Il y a quelqu'un à la porte...

Now that I've been living in my apartment for four months, I think it's about time I posted some pictures! Without further ado, voila mon appartement français (Apologies for the harsh lighting! Silly energy-efficient light bulbs)!

This is my street. Booyah!!

All those stairs? There are 135 of them.
There is no elevator, and it's about 20m/60ft to the ground floor.
I make an average of 3 trips up and down these suckers each day.
No need to work out!

Once you reach the top of the stairs and arrive on the 5th floor,
you are greeted by this, The Creepy Hallway.

Continuation of The Creepy Hallway. Three people have separately
told me that it looks like something from the movie "Saw", haha.
Luckily, the door to my apartment is just left in the
well-lit patch there at the end.
Random storage areas are on either side of my place.

What you see when you open the door and look right.
Thanks to everyone who has been sending me
things to put on my mantle!

What you see when you open the door, take a step in, and look left.

The room, as seen from the kitchen.

The 'coin cuisine'!!! This is my favorite part. :)

El bano. 

Le W.C. et la douche (the French word for shower, jeeze!)

The room, from the far corner by the bathroom.

Huzzah! This place has its quirks, but I must say, I'm in love with my little spot and couldn't imagine a better place to live in during my year in France!! It has all the charm of a 19th century, slightly (okay, a bit more than slightly) run-down building, and I love that I live on the top floor, just under the roof. Although it's only 20 meters squared, I have managed to fit a total of seven people in my place for a dinner party!

As far as amenities go, the place stays decently warm, since it's on the top floor, and the small wall heating unit by the bed warms things up nicely when need be. All of the kitchen appliances and faucets work great, the shower is good, no problems with water temperature or pressure or anything. The best part, though, is that the toilet is plugged into the wall because it has a pump to assist with flushing (it needs a little extra help since it's on the top floor). All of the pipes in the apartment are connected, so when you flush the toilet, the toilet, the shower, the sink in the bathroom, and the sink in the kitchen all gurgle REALLY loud and make sucking noises!!! It's pretty freaking hilarious to watch people's reaction the first time they come over to my place and use the bathroom, haha. Classic.

In addition to loving the apartment itself, I absolutely love the location! I am literally right downtown: two minutes by foot from the opera house, a movie theater, and 2-10 minutes walking-distance from dozens and dozens of great restaurants and bars. Bouffay is the area in town to hang out, and it's just minutes away! I'm also right next to trams and buses, as well as a short ride away from the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne, the Jardin des Plantes, and the train station. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect spot. 

I am feeling so grateful to be here and to have the opportunity to have all of these amazing experiences with such fantastic people!!