Our humble abode & Thanksgiving

Since August 1st James and I have been living in a shared apartment with three other roommates in the centre of Lyon. It was a humongous step up from our previous shared apartment - possibly the dirtiest apartment I've ever lived in (and that's after living with cockroaches in Australia) - and we were thrilled to be hooked up with the room through friends. Initially we were subletting a room for just August and September from our roommate Paul but then our roommate Laura had to move for the school year since she's a first year teacher, so now we're subletting from her until the end of my visa. We love this place, and since I've had a few requests to see what our home looks like, here's a little peek!

We're on the third floor (which in France is the 2ième because the first or main floor is called rez de chaussée) in an old building that used to be a factory. The entrance to our building is in a court and it has an old stone stairway showing decades of use by sloping in the middle from wear. The ceilings are about 15 feet high and the windows are huge and have shutters on the inside to block out light. Some form of these is essentially standard on pretty much all buildings in France, newer ones have blinds or stores on the outside, and some are even automated. We have all the amenities we could want in the kitchen including a washing machine and a dishwasher, and our living room is equipped with three little couches and some lovely plants making it very cozy. 

We have two bathrooms, one with a tub and one with a shower, as well as two toilets, so even though there are five of us there's never a lineup! Also we're rarely all here at the same time and even when we are the apartment is big enough that it doesn't feel cramped. Our bedroom faces onto the court and you can see the view from our room is just off to the side from the stairwell (those balconies are the landings for the stairs). It's generally quiet since we don't have the street noise, but of course noise in the court can echo quite spectactularly so it has its pros and cons.

Due to the size of our apartment it makes for great hosting, and since it was Thanksgiving last weekend I hosted a lunch with 11 guests including two other Canadians! Everyone brought something and I bought two freshly roasted chickens from the morning market on the river, sold to me by the most typically cliché French vendors who were fast-talking and very charming. With the assistance of some friends I whipped up some pumpkin pies and stuffing to ensure it had the taste of home!

Oh yes, and there was lots of wine. I do live in France after all!