Our Micro Paris Apartment

I've mentioned before that my wife and I are currently living in a 130 square foot apartment in Paris, and now I have the pictures to prove it!

We met the property manager when we moved in, and us three (plus our luggage) was such a tight squeeze that I could barely contain my laughter. We committed to a six-month rental without seeing it in person. We didn't even know if there was going to be room to store our bags (there was), or what the view was like (amazing). Trying to find a long-term place to live in Paris is... tiring.

For those who can't visualize it, 130 square feet is small. Really small. If you take 4 sheets of plywood and lay them side-by-side, you would have a 128 square foot rectangle. Three king-sized beds laid side-by-side will get you pretty close - 125sqft. Our apartment in Vancouver was around 900sqft, which is nearly 7 times the size of this one. Our BEDROOM was 200 square feet in Vancouver and now our bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and office is 130sqft combined. Breakfast in bed is more like breakfast FROM bed - just roll over and give the bacon a flip. And boil some water for coffee while you're at it.

So, how did we do it? Simply put, the space was well-designed and we had to adjust our lifestyle. Click on the pictures to make them bigger and hover over them to read descriptions and I will explain more:

I also run a floor plan measurement company in Vancouver, so naturally I measured the floor plan. You can see how tight things really are without the camera lying to you

Apparently the owner of the space designs yachts, so she understands living in tight quarters. My wife is an interior designer focused on small living in Vancouver, so this has been a really great experience to push things to the limit.

To be honest, we love our little petit nid and it will be a sad day when we have to move out. It is well-designed, in a fantastic building (with elevator), a rare panoramic view, and it's in the best neighbourhood. It's just a bit small :)

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email.

All images © Levi Groeneveld - Travel and Fine Art Photographer

Paris: January

Some images from January. Click to make them bigger and hover above them to read descriptions.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email. Any photos that you see here are available for purchase in the Levi Groeneveld webstore or by request. 

All images © Levi Groeneveld - Travel and Fine Art Photographer

Christmas Passed

Reminders of the ephemeral season. When I was a kid growing up on a farm, sometimes we would get together with our neighbours and burn all our trees in an enormous community bonfire a mile high. In Paris, the trees just get left out on the street like the rest of the garbage. I thought these carcasses looked a bit sad, so naturally I took some photos.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email. Any photos that you see here are available for purchase in the Levi Groeneveld webstore or by request. 

All images © Levi Groeneveld - Travel and Fine Art Photographer

Je Suis Charlie

We returned to Paris on the 6th and on the 7th, terrorists attacked Paris. A couple of dummies, who I will not name, killed 12 people at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper (similar to MAD Magazine in America). They murdered these people because some of them drew some pictures. Incredible that something like this is possible in this day and age. A headline like that would be on the cutting room floor of The Onion for being too unrealistic. A couple days later, another dummy murdered a cop and four people at a Jewish supermarket.

The initial shootings at Charlie Hebdo happened five minutes (walk) from our apartment. I was out on the balcony when I heard a very loud siren. I wasn't sure what was going on, but shrugged it off as a test or a fire or something like that. It wasn't until I was checking hockey scores a couple hours on CBC.ca that I learned of the horrible thing that happened mere blocks away.

For that whole day, we were glued to the news. The first two murderers were on the run and a country-wide manhunt was on. The fear-mongering on the news was very draining. CNN in particular, was terrible with their round the clock coverage. BBC was better, but it was much, much more frightening cooped up in our little apartment watching the hysteria than it was out on the streets. People were getting on with their lives, children were playing on the streets, dogs being walked, etc. The vibe was definitely subdued, but it wasn't the apocalypse that it was being made out to be on TV.

The day after the shooting, I joined thousands of people who gathered at Place de la République as show of solidarity. The mood was one of defiance and safety in numbers. The suspects were still on the run at this point and we didn't know where they were. Here are some photos that I took (click to embiggen):

On the 9th, the two Hebdo murderers were found and killed by police. The murderer at the supermarket met the same fate simultaneously. On the 11th of January, I joined the 2 million people who marched in a rally of national unity from Place de la République to Place de la Nation. The sheer number of people was staggering. We lined the boulevards shoulder to shoulder and marched and chanted and sang and also were silent for brief moments of remembrance. The crowds belted out La Marseillaise (the national anthem) and I joined in with poor French where I knew the words. It went on for hours. It was very emotional. I took many photos:

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email.

