Author Archives: Bill Karpen

Before I moved to this neighborhood, I knew exactly two things about Montparnasse: (1) that it has what some consider to be the ugliest building in Paris, the Montparnasse Tower, which caused nearly as much of an uproar when it … Continue reading →

Happy new year, everyone! Hope you’re having a wonderful start to the year! Today was the beginning of a cold snap here in Paris — the high was 32 degrees. It’s been trying to snow through the day, and this … Continue reading →

It was about a month ago that the lights started going up, undeterred by a holiday in the latter part of November to get in the way of the Christmas festivities. First it was the grand department stores. Dani and … Continue reading →

In the US, a concierge is typically a friendly person at an upscale hotel who will help you get dinner reservations, theater tickets, whatever it is. The French concept of a concierge is a bit different. In France, the concierge … Continue reading →

So two weeks ago, on November 1, I got the keys to my new apartment. So exciting! There were a bunch of keys, but my favorite is this one… Fortunately it’s for my cave (my storage unit down in the … Continue reading →

The last week or so has been really good — and fairly different from when I’ve visited on vacation. For one thing, since I signed the lease for my apartment, I’ve spent a fair amount of time shopping for stuff … Continue reading →

A few years ago, my friend Przem mentioned that art is such a topic of conversation in Paris that he would talk about the latest art exhibitions with his concierge. So on Friday, after signing the lease for my new … Continue reading →

In an hour I’ll head over to the Pernety neighborhood in the 14th arrondissement to sign the lease on my new apartment. I’m super excited! The apartment hunt had been going much better in the past week. I was able … Continue reading →

Last week I was freaking out just a little bit about the apartment hunt. I was getting very few responses, and when I did, it was invariably no. This week has been going a bit better. I’m getting responses, and … Continue reading →