get up early. we had to find an apartment, and we were determined to do it by the end of the day. this meant approaching various immoblier, or real-estate, agencies and requesting afternoon appointments to look at apartments, in our still-poor french. it would start by me introducting myself as an assistant de langue anglais and then seth as mon fiancé. and then saying that we would like to find a deux ou trois pièce entre 500€et 700€. the first three agencies were very nice and patient with our slow french. in the fourth agency there was just this hella cranky perma-sneer woman who wanted to see our paperwork before we could even sit down, and then after four minutes of silent scrutiny said she could only offer us tiny furnished studios because in france, she informed us, you have a contract for three years and they will not rent to you for less. we were nervous about this, of course. so i called corrine who assured me that it wasn't true.
our afternoon appointments. the first guy shows us two places in such a hurry i could barely make out any detail. we didn't love either. the next guy, the only agent to wearing a suit, in hot weather no less, shows us two gorgeous places. the first one has so much light and those enormous french windows. it's overlooking a quiet street and the back faces a courtyard. the next place is a lovely little chalet style place with the ceilings crossed with logs. and it's in an amazing and lush courtyard. but it's also little, and seth would hit his head on a log going down the stairs, and again when walking into the kitchen, and again when waking up.
we cancel our 5 o'clock apt and decide on the first one that he showed us, the windowed one. After all, it is nearly the end of the day and we had our goal. I call corrine to ask her a question about the rental contract and she says she's going to come to the appointment with us. so we meet at 5, er... 17:00, seth and me, the realtor, an english speaking manager, and corrine. first corrine and the realtor get in a fight about the contract. not sure about what part, but it's fast and french and finishes with a souffle of air. then we find out that we can't get the place without a french bank account, and we can't get a french bank account because we don't have a place. one of many catch 22s that happen here everyday in french paperwork land, ladies and gentlemen.
