It was surprisingly quiet. We discovered this place two years ago in mid-May and it was always alive with students and tourists. Last night it was about 9 p.m. when we arrived and we weren’t sure the Café Le Wallace was open. It was for the next hour. We sipped wine and watched people, including a guy and girl with a cat on a leash.
As you can see, the cat had a sense of the “pointer” about him (her), but after scouting out the surroundings, settled into a chair at the table while her owners downed a pizza.
Monday and Tuesday were mostly devoted to finding out where to store things in our little abode. The actual room of the studio is about the size of a large 2nd bedroom (not big enough to be a master bedroom). Our sofa is our bed;
we have a small built in kitchen (no oven, just two burners) with a sink and refrigerator. In this case, the kitchen is quite distant from the bathroom.
We have a nice table and a desk for the computer.
There is a large closet in the entry hall and then a separate bathroom and water closet.
There is also a lovely balcony and as soon as the weather warms a bit, I am sure we will spend a great deal of time out there. The apartment is very quiet. In fact, it is almost errie how quiet it is. I know others live in the place, but you hear nothing. However, I must say we miss the roosters and donkeys of Mexico just a bit. This is the building from the outside as seen from Place de L'Europe.
The building sits right next to the Place de L’Europe and then a lovely park, Le Jardin de Compans-Cafferelli. It has a beautiful pond and even a Japanese tea house.
Beyond the park is the is the Centre Commerciale.
This is a small mall that contains a very modern grocery store (Hypermarché).
It include a wonderful array of cheeses, a good supply of cheap wine and most everything one needs in terms of day-to-day supplies. We did discover an open market on Tuesday just down the street and plan to make it a regular stop each week.
In terms of the cost of things, we have found it quite affordable, even with the weak dollar. Obviously, this will not be the place to buy clothes and shoes, but in terms of everyday needs (wine, cheese, bread) it has been well within our budget. Even the demi-litre of wine at the restaurant was about $12 which seemed acceptable for all the entertainment the hour of people-watching provided.
Things are going well and just the idea of strolling through a French city at our leisure seems almost more than one could dream of. This picture of the Capitol at the center of town was captured as we sat at a favorite little cafe where, I think, if you sat there long enough, everyone in the world would pass by.
In terms of language, we are getting along fine speaking, but serious work needs to be done on understanding. I catch a word here and there, but most of the time when people speak to me all they get in a blank stare. They do seem to appreciate our efforts, however, and things, in just two days are coming more easily. We could wish for a bit more warm weather, but for now, we are very pleased with our choice. More soon.
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