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The Bridges of Paris; Spectacular Sunrise Views!

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Magnificent sunrise over the Seine in Paris

Woke up early on Monday at our Merlot apartment near the river in Paris. I grabbed my camera and tore out of the apartment for a short run along the Seine. What a gift, watching the sun rise over Paris! I gazed in awe from the Pont Alexandre III near the Invalides. The sky turned pink and yellow while the sun slowly rose above the beautiful river, touching the water and the monuments as it rose.

I thought how lucky I was to have this morning: to be in Paris, stay in an apartment near the Seine, to walk to the river a few blcoks away: the light, the beauty and magic…for these special moments. C’etait magnifique!

Vowed to learn more about the bridge and the bronze statues which range from powerful god-figures to an absolutely charming nymph straddling a wriggling fish. I’m no great runner and it didn’t matter at all when I started to walk. I headed towards the Louvre and slowly wended my way home: fifteen minutes from the Musee’ d’ Orsay to my door. I loved every moment!

Taking it all in, I was reminded of a book I read by Harlan Coben where the protagonist finds himself in Paris. It’s a good mystery from an excellent writer.

Harlan Coben from Long Lost:

But more than that, Paris makes you feel alive.
Makes makes you want to feel alive.
You want to do and be and savor when you are here
You want to feel, simply feel, and it doesn’t matter what.
All sensation is heightened
Paris makes you want to cry and laugh and fall in love and write a poem and make love and compose a symphony.

Merci M. Coben, on ne peut pas mieux le dire.

Commanding the sun to rise over Paris

Perfect reflections of the Grand Palais and Pont Alexandre III

Charming and playful statue of a nymph riding a fish!

Every neighborhood of Paris has its special parts, but remember this sunrise. However much I enjoy more distant neighborhoods, from the outer Marais to Montmartre, I’ll always want to live near the Seine.

Water so still buildings and trees perfectly reflected.

Posted in Paris Apartment Rentals, Parisperfect General Info | 12 Comments »

Lance Armstrongs Stays at Paris Perfect!

Friday, July 31st, 2009

We were proud to host Lance Armstrong and his family at our Paris Perfect apartments. Paris apartment with private terrace

Paris apartment with private terrace

Last week the Tour de France arrived in Paris and we were proud to host Lance Armstrong and his family at the Gigondas apartment! Teammate Jeff Wells and family stayed at Montrachet. Armstrong and his charity are a role model to us all. They graciously thanked us for their Paris homes and we hope to welcome them back wearing yellow jerseys next year!

Tags: lance armstrong in paris, paris apartment rentals, paris apartments; tour de france
Posted in Paris Apartment Rentals | No Comments »

Our Kir Apartment Rental in Paris, a New Look!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Kir studio compact and oh so charming!

We redecorated our Kir apartment last month and I stayed there to finish it. We also like to ‘test drive’ the apartment to make sure everything works well! We changed the dining room table to a charming French oak table. Added new dining chairs, arm chair, sofa cover, curtains and cushions to give it a French Country/Provencal feel.

Kir is a compact studio apartment in the center of of a great neighborhood in Paris, cute and comfortable. What we fell in love with were the large windows and gorgeous views over Paris rooftops. It’s located on the top floor of the building and benefits from sunlight and that feeling of ‘Ahhhhh, Paris!’ when you gaze out the large French windows.

Always practical, we designed a wall of closets beyond the oak dining table. for storage. We eve used the crawl space above the kitchen to install air conditioning.

The building opposite only reaches the 4th floor, so there are unobstructed views of tree-lined streets and the Champs de Mars gardens, a rarity in Paris. On the far right, you even get a peek of the Eiffel Tower.

Peek of the Eiffel Tower to the right of the Kir apartment

French Empire sofa in antique white, trundle underneath

The sofa is antiqued white with long seat that converts to a single bed by removing the cover. We like the fact that you can stretch out and nap on it during the day, and pull out the trundle bed underneath for a second single bed at night.

Pretty white armchair with fluffly cushion faces it. An antique dresser sits between the two windows for storage.

