Ah......Paris

Arriving in Paris was spectacular. I was so looking forward to my little charming apartment in the Marais, sipping coffee with other Parisians and eating to my hearts content. Once we got shuttled to the apartment, next to the Murano hotel we entered a little court yard with all sorts of apartments and studios mingling together. I kept day dreaming of the photos I saw online - cute, quaint little studio with a history of writers and artists staying there. We hauled all of our luggage (much heavier than we left due to shopping....ugh!)up 3 flights of circular narrow stairs to arrive at the big black door. The keys were held in a lock box with a secret code that the owners sent to me on line  few days before I departed San Francisco. The door flew open and my heart sank. 

What?

Is this the place?

This doesn't look like the photos on the website. Surely it must be bigger?

No, it's a mirror. Where is the couch with the spare fold out bed? 

Oh, that little tiny folded cushion on the floor? Is that it?

And what is that smell..........

Ok, so super long story short - the place was a complete dump, the owner photoshopped a cute place together and I got duped. 

There was so much black mold in the bathroom, the stinch permeated the entire studio - all 230sqft of it. The mattress was saggy in the middle and ...and....and

So, here I go to get ahold of the caretakers (the owners live in NYC) and come to find out - the one guy is stuck in Austria with no travel documents, so he can't help us. 

We try to make the best of it because

A - I paid a lot of money for it (UGH)

B - it was in the exact district we wanted to be in

C - we were tired, and it was too late to find another option

We went to the Monoprix (like Target) to get cleaning supplies and other things. 

We did a quick cleaning to see if the smell would go away (it didn't) and tried to take showers and get some sleep. 

The shower head fell off the wall (totally not kidding), the water pressure was week (like most Paris places are - but this was like spittle) and I felt like I had to shower after the shower. 

The bed felt damp and it just stunk!

When we couldn't sleep at all, we got online and found a hotel. 

It is not cheap either - but hey the other place was not acceptable at all. 

We have a perfect hotel room on Ile St. Louis, the heart of Paris. Lots of bistros, boutiques and best of all it's clean, warm and has a great staff. 

The meals are a whole other story and should be posted in the next day or so.