Parler Paris Nouvellettre®, Paris Newsletter

Rue des Rosiers, 4th Arrondissement
Pedesrians Taking Advantage of the One Part Newly Renovated
Sunday, June 4, 2006

"Travaux" Twice the Time, Twice the Price

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"Le Provençal" Studio on Rue Charlot

Le Cour Damoye, Photo by Jan Hanson

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Last week, I stepped off the plane from New Orleans and went directly from the airport to the Notaire's office to sign the "Acte de Vente" (closing sale documents) on my new little studio apartment on rue Charlot that I have purchased for investment. It was projected to take 2.5 months to complete the legal process, but it took four months instead.

This morning, the contractor started the "travaux" to renovate the space -- a whopping 16.5 square meters which will require as much effort and expense as a space twice as large, considering all that I plan to do to transform it into a "petit bijou" (little jewel): expose the 18th-century stone wall and ceiling beams, install hand mosaic tile in an all new bath and kitchen, plus equip it with all the latest and best furnishings and appliances. The projected date of completion is the end of July, but knowing that every renovation project takes twice as long and is twice as expensive as expected, I'm keeping an eye on the end of August as a successful completion date.

Last night, on route to Patricia Laplante Collins' Paris Soirées, I passed rue des Rosiers only to discover an amazing transformation of the west end of the street. After eight public meetings and nine months of examination and deliberation, the project to renovate the "quartier Rosiers" was validated and begun. Over the next few months, the narrow, congested street where the cars constantly battled with the pedestrians, will undergo the work to become pedestrian, planted and lit for a more convivial ambiance. By September of this year, the "travaux" is expected to be complete.

For the moment, some parts are paved completely and delightfully open to accommodate the massive amounts of pedestrian traffic, while other parts are simple dirt and make-shift stepping stones into the boutiques and restaurants. Let's hope the works will be complete more or less on time, and although, the general rule of double the time, double the cost applies to home renovation, I have noted the city seems to maintain their schedules better than general contractors.

Jan Hanson was the guest speaker at Paris Soirées showing off her beautiful photos of Paris. She's a San Francisco attorney with a passion for photography who first attended a Living and Investing in France Conference then purchased a two-room apartment we helped her find on the Cour Damoye. This cobblestoned pedestrian courtyard is an oasis just off Place de la Bastille and at the time of purchase, the apartment didn't seem like it needed much work.

She ignored that fact and hired an architect/decorator, then proceeded to change absolutely everything about the apartment, shipping most of the furnishings from the States and overseeing every tiny detail. She concurred -- it took twice as long and twice the cost to do it right, (not to mention twice the expected anxiety and aggravation), but now she's pleased, in fact, delighted, and it's ready for rental to "discriminating travelers." ( For more information, email Jan at [email protected] )

Jan's evocative photos of Paris can be viewed (and purchased) by visiting the restaurant "Les Fous de l'Ile" at 33, rue des Deux Ponts on the Ile Saint-Louis. The restaurant is quite good, totally charming and the photos are magnificent. See them now before they come down on June 24th. (http://janhansonphoto.com/)

Over the past several years, I've seen and heard more stories than I can count to support the general rule of "'Travaux' Twice the Time, Twice the Price" -- but in every case, the owners were content. Like getting pregnant and giving birth (mothers, I know you can relate...), the child is worth the wait, the indigestion and the pain of delivery!

P.S. Summer in Paris brings more things to do than we have time for...so be sure to read Wednesday's Community Calendar and make your plans. Mark your agenda for next Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at La Pierre du Marais for the monthly Après Midi gathering and don't forget, Parler Parlor is open all Summer long!

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French Property Insider Consultation...your complete solution to finding, buying, renovating or renting your new dream home or apartment in France. /frenchproperty/consultation

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This Week in
French Property Insider
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Reporting on the Living and Investing in France Round Table New Orleans, May 27, 2006
By Adrian Leeds
Photos by Erica Simone

We expected just a few New Orleanians to join us for an afternoon of conversation about Living and Investing in France...so we called it "The Round Table"-- but it turned into two long tables with about 30 participants!...FPI Subscribers Read On...

Learn how to buy property in France. French Property Insider is an e-mail newsletter from the editors of Parler Paris. Learn all the insights, recommendations, and discoveries about buying and investing in real estate in Paris and France that French Property Insider readers get every week.

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Excerpt from
Insider Paris Guides
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* Writers Insider Guide to Paris...

In reference to the Left Bank at the end of the last century, Edmund White writes in The Flâneur, "No, there's no denying that Saint-Germain is no longer Intelligence Central for the whole world as it once claimed to be... It's sort of as though a beatnik brat has grown up to be an elegant and rather brainless matron." As his quick words claim, the Paris of now barely resembles the Paris of then. You won't find a 15-dollar-a-month hotel these days, nor even a one-dollar cup of coffee. And although Saint-Germain has just put out a new bi-lingual magazine called Six about the arty goings-on in the neighborhood, Sartre is dead, no resistant movement is whispering among the tea cups, and Hemingway's Left Bank cafés have become tourist traps....

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* Speak French? Speak it better! Improve your language skills with Champs-Elysées audio magazines for intermediate-to-advanced speakers of French. Each monthly issue of this fascinating cultural language program comes with a 1-hour CD/cassette, full transcript, notes and glossary in English. Available worldwide with full money back guarantee.
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Coming Soon...
Parler Paris Apartments
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Parler Paris Apartments rental representation at ParlerParisApartments.com. If you have a property ín Paris you'd like to keep booked and represented properly, please email Adrian Leeds at [email protected] for more information.

For all short term rental apartments in Paris, take a look at /parlerparis/apartments or
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Come for a drink and to meet and chat with other readers in Paris:
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The next gathering is June 13, 2006

Practice speaking French and English. Make friends, discuss interesting topics, learn about other cultures, progress in understanding and speaking, naturally and easily. Meets three times a week -- come as often as you like. http://www.parlerparlor.com/

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