After an all-too brief nap on Friday, we met up with Sylvain, who took us to see our new apartments. He prepped us by explaining that they were “very small,” and they lived up to his billing. Unfortunately, it appears that I left my camera at my old roommates’ house in San Francisco, making it […]
After an all-too brief nap on Friday, we met up with Sylvain, who took us to see our new apartments. He prepped us by explaining that they were “very small,” and they lived up to his billing. Unfortunately, it appears that I left my camera at my old roommates’ house in San Francisco, making it difficult for me to post a picture, because while I’ll do my best to describe them, seeing is believing.
If you imagine my old Savigny apartment, and then divide it roughly in half, that would pretty much give you the size of this current place. Using my old trick of measuring with baseball bats, I used my new Barnstable Bats’ 271B (a present from Chuckles during my time in SF last week) and laid it out side to side. Including the personal bathroom, shower, and closet, the entire place measures 7’ x 13′, or approximately 91 square feet.
Just for comparison’s sake, I did a little web research. While back in San Francisco, my good friend from my investment banker weasel days TB (Or Beetle Bailey, as I like to call him) lent me his car. No mere point-A-to-point-B sedan is this, however. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, TB went out and found himself a 1975 Cadillac El Dorado Convertible, a car so massive and so eye-catching that in my few fortunate times driving it I’ve been solicited for its sale, honked at, and nodded at more times than I can count. We once sat six people in it coming back from a Big Brothers Big Sisters’ fundraising event, five of them big, athletic guys, and no one’s leg even brushed up against their neighbor’s. This cherry red behemoth measures in at 18.7’ x 6.7’, making it approximately 35% larger than my current apartment, more if you count the fins.*
Needless to say, I couldn’t be happier. Aldo has been a great host, but it’s not fair to keep imposing ourselves on him and I’m very happy to get off his floor. It’s 10 minutes by bus to either the baseball field or downtown Rouen, and it’s quiet and clean. Matt’s got his own upstairs.
Naturally, that couldn’t be the end of it, as we have these for only 15 days. We’re looking at a T2 (a 1BR with a living room, like the apartment in Neufchâtel) in Rouen for the end of the month, at which point we’ll both move in and I’ll take off for a few weeks of travel. The apartment saga continues. After next weekend’s games against Montpelier, we don’t play for four weeks, and I’ll be doing my best to stay in shape while seeing a little bit of the mother country (Ireland), Scotland, Spain, and Belgium.
There’s a single bed, a small desk, and a minifridge as well, and students are to use the communal kitchen down the hall. This kitchen proved something of a disappointment, as it features just two hot plates and a microwave, but the short-term nature of the accommodations makes it more than tolerable.
*Interestingly, later in the weekend I borrowed my good friend Hilly Rubes’ car, a hunter green Mazda Miata. Having driven only Le Woodmobile for a period of three months, it is hard to imagine two possibly more different automobiles than the Miata and the El Dorado caddy, from suspension, steering, bells and whistles, gas mileage, and horsepower perspectives.