Paris Apartment from AirBnB

Note to self; next time make sure there is an elevator when not staying on the ground floor!

When we decided to stay over in Paris for a few days on our way home from Scotland, we really didn't want to be in an hotel.  Several reasons; cost per night, cost of breakfasts (which are usually only croissant and coffee for 10 euro), space and laundry.  We had heard of Airbnb, so decided to give it a try.  What a good idea!!

Panorama of the kitchen, livingroom, part of the entry hall and the bathroom doorway.

We stayed in Katia's apartment, while she was in Italy for a holiday.  We had a living/dining room, with the kitchen in the corner, an entry hall, bathroom and a bedroom. The apartment windows opened onto an interior courtyard, so were private. There was a washer/dryer, but we used the drying lines in the bathroom. The place was comfortable, had wifi, and tv, although the only channels in English were news; boring!  The kitchen had all the necessities for cooking, including condiments and coffee.  It came with all the necessary linens and all that was asked of us was to leave it clean, but not a deep cleaning as that would happen after we left, and the garbage emptied.

Our apartment was on a pedestrian street in the 5th arrondissemont, also known as Rive Gauche, the Left Bank.  We were two short blocks from the river and could hear the bells of Notre Dame!  We loved it! The price was much less than staying in a hotel and included doing our laundry, which usually would run about 20 euros.  We chilled our own wine, cooked our own breakfasts (which included scrabbled eggs with our croissants!) and on one occasion, we returned to eat take away from one of the Greek restaurants on our street.

Would we do it again?  ABSOLUTELY!!

Good Bye Scotland! Bon Jour Paris!

The coast of Scotland near Stonehaven.

Flying out of Aberdeen, the sun was shining!  We were able to see the land beneath us, places we had visited during our travels.  We passed right over Newtonhill, though it was under a big fluffy cloud. but Stonehaven was visible; the harbor, the village, even the Castle!  Quite a change from the day we arrived in June.

On the plane out of London.

We flew to London, then changed planes to Paris.  It seems so odd to me that with our AAirmiles, it is less cash to fly home from Paris than London.  Enough of a difference, that we could fly on to Paris, then home and still save money.  Of course, after adding in the cost of our apartment and other necessities (museum passes and metro tickets) it did cost more, but we were in Paris!

The stairs in our apartment building.  We were on the second floor, which is the third floor in the US.

The only hitch in our travel was leaving the train at St Michel station.  We were suppose to be able to take an elevator directly from our 3rd level underground arrival platform to the street.  Unfortunately, the elevator was not working!  A very nice Parisien woman helped us get back to the platform with her pass (we had already used our tickets to exit) and showed us where we needed to go.  We had a deadline to meet host at the apartment, so were rushed and anxious.  BUT, we made it just fine.

Home from Malta

After a wonderful two weeks in Malta with family and friends for the wedding of their son and new daughter in law, Gary and Sarah,  Eleanor and Brian are home.  We usually take a picture ourselves, but this one from the day of the wedding shows such happiness, I just had to steal it from Eleanor's Facebook page.

Since Eleanor and Brian were arriving home late, we again spent the night at The Priory Hotel in Beauly. After a delicious breakfast, I had a wonderful bowl of porridge, we returned to the house to say our goodbyes.

Charlie had returned home with his family last night.  Brian told us how Cameron and Charlie were very excited to see each other.  We could imagine that reunion, after knowing Charlie for two weeks.  He was always happy see us, so Cameron would have made him ecstatic!  Lucy was still here, though.  She barked, turned in circles with her ball in her mouth, and peed all over the steps!  Yep, she was happy!

Staying in Muir of Ord at Eleanor and Brian's house was fun.  The house was comfortable and the dogs were good.  Allowing us to use their car to drive the dogs to various walks was a big plus.  We were surprised we could be added to the insurance, but apparently, Scotland's rules are different from England.
They were also very generous, with two nights at The Priory and an assortment of food in the fridge.  Perfect homeowners for housesitters!  Oh, and we loved the Charlie and Lucy, too!