(Lots of) New stuff at the apartment

The posts on this blog have become so few and far between that an apology would seem ridiculous.

Many of you might not know, but as well as looking after our two apartments I do actually have a job which keeps me pretty busy, and as part of it involves being on the web a lot, it's sometimes difficult to find the time and motivation to write here.

Anyway...

Since the last post, many things have changed/evolved. There was a "massage café" nearby that I wanted to write about. Then it closed. There was a sweet/interesting little shop that did sculpted busts much like you see in museums. It closed too. It seems that by the time I get round to writing about the neighbourhood, everything has changed! Shame on me.

At the apartment, there have been some changes and improvements. We bought a new vacuum cleaner. Yay! In line with our eco-policy, it uses 25% less electricity and 80% of it can be recycled. Emptying the dust out of old one was like some fiendish puzzle, but with this one you just pull the collector. Simple. A thing of beauty it is indeed.

However, you probably won't be using it at all; we've changed the cleaning policy at the apartment. Up until now, guests could either choose to clean the place themselves before leaving, or pay extra for cleaning to be done for them. We thought that people would look after the place better if they knew they would be tidying it before departure.

However, despite making valiant efforts (most of the time), extra cleaning was always required afterwards, and in the end we had to hire a cleaning lady to help out (I just don't have the time). We bore the cost of this for quite a while, but experience has shown us that all our guests take very great care of the place, and many would prefer not to have the hassle of cleaning up before they go, so now the cleaning fee (currently 50 euros) is obligatory for all new bookings.

(I have to say, we were also slightly concerned about the number of people who used our soft, colourful bamboo towels to clean the bathroom. With bleach. This gave them a really nasty tie-dye look that obliged us to replace them each time.)

Also, we were recently away on holiday in an apartment, and the cleaning fee was more than a night's rental, so we think the charge is pretty reasonable! It just about covers the costs of cleaning, and we don't make a profit on it.

In other news, we've replaced the cable TV box for the latest version available (took 6 months to arrive, then didn't work!). The main difference is a swank new menu when you switch it on, funky new rubber remote, web browser access for those who haven't got a laptop with them, and - the main attraction - Blu-ray playback.

Now, at last, we have HD video in the apartment. Hurrah!

Also, as part of the renovation of the building's stairwell, the electricity supply has been updated and the water supply has been changed too. This meant that the cleaning lady couldn't vacuum one day and had to clean in the dark (no electricity), and another she had to clean the place without any water (using her own bottled water no less). It also meant a fantastic amount of dust. Hopefully no other major changes will be necessary.

We've also replaced the rug in the living room (it was starting to look a bit dull), changed the continental quilt for a fluffier, warmer one, and changed all the pillows (they had gone a little flat). The pillows and quilt both use fibres produced with reduced CO₂ emissions and have no feathers in them.

Oh, and in the kitchen, we've added a toaster (about a year after one guest suggested we do so). Sorry we didn't get round to that a little quicker...

Next addition should be the funky new Dyson heater. We already have their cool air fan, but the new edition both heats and cools, meaning we could swap two machines for one. I think the design of it will go well with the apartment - it just screams 21st century phallic, don't you think?

Despite being horrifically expensive, it'll be blowing hot and cold your way sometime soon.

Time for a supermarket update

(Pssst! If you don't want to read through all this,

just click here for a map of the nearest supermarkets,

then click on any symbol to get the opening hours)

Time for a supermarket update? Time for an update full stop, I would say.

The blog's been very quiet for the last three months, partly because Spring is our busiest time and partly - to be frank - because were weren't feeling very inspired. But enough about about us. We'll be fine. A few recent guests at the Great Apartment have asked me where the nearest supermarket is. I did an article about them all a couple of years back, but a lot has changed since then. For some reason a whole host of new supermarkets have sprung up recently.

Can people really be buying more food than they used to? I doubt it. However, one company, Casino, has been trying to take control by opening up stores wherever possible. They own four different supermarket chains, have a 60% share of the market, and out of the eight supermarkets near us, five belong to them.

One other belongs to the Carrefour group, who has a 20% share in Paris. That means that 75% of our local supermarkets belong to just two companies, which is probably why prices are so high.