Kir apartment entry; kitchen on left and living straight ahead

Step into the apartment and the kitchen isimmediately on your left, with bathroom beyond. Living area is straight ahead. Some people say small spaces should have light cabinets, but we chose rich dark colors for the kitchen. The pink and brown granite countertops sparkle from the under cupboard lighting.

For fun, thought you’d enjoy seeing some pictures of how it looked when we purchased it! It looked like a cyclone had hit it, but it was only a French student who loved ‘la vie Parsienne’ but didn’t have the word ‘organise’ et propre’ were not part of their vocabulary.

Before Picture of entrwyway towards living room

The right side of the apartment was a work area that we remodeled into a dining space with wall to wall closets. It was hard to see the potential, but we saw the two large french windows that offered fantastic sunny views over this charming neighborhood … and we knew we could turn it into something wonderful.

Transformed to dining area with wall to wall closets

If you’re looking for an apartment to buy anywhere in the world, make sure the bones are right — views, feeling of space, sunlight and location!

The compar Kir studio is a popular apartment for couples, with full air conditioning and rare Paris views!

Posted in Apartment Remodels and Decorating, Paris Apartment Rentals | 8 Comments »

Why We Love High Floors in Paris Apartments

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Getting ready to take pictures of the Kir Paris apartment for rent, I woke up early. First stop was one of my favorite pastry shops across the street to buy my standard breakfast in Paris: ‘Bonjour Madame, un pain au chocolat s’il vous plait et un pain au raisin.’

Sunny day, needed some exercise so I decided to take the stairs. From the 6^th floor (7th floor American) to the ground floor, the difference in light in the stairwell was amazing. We always talk about why it’s important to buy apartments in Paris on upper floors and these pictures say it all.

5th floor natural light

4th floor light ok

3rd floor broad daylight can't see keyhold

By the time I reached the third floor, it was time to turn on the lights. This difference in natural light is reflected inside an apartment, since city living means apartments face other buildings which block the sunlight.

When you’re staying in a Paris apartment, look towards lower floors and observe how many apartments below turn on their lights by late morning. We prefer natural sunlight all day long, which means apartments on higher floors where you can see the sky.

I didn’t realize how important it was to me until I spent my first winter in Paris. When the sky only starts to get light at 9am and sunset begins at 3:30 pm in winter, I realized that I only wanted to live in Paris apartments on the top floors!

2nd floor can't see the stairs

By the third floor, had to swtich on the stairwell lights. I posted the second floor apartment doorway, but not below because the photos are completely black.

Tags: paris apartment, paris vacation rental
Posted in Paris Apartment Rentals | 3 Comments »

The Moulin a’ Vent Apartment!

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

The Moulin a’ Vent Apartment
We had a lot of fun decorating our new Moulin a’ Vent apartment and thought you’d enjoy the latest photos. It took longer than expected to receive the right pieces of furniture, and the new dining table and dresser were delivered last week. We found the Moulin a’ Vent late last spring and the location was fantastic – just around the corner from the Café du Marche on rue Cler.

Extra long sofa makes a comfortable place to stretch out

The kitchen has loads of counterspace, rare for Paris apartments

It had been owned by the same family for over 30 years, who had apparently never changed a thing. The condition of the plasterwork, plumbing, kitchen and bathroom were terrible. But the blue sky views of Paris and the front to back views from 5 large French windows was incomparable. The apartment has a bonus of views of both the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides Dome – rare and simply delightful! Six months of remodeling to our best standard, we discovered the original chimney breasts, hacked away the plaster to the original brick walls — replaced all plumbing, electrics, bathroom and kitchen — we restored it into a beautiful Paris home. We named it Moulin à Vent after the excellent Beaujolais wine with windmill in the center of the vineyards — similar to the wine, the apartment has a fresh, light feel.

White antique style dining table extends to seat 8

Some of our favorite features are the open kitchen and bar in a warm café’ au lait color, the living room and its comfortable sofa and the spacious bedroom. And of course, the sunlight. As we tell potential buyers, when the sun rises after 8 and starts to set at 3:30 pm in winter, you want to be on the highest floors possible, with an unobstructed view! See more photos at: http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/moulin-a-vent.php