All images © Levi Groeneveld

On the Road: Neuschwanstein Castle and Salzburg

So, a quick daytrip from Munich is Neuschwanstein Castle (try typing that without copy/paste). It was built by Ludwig II, who just plopped it atop a mountain. It was the inspiration for the Disneyland Castle and it really does look like something out of a fairy tale. I always wonder about the day someone decides to build something like this - "Yeah, we'll just toss a couple bricks up there and presto chango - castle in the sky!" It's madness.

To access it, you can either take a horse-drawn carriage or hike up a steep hill in the snow. We hiked of course. There were people sledding down the trail at breakneck speed, dodging tourists and staying away from the business side of a couple of cliffs. Germans are great. Once you get to the top, there is this bridge that is pretty amazing in its own right and it provides the main view of the Castle. Take a look (click to make the pictures bigger and to read captions):

 

Cool. Next on the horizon was Salzburg, Austria. By this point, I am getting a bit tired of the weather. It has turned from beautiful, soft, white snow into dirty, slushy, salty snow. Did I mention that I am woefully underdressed for the weather? Salzburg is a beautiful little town though and like all of the stops on this trip, I would love to return to see what it's like in the summer. Don't have too many photos of it, but here are some:

I did have one of the strangest experiences of my life here though.

There was an odd woman looking longingly into the window of this very swanky cafe Mozart used to go to. I thought it was an interesting scene, so I took a picture. Then I noticed she was basically sobbing and kinda pawing at the window. Okay, that's weird. She kept doing that for five minutes while I waited for my wife. Then I saw her walk across the square and it looked like she was washing her face in an icy snow drift. Normal.

Then we walked for 5 mins because it's our last night here and I want to check out this church. Get to the church, walk around (nice frescos!) - no one else is there. I hear the door open and some strange, guttural voice gibbering. Turn around and it's this same crazy lady. So we try to very casually walk out of the church, but she kind of blocks the way. I walk towards her as if this isn't strange at all and sorta shuffle by and she crosses her arms and puffs out her chest at me, somewhat mockingly. I turn my back and she either spat at me or the ground behind me. I'm not sure if that was called for, but okay.

So now she's behind me and between my wife and I. I go to the door to walk out and my wife is kinda freaked and doesn't want to walk past this psycho lady. Her face is a bit bloody (probably from the facewash) and her hair is all plastered to her head and face. She is staring down my wife and kinda danced a weird jig for a second (seriously). I ask if she speaks English and she stares at me with bulging eyes a slowly shakes her head. I start to feel uncomfortable at this point.

My wife gets around her while she is preoccupied with me and heads for the door while I kinda stay between them. I inch out the first of two doorways, which was glass, and hold the door shut while watching her the whole time. She is now sticking her tongue out at me and baring her teeth like a dog licking its chops or the kid in the exorcist. Behind me, my wife can't figure out how to open the main set of wooden doors so we can get out. She is fumbling with the door like the girl in the horror movies who keeps dropping the keys to her car.

Eventually she gets the doors open and I back out and this lady spits at me again and her crazy eyes are giving me the howling fantods. I get out on the street and my wife has ran halfway down the block hah!

So this lady was obviously on drugs (or off them) or unstable mentally or maybe both. It was a very odd experience. Being a photographer, I do have a picture of her, but it doesn't really feel right to post it. Whatever her deal was, I hope she has found help.

Other than that weirdness, I did enjoy our little jaunt to Germany and Austria. Back to Paris!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email. Any photos that you see here are available for purchase in the Levi Groeneveld webstore or by request. 

All images © Levi Groeneveld - Travel and Fine Art Photographer

 

On the Road: Munich

Snow! And I mean snow snow. Not Vancouver snow, but the real stuff. I was born and raised in Alberta, so I know snow when I see it and I am pretty sure this is it. Here is a timelapse of the train ride from Paris to Munich taken from my instagram.

Munich is awesome. I love the food and the people are very nice. We met some people at the Höfbrauhaus and they taught me that three litres of beer is too many litres and that we do pretzels way wrong in Canada.

We heard the New Years Eve fireworks were something else here and we found out where best vantage point was. When we got to this tall hill, we realized that it was less of a city organized fireworks show and more of a BYOFW (bring your own fireworks) kind of thing. Everyone was lighting fireworks everywhere. It was chaos. The sound was so loud, you could feel it in your chest. There was no way to tell where the next explosion was going to come from. It went on for a long time, it was wild and amazing. Something that would never happen in Canada because we would be worried someone would lose an eye or something. 

The snow adds an interesting dimension to the city, but I would definitely like to return in the summer. Take a look at some photos that I took. Click them to make them bigger and to read some captions.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments, or send me an email. Any photos that you see here are available for purchase in the Levi Groeneveld webstore or by request. 

All images © Levi Groeneveld - Travel and Fine Art Photographer