Mark Piggott, author of Fire Horses, and Out of Office (out March 2010) has written a great article for the Times about house-swapping in Paris. Below is a taster:
Our Paris homeswap adventure begins ominously: Emma, our 5-year-old daughter, vanishes between the Metro platform and the train, and we haul her to safety. On entering the apartment, a lightbulb pops, and we’re plunged into darkness.
Finally, we’re about to take a stroll when our key snaps in the lock. We are locked out of a stranger’s apartment with no money and it looks like rain. Emma begins hopping about urgently: “I need a poo . . .”
After a swift search, we stumble across a town hall. Entering, I smile sheepishly at the receptionist: her eyes widen. Suddenly unable to recall even a basic civil greeting, the first French word I learnt at school springs to mind. Smiling cheesily, I point at my daughter. “Erm ... merde?”
The receptionist’s eyes widen further, but she appears to get the message. We manage to locate the caretaker, a fearsome woman in her forties, who, after asking some no doubt pertinent questions, gives us a key.
It feels odd, being in a stranger’s home like burglars, their photos and personal effects all over the place; we will never meet, our trains passed each other beneath the Channel. Home-swapping is increasingly popular not only because it saves on hotel costs, but also because by staying in someone’s apartment — a rather small apartment — we’re experiencing the “real” Paris, away from the tourist traps, buying groceries in local shops and doing our best to integrate.
First thing next morning, there is a knock at the door: it’s the caretaker. Wine bottles, we deduce from her animated gestures, are not to be thrown down the rubbish chute: the sound of bottles breaking echoed round the block late into the night. My wife is escorted to the recycling bins.
To read the article in full click here!
Apologies for this, we have removed the image from our website.
Best wishes
Legend Press
Posted by: Legend Press | 01 March 2011 at 02:10 PM
My picture of the Eiffel tower used here. Please credit where credit is due - I notice you use a lot of 'webimages' on this blog, but never give credits or linkback. IMHO, not such a good practise for anyone, least of all a publisher. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mvejerslev/452597976/
Posted by: Mathias Vejerslev | 01 March 2011 at 09:39 AM