Meeting Gegor
We've looked at a lot of apartments this week, and I think tomorrow we'll be able to make a decision about where to live! When we do, we'll be sure to post pictures so you can see what you're in for when you come to visit us next year...
... And believe it or not, we were able to connect with Gegor (see last post). This is the man we have a LOT of trouble understanding on the phone. Everything went according to (our) plan. We called him from the town hall (in a very small town) and said (in French) "We are standing in front of the Mairie. Can you meet us here and we can go to the apartment together?" Apparently, that worked, because a few minutes later a man came wandering down the hill and kind of looked at us from behind some cars. We approached, and and introduced ourselves, then followed Gegor up to the apartment, which was in a excellent location next to a ski run in St. Martin de Belleville. As soon as he opened the front door to the building though, I sensed a bit of an odor that prepared me for what we were about to see...
The best way to describe Gegor's place is "solid squalor". Solid, because at least the building appeared to be very tough, built out of stone with no cardboard or plastic windows. But otherwise uninhabitable, as far as Craig and I were concerned. Stacks of laundry and trash on the floor... On the kitchen table, a loaf of crusty bread, and the moldiest hunk of cheese I've ever seen (and remember, this is France, so that's saying something!) In the bedroom, where the walls were covered with some sort of carpeting, two bunks covered with dirty landry and an armoire with some piles of dirt (or bugs) in the shadows, on the windowsill, a dirty ashtray and (I presume) Gegor's false teeth. (No wonder we can't understand him!) We were afraid to ask to see the bathroom, but were curious if there even was one... There was, it had half a toilet seat (Gegor mentioned making some repairs).
When we left, Gegor asked us to please give him three days notice to clean the place. We're pretty sure it will take three months.
On the bright side, we've seen several other apartments that work well for us. Nothing bigger than about 30 square meters (approx 320 square feet) though, so be prepared! And in Val d'Isere, most (affordable) places are more like 18 square meters. It's almost like going back to a dorm room.
-SK
a Val d'Isere
... And believe it or not, we were able to connect with Gegor (see last post). This is the man we have a LOT of trouble understanding on the phone. Everything went according to (our) plan. We called him from the town hall (in a very small town) and said (in French) "We are standing in front of the Mairie. Can you meet us here and we can go to the apartment together?" Apparently, that worked, because a few minutes later a man came wandering down the hill and kind of looked at us from behind some cars. We approached, and and introduced ourselves, then followed Gegor up to the apartment, which was in a excellent location next to a ski run in St. Martin de Belleville. As soon as he opened the front door to the building though, I sensed a bit of an odor that prepared me for what we were about to see...
The best way to describe Gegor's place is "solid squalor". Solid, because at least the building appeared to be very tough, built out of stone with no cardboard or plastic windows. But otherwise uninhabitable, as far as Craig and I were concerned. Stacks of laundry and trash on the floor... On the kitchen table, a loaf of crusty bread, and the moldiest hunk of cheese I've ever seen (and remember, this is France, so that's saying something!) In the bedroom, where the walls were covered with some sort of carpeting, two bunks covered with dirty landry and an armoire with some piles of dirt (or bugs) in the shadows, on the windowsill, a dirty ashtray and (I presume) Gegor's false teeth. (No wonder we can't understand him!) We were afraid to ask to see the bathroom, but were curious if there even was one... There was, it had half a toilet seat (Gegor mentioned making some repairs).
When we left, Gegor asked us to please give him three days notice to clean the place. We're pretty sure it will take three months.
On the bright side, we've seen several other apartments that work well for us. Nothing bigger than about 30 square meters (approx 320 square feet) though, so be prepared! And in Val d'Isere, most (affordable) places are more like 18 square meters. It's almost like going back to a dorm room.
-SK
a Val d'Isere
posted by Steph and Craig at 4:14 AM
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