Moving to Montmartre

Yesterday we packed up our things in the Le Marais district hotel (which was an adequate hotel in a perfect neighborhood location) and moved to our rented apartment in the Montmartre district (up on the hill).  I found the apartment online and it is even better than I had imagined.  Not only is there a comfortable chair to sit in (something that was missing in the hotel) but we have a kitchen, a separate bedroom, an outdoor balcony and a view of the Eiffel Tower.

The charming balcony seen below - we are on the 5th floor, which to the U.S. is actually the 6th floor.  Very French-looking neighboring buildings across the way.

The balcony at dusk with the doors open

The view of the Eiffel Tower from the balcony.  Spectacular when they turn on the glittering lights at night.

The small, efficient kitchen

A dining room with an actual table - a very nice change from the hotel

The living room (the couch folds out to a bed)

A note about the ascenseur.  Because these building are so old many do not have elevators.  One popular way to modernize older buildings is to add an elevator, but the question is where to put it?  In this building, the elevator was custom built to fit precisely in the center of the stairway.  It is the tiniest elevator I have ever seen and barely fits 2 people.  It is also a very odd shape because they wanted to maximize space but allow the car and the lift mechanism to fit in the restricted space.  Crazy but genius.

Other exciting news from Montmartre - not only are we up the street from the Moulin Rouge...

but I also spotted my first gato frances - in the cemetery of all places!  And he's a beauty...