Paris, the Apartment on Boulevard de Grenelle and Bella

By American standards the flat is the size of a postage stamp and furnished in a minimalist manner with a hot plate, a loveseat, a bed, and a table. I am living out of my suitcase on the floor because there is no closet space or any place else to put it. I can’t turn around in the shower and when seated on the toilet with the door closed, my knees touch the door. The absurdity is hilarious.

I have a leak by the shower that is seeping water from who knows where, all over the floor. This concerns me given my recent water leak at the condo, so I am mopping it up every few hours like a mad woman and have sent an email asking what to do. Of course I have to go down the street to do that, as there is no Internet access in the apartment. Needless to say I have not had a shower today for fear of flooding the downstairs flat.  Trust me, I am not complaining.

The area is lovely except for the trash on the streets.  Such a wonderful city but people just throw things on the ground and the trash bins are on every corner, sometimes two. And it is true, Parisians do not usually pick up after their dogs so there is poop on the streets. This behavior does provide the state with jobs for those that walk around picking it up all day.

It’s a dog paradise for scrounging. Bella lunges on the leash every time she smells food and is in constant pursuit of a scrap. Because she is always rewarded with the “find” it’s a habit not easily broken. She grabs whatever it is - bag and all - and swallows it before I can get it out of her mouth. Today she found a half eaten chocolate bar that I did manage to pry from her teeth before she devoured it. Discarded French chocolate, half-eaten - how is that possible?

Obviously Bella is walking me for the most part. She lunged at a cat today and almost jerked me off my feet. We tried the river route to St. Germaine’s but at the halfway point I decided I didn’t want to be jerked around anymore so we came home and took a nap. We have bonded however. I am allowing her off leash at the Champs de Mars but remain on constant alert to avoid her eating binges. Diarrhea in the flat would be a disaster!

To be in Paris for a time under any circumstance is indeed a gift and I am still amazed at this opportunity. I quite like Bella but feel sorry for any city dog that sits in an apartment in anticipation of a walk twice a day. Of course I am projecting what I think makes them happy, however I do know that dogs are extremely adaptable. Give them food, water, love and a routine they can count on and they are content to be no matter their surroundings. My dogs obviously have the option of going out to vast wilderness whenever they want and this is the life they know. I miss having them around me, but city life is not for them.

Cities are interesting, lonely places and easy for people to disappear in. I remember feeling this way while living in Manhattan’s Spanish Harlem for eight weeks in 2001. There is a feeling of autonomy combined with a vast emptiness in the massive sea of humanity. On the long-term I much prefer my quiet space in Homer to the glitz and glamour of city life, and traveling makes me appreciate it all the more. On the short-term give me Paris any day.

It is autumn and the looming Tour Eiffel is especially beautiful at night when the lights are blinking. I am grateful for the opportunity to spend time in Paris even in a manner I’m not accustomed to. Flexibility and tolerance remain the keys to experience.

And, DOGS? Well, they are my gurus. They possess the wonderful gift of connecting us no matter where we are.