As always, I am dreaming of Paris. We are planning our dates for our trip next year, the end of May and most of June. I have been working on our itinerary for awhile now and I’m trying to take advantage of every day we are in Europe. Since we are flying into London, we will spend a few days there, then take the train to Paris. We will be taking Liv to Disneyland Paris for her 4th birthday and squeezing in a day trip to Versailles and Amsterdam. I am having the hardest time finding the perfect Parisian apartment to rent. Well actually, I found my dream apartment but it’s not available for the time we’ll need it.

It has a weird layout

I fell in love with this lovely place but it’s only available for a monthly rental and we only need it for 2 weeks. We are going to Italy for a weekend and visiting my dear friend Aura in Finland for 3 days so the apartment would be empty for several days. Unfortunately, it’s over my budget.

Here is my alternative:

 

This is the quintessential Parisian apartment

I know you are thinking, that is a gorgeous apartment, what’s the problem? Well, this apartment costs the same to rent for one week what other apartments cost for 2 weeks. It’s also in a building with a Chinese restaurant located on the first floor. Go ahead and call me picky but I can’t imagine spending muggy June in an rental that smells like chow mein all day. Antz would probably enjoy the scent of food all day.
My dream apartment may still an option if we can get an invite to the Diner en Blanc. We would extend our stay for an extra week since the diner is usually held on the third Thursday in June.

I would love to attend during our trip, it looks so fun!

I may have found a loophole to get invited. By attending the Diner en Blanc in Los Angeles this year, we become members, which makes us eligible to attend a diner anywhere in the world. I registered for LA’s diner but I’m on the 3rd waiting list, so we’ll see in a few months if I get an invite *they only send them out 48 hours before the event*

I’m looking on airbnb but so far no luck. I have a long list of criteria for my Parisian apartment:

Higher floor with a view of the city
Elevator
Flooded with sunlight
7th Arrondissement
Not too noisy an area but plenty of shops in walking distance
Haussmanian building
Parquet or at least hardwood floors
Floor to ceiling french windows
Preferably a balcony or at least a window I can sit by and people watch
Modern kitchen with a dishwasher
Washer/dryer
Shower *you would be surprised how many apartments don’t have them*
Pretty furniture
Queen size bed
2000 or less euros a week

I know, I’m a nightmare, I will be searching forever.

Au Revoir!