My friend Robin and I arrived in Paris Sunday and moved into our temporary home, a flat in the 1st arrondissment.  It is very conveniently located; close to the historic sites, a grocery and a metro stop.  It is an old building, likely circa the late 1800’s and is very cleverly laid out, making efficient use of every space.  Like all of these flats it is on the small side but the kitchen has a microwave/oven combo and a dishwasher and the bathroom houses a clothes washer/dryer and the bathtub is big enough to lay down in!  The staff at Cobblestone Paris, through whom we let the flat, have been very helpful, a phone call away.  They gave us loads of tips and instructions upon our arrival.

Breakfast in our little flat in Paris!

On Sundays, the Paris flower market vendors take the day off and the space is taken over by bird sellers!  We visited the market at Place Louis Lépine.  There were rows of cages containing imprisoned birds of every variety.  I saw fancy pigeons the size of chickens and white canaries in various stages of transformation to flamingo orange/pink.  (The canary feed was colored so as to dye their feathers.)  It was interesting but I must admit that it bothers me to see birds caged, and it especially bothers me to see them being dyed.  There were also a few flower vendors operating and I did enjoy that!

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Everyone was out with their children or friends enjoying the nice weather and having a good time.  The French National Police were very visible on the streets and were carrying large semi-automatic weapons, it was a bit disturbing.

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