Chez Moi

I had to write this soon...because this apartment won't be 'chez moi' for much longer! I leave France in less than 2 weeks, which is so strange to comprehend.

I have to start with the place where I start every work day and every travel day (so pretty much every day): the train station! My apartment is about a 10 minute walk from the station. It's nice to be fairly close because I basically live at this place. 

The Gare de Strasbourg is a fun glass bubble building. I've become so familiar with this place that it seems so stupid that it used to stress me out to come here and find my daily train. You just walk in...read the screen that says your platform number...stamp your ticket...and then get on the train. I am no longer the poor confused American girl who's never taken public transportation. Now I would have zero fears jumping on a train and going anywhere in Europe alone.

So back to my neighborhood...here's the street that I live off of. So this is where I'm walking around every day, going grocery shopping, picking up an occasional pâtisserie; the usual. 

I know I've mentioned this before, but I live on Strasbourg's Grande Ile- the center island- so it's the cute historical part of the city. I even have a view of my lovely cathedral from my street! I'm very happy that I got to live here, because it's great to step outside and immediately get a European vibe.

Now for my actual street. I live on a small side-street off of the one pictured above. I'm on the ground floor, so it's nice that's it's a very quiet street. Cars almost never drive down it, and people walking by never bother me.

Here's the building I stare at outside my window.

And more specifically- these guys haha. They're right at my eye level. I've written a fair amount of these blog entries sitting on my window sill looking at these heads. I'm a bit surprised I've never had some kind of nightmare about them.

I researched and found my apartment online before I got to Strasbourg. I knew I really wouldn't want the stress of apartment hunting when I arrived in a new country. That was definitely a good call, because I've never been more stressed in my life than when I first got here! Thankfully it all worked out and it's a nice place, because we paid for it before I moved in. 

I live in a student residence/dorm building in a studio apartment. So I have my own bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom...all combined into one little space. Honestly, to me it seems pretty big because I've never had this much space to myself before. And it can be even bigger when I fold up my bed and roll up the rug to make a dance studio. My first wooden floor= dance parties with myself.

I took those pictures to send to my mom a while ago...in the interest of full disclosure it's not usually that clean :)

There have been positives and negatives to living alone. It's a million times better than being stuck with psycho roommates (trust me, I have experience in that department- you don't even want to know!!), but it's weird that it's so quiet all the time. I think I prefer having my own bedroom but still living with other people. There are so many times when I have something to say but no one to say it to. Thank goodness for texting and the internet! But honestly, with some of the roommate 'luck' I've had, it's for the best that I didn't risk living with random (foreign) strangers.

All in all, I'm very happy with where I've gotten to live. It's been the perfect base for traveling Europe. I will be sad to pack up and say goodbye. Ug. That reminds me. Packing. (shudder)