Our Micro Paris Apartment

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

I met the property manager when I moved in, and we (plus my luggage) was such a tight squeeze that I could barely contain my laughter. I committed to a six-month rental without seeing it in person. I didn't even know if there was going to be room to store my 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. My apartment in Vancouver was around 900sqft, which is nearly 7 times the size of this one. My BEDROOM was 200 square feet in Vancouver and now my 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.

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.

I love this petit nid and it will be a sad day when I 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

I 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 my 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 later on CBC.ca that I learned of the horrible thing that happened mere blocks away.

For that whole day, I was 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 the 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. I 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:

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. I met some people at the Höfbrauhaus and they taught me that three liters of beer is one liter too many and that we do pretzels way wrong in Canada.

I heard the New Years Eve fireworks were something else here and I found out where best vantage point was. When I got to this tall hill, I 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