Paris Again: Paris, Day 12

Today was very similar to yesterday, but we had a couple of interesting experiences. You may recall our telling about the parking problems here. Well, usually we expect to see the inspectors about once a week. Today they returned after having been only a few days ago. And they were targeting the car which was so badly parked that it had caused the difficulty we described. They got it! The police were here and ticketed it and in less than a quarter of an hour the truck had arrived. It was gone then within two minutes - we timed it. When there is a notice like this, what don't people understand about "No Parking."

Not too hard to figure out

But it doesn't seem to matter. One often sees cars and motorcycles clustered around the signs. It is almost as if it is a game of "catch me if you can."

Sign? What sign?

Among the worst offenders are motorcyclists who seem to feel that they can ride on the pavement and park wherever they want. Today we were pleasantly surprised to see one of the "pick up" trucks doing the rounds with motorcycles. This is daily life in Paris.

Impounding the motorcycles

If you live in a Paris apartment like the one we are renting, moving in and out presents considerable difficulty. The stairs are narrow and steep and often there are no lifts or, if there is a lift, it may only be big enough for two people to squeeze into. Here, for example, is a picture of the staircase leading up to our flat. And while the building is six storeys high, it has no elevator.

Narrow Staircase at 2 rue Cyrano de Bergerac

The idea of getting a large piece of furniture to a fifth or sixth floor apartment poses, therefore, quite a problem. The solution is to get the good up to the apartment externally. And this is done by removalists with a portable ladder/lift that extends from the ground to the apartment window and which has an automated elevator like device on it. While it seems peculiar to us, it is a perfectly reasonable solution to a problem and one seems them quite frequently.