chic, young, and bo-ho - unlike in the 1980s.

An Awesome Cheese Store

Fun and Diversity in the 10th

As I pack my suit cases for another 2 week trip, I just can't wait to "go home." I can't wait to explore the new little restaurants with reasonable prices, the romantic nooks and crannies, and explore the neighborhoods just a bit further out and off the tourist beaten track. This will be my third time in this same neighborhood and this time just my husband and me again.

Not Dirty, Dark, and Dingy Anymore!

The one thing we will probably NOT be doing is having romantic strolls in the evening along the Canal Saint Martin. I've timed it all wrong and our trip is smack in the middle of the three month cleaning and repairing of the canal. C'est la vie.

So much to discover in Paris, even after 11 previous visits!!

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Our Parisian Apartment

I have to say that for the price, we had the BEST apartment in Paris!

Travelling with my husband and 12 yr old daughter meant that I wanted some space. We went for two weeks and let's face it, family vacations can get tense. So being Americans, space is important. But in Paris, space is premium!

We ended up with an amazing 3 room apartment with a balcony, wi-fi, washer/dryer, huge flat screen with cable, and a dishwasher! It was a very secure building and had an elevator.

One thing about Parisian spaces. Sometimes the configurations are weird. Most of the time, people are working with 100 yr old plus buildings. I can't even imagine what it must be like to retrofit these old structures.

This apartment was truly beautiful. Not fancy, but each room was large and had all we needed. The central room was the kitchen, dining table, pantry, and had a couch. There were two floor-to-cieling double windows which opened out onto the terrace. Flanking this room was a bedroom with a queen sized room, desk and an amazing amount of closet space! There was also a floor-to-ceiling window which opened onto the terrace. On the other side of the kitchen was a huge living room with two high quality futon couches/beds. There was also two floor-to-ceiling windows in here too!

All the windows were modern with double glazed glass. This made the apartment quiet. We were on the street side and just off of a major boulevard (Magenta) so there was noise. But hey, it's the city! And we were a mere 1 minute walk from the metro. The other nice thing is that we were easy walking distance to either Gare d'Est or Republic metro stations. Since both are major hubs, you can get everywhere from there. And the RER comes right into the Gard de Nord (right next to Gare d'Est) right from the airport.

Although we were not in the elegant city center, we had a less expensive and equally convenient neighborhood. It was a five minute walk to the Canal St. Martin and the whole neighborhood has an amazingly cool vibe! It's young, hip, and friendly.

So all of this was about 500 euros less per week than anything else I can find for this amount of space.

 For more information and help planning your trip to Paris without breaking the bank, visit ParisMadeSimple!

In Love with Paris - As Always...

Canal St. Martin Near our Apartment

Paris is amazing - as always. We arrived a few days ago and are settling into a bit of a routine.

We've been doing a lot of shopping for food because even in the local supermarket we can't possibly eat all the yummy food we want. We've been indulging on good cheese, meat, Haribo candy you can't find in the states, good confit, excellent cheap wine, and many other things.

I've managed to navigate buying our Navigo passes (much cheaper than the tourist transit pass - Paris Visite), buying more minutes on our cell phones, and buying a universal charger for my laptop. Yes, I forgot my laptop charger at home.

Canal St. Martin Near our Apartment

Mike on our Terrace at 10pm

Our apartment is AMAZING as it's huge, well equipped, and very convenient. My wonky body needs a softer bed, but other than that, this is heaven! We've greatly enjoyed our little outside terrace too.

The weather is quite variable this week - sometimes warm, others cold, then sprinkling! But at least it's not 90 degrees because I've done that and it's not as easy to be a tourist then.

Wonderful Young Woman at the Organic Market

Luckily, it's sales season and everything is on sale. So what a time to shop! I personally haven't bought anything big (three scarves) but Mike and Megan have dropped some Euro on very nice clothes!

Entertainment on Sunday Afternoon, rue des Rosiers 

We've visited the Marais, including the rue des Rosiers area, shopped around the Pomplidou Center (the  modern art museum) and had a nice dinner near the Eiffel Tower. We explored the Champs de Mars last night, discovering 8 disco balls around the circumference and then a really big one UNDER the Eiffel Tower. With some research, I've discovered this year's theme for Bastille Day (France's Independence celebration) is DISCO! OK, I think that makes me feel old, but we're plotting our way to enjoy the celebrations which go on until the wee hours.

The Paris Opera House, Place de la Bastille

Excellent Dinner at Cafe le Bosquet

  

The Golden Eiffel Tower at Night

GIANT Disco Ball Under the Eiffel Tower

The Ever Interesting Pompidou Center

A Light Snack in the Afternoon!

For more information about planning a great time in Paris, visit ParisMadeSimple!