The other recent evolution is in opening hours. It is now possible to shop from 7am until midnight at the various supermarkets in the area. I pity the poor people who have to work there, but if you need something late (or early) you'll always find somewhere open.

The worst place to work would be Carrefour City (formerly Shopi) at Arts et Métiers, open from 7am until 11pm every day except Sunday (9am - 1pm). I've never bought anything there, but it looks pretty modern. I though it was hilarious that the manager has won a "people's choice" award, hanging at the entrance, because one of the employees told me that it's awarded by Carrefour themselves. Talk about giving yourself a slap on the back.

If you want a Franprix supermarket, there are three to choose from, one of which only opened a few months ago (in place of an old bonneterie). Two of them are within 80 metres of each other, which is just ridiculous. They're not particularly hip, but they do have a decent range. For basic shopping, they'd probably be my choice.

While taking the photo of the one above, the manager came out and aggressively told me I didn't have the right to take photos of his shop, and asked me what it was for. You get this argument from time to time in Paris, as if you were a terrorist or some sort of industrial spy, and it really annoys me, especially when the person immediately starts shouting at you. So I told him that from the pavement I can take photos of whatever I like, and that it was none of his business why I was taking photos. Idiot.

Looking for somewhere slightly more select? The Monop' (mini Monoprix) opposite the Pompidou Centre has products you won't find in the other supermarkets, but the prices will be slightly higher. They're open until midnight, which can come in handy.

There's a much bigger branch of Monoprix at Réamur Sébastopol, spread over two floors, but it can get very, very busy at the checkout on the food floor upstairs. Their prices don't seem to deter people at all! Although nothing particularly special inside, it is housed in an amazing building that we've mentioned before...

You can read the article about the building here. Finally, I can recommend our local organic supermarket Lemo. It's part of a chain of organic stores, has a decent range and the prices aren't excessive. We buy quite a lot of stuff there for the apartment. They have reasonable opening hours (every day except Sunday from 10am - 8pm) and it's really close. Plus, they are super nice, which in this day and age is something to be encouraged :-)

So here's the map of the supermarkets nearest to the Great Apartment (or click here to see it bigger). Shop wisely, OK?

New flowers at the Great Apartment

As usual, the flowers come and the flowers go. Despite some unseasonably warm weather, the narcissi that I bought a couple of weeks back refused to flower, going soft and mouldy. Charming. There goes 3 euros.

The tulips have fared a little better. A delicate pink colour, they won't last long, so enjoy them while you can.

And I decided to splash out on a Hydrangea, in the hope that it really does thrive the shade, as I have heard. I used to think these were real old lady plants, but I've warmed to them recently, perhaps because I'm becoming more of an old man myself!

I love the colour, and they give a good structure to the whole window box, so hopefully they will flower for a while. I wonder if my scraggly geraniums will make an effort sometime soon too?

I do try to make an effort with the flowers at the Great Apartment. Hopefully some people notice :-)

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen was all over Paris last summer, filming his new movie Midnight in Paris, and the press was all over Woody (mostly because the president's wife Carla Bruni has a cameo). The trailer - with copious amounts of accordeon - is just out, and you can see it below (go fullscreen and 720p for the full ooh-là-là).

The poster is a Photoshop disaster that mixes the banks of the Seine with "The Starry Night" by Van Gogh, a painting that depicts the sky as seen from his window in the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence... 700 km from the capital.

It's also common knowledge that much negotiation was needed in order to have the film based here, and that new tax credit laws clinched it (the next Sherlock Holmes movie was largely filmed here for the same reason). Conditions include spending a minimum of one million euros, and - in Woody's case - that the film title contain the word "Paris"!

I also note in passing that the official site is www.midnightinparisfilm.com rather than www.midnightinparismovie.com, because a certain Michael Borodynko snaffled the domain (just three months ago) before Sony Classics thought of reserving it. Lucky he didn't buy both of them, eh?

Anyway, the film/movie will be out in France on 11th May 2011, a week before the 'States even! Check out the trailer below. Très picture postcard, but intriguing. And Paris looks amazing (which of course it is)!