He found the cheapest accomodations possible...I doubt that in all of Paris, anyone can rent a room for less than 270 Euro a month! And  mind you, this was in the 16th arrondisement - one of the fanciest neighborhoods in Paris, populated at one time by Napoleonic aristocracy, titled nobility - and more recently Maria Callas, the opera singer... He tells me this is the most expensive corner in Paris, the Beverly Hills, if you will...mere blocks from the Champs Elysées, a glorious walk along Avenue Victor Hugo, and minutes away from the Eiffel Tower, via the Trocadero... very central, very chic....

And then again, one must take into consideration that said room was a mere 5 by 6! Yes, you read that right, the size of your average American closet... Picture a twin bed, on a platform, perched above the 'clothes closet' and a mini fridge...directly across, a mini sink, a small counter and a cabinet...the toilet was shared with 30 other tenants, and showers were to be taken before 9 p.m. at the landlady's apartment 3 floors below - did I mention already that the room was on the 7th floor? and not accesible via elevator either...!  Nevertheless, it did have that je ne sais quoi feel about it.... you could, on your tiptoes, get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from the tiny window above the sink..and what a view it was - a million tiny lights twinkling every hour on the hour for ten straight minutes... beautiful! Yes, this was Paris alright... and home  for the next 11 months, give or take...

I saw the building, via google earth, and the surrounding area...I vicariously walked the streets, saw the sights, and explored the possibilities..How far to the Louvre...? Have you been yet...?How is the metro...? And your classes...? When do you start? Have you made any friends yet? Is it possible to get wi-fi in your building...? 

Classes at the Sorbonne began in September, he had class every day and went to work, baby- sitting for a French family in Nogent-sur-Seine. It was an hour's ride away from Paris, first by metro and then by RER - the metro serves Paris Central, and for the outlying areas, one utilizes the RER, sort of like the AMTRAK or BART here... The job itself was familiar, having watched his siblings as well as family friends over the years, the commute was not. He spent precious hours on the trains, hours that he would have much rather spent exploring and discovering even more fascinating aspects of the City itself...but that would come....