Apartment Review: http://www.parisperfect.com

  The 7th arrondissement has become my Parisian neighborhood. Ten years ago the business demands on my time were minimized, allowing long, biannual trips to France. We alternate our time between Paris and the provinces, as they are so different and each area has its own charm. The months of April and October have become our favorites, although we have found no really bad time. May is beautiful but rife with strikes, manifestations, and a plethora of holidays with their incumbent extensions, as the French are unsurpassed in “faisant le pont,” which leads to havoc in trying to plan transportation, visits to exhibitions, museums, restaurants, ad nauseum. Our first several trips were randomly scattered throughout the 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th and 13th arrondissements, all of which we drank deeply from and still take the occasional sip from with each visit, but the 7th became more and more our drink of choice. We prefer the area of the 7th from the Invalides to the Champ de Mars because of the green open spaces provided by the wide, tree-lined boulevards such as Blvd. de Breteuil, Ave. de la Bourdonnais, Bosquet, and the beautiful Esplanade, and of course the Champ de Mars. This provides a feeling of sedate calm that’s comforting to come back to each night after sampling the crowded near-frenzy of the Latin Quarter with all of its delights, or the mobs around the Place du Tertre and Sacré-Coeur with its incomparable view, or the traffic and congestion around the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées. This is not to say that there are none of the requisite “bums” strategically stationed by the ATM machines, but my beggar-meter registers a far lower reading than in most neighborhoods. Don’t mistake this part of the 7th for the area east of Invalides that’s full of imposing former palaces that are now embassies, and other government buildings… rather cold and impersonal. We started our visits by staying in hotels: Lutetia, Colbert, Brighton, Ritz, Splendide, Bourdonnais, and lastly the Muguet, which was such a great value compared to the others that we became regulars there and were spoiled and taken under the wing of Catherine Pelletier, who is the second-generation owner. About four years ago we decided to try renting an apartment, since ourParis stays were for at least two weeks. At first we tried a beautiful-but-sadly-neglected apartment on Ave. Segur, which was managed by a company for an obviously miserly owner. The next trip we rented a romantic loft on rue Champ de Mars with a drop-dead view of the Eiffel Tower… from the bed, no less. The owners were very pleasant and accommodating, and we would still be there except it is a loft and the bathroom is downstairs. This was of little consequence to my wife, but if you are prostatically challenged, those nocturnal stair negotiations interfere with a good night’s sleep. Our next foray into apartment rental was a large, well-equipped spot at the foot of the rue Mouffetard-St-Medard area. The owners could not be any nicer–an American physician with two places to rent. The area was interesting, with all necessities close by and métro and bus lines right in front, but we found ourselves missing the ambience we have come to love in “our” area of the 7th arrondissement. At this point we discovered www.parisperfect.com, and the rest is history. Let me try to describe the owner: Madelyn is an absolute dynamo– charming, friendly to a fault; a “room brightener.” She has travelled extensivel, living at times in Italy, California, France and presently London. She graduated from Stanford, spent many years as a banker, but now seems to have found her calling—buying choicely located, out-dated apartments and by directing their renovation turning them into dazzlers. She constantly has a zillion projects going on in her fertile mind, and this is where it is appropriate to introduce Philippe, her husband of 18 years. Philippe trained some 16-odd years to become a cardiovascular surgeon in Paris, but had the vision to change professions when the government changed the rules on compensation just as he finished his training. He appears to be the organizer, negotiator, and strong, stable hand that complements Madelyn’s inventiveness and cheerful, unflagging optimism. Philippe lived many years in this particular part of the 7th—the St. Dominique-Rapp-Bourdonnais neighborhood—and knows most of the local merchants and their history, which gives him the upper hand in knowing when a desirable apartment might become available. The couple truly want to please their guests. Madelyn had proudly installed a marvelous (read: expensive) Miele washing machine before our first visit, and I mentioned that a dryer would be nice for four-to-six week renters, even though the apt is small (just over 550 sq. ft). When we returned, voilà, a dryer had been squeezed in. I mentioned that the TV was a tad small to read the scrolling stock quotes from across the room; that SAME afternoon when we returned after one of our Paris forays a much larger TV was in place—satellite, of course. For this price, I expect quality bath towels, ironed bed linens, Delleherin-equipped kitchen, but what can’t be anticipated is the personal involvement of the owners in going out of their way to maximize your enjoyment. If Madelyn or Philippe isn’t there, their friendly manager lives close by and helps coordinate everything. At last count they have built their holdings up to about 12 luxury apartments of varying size, all in the same neighborhood. The cost was more than we had ever paid in the past, but now we are hooked. We have stayed in the same apartment the last three trips and have booked it for the next few visits. The apartment has seven full-length French doors and a wrap-around-the-corner balcony, furnished with two café tables that are ideal for enjoying a petite déjeuner or a particular libation in the evening. There is a view of the Eiffel Towe, from all seven windows, that is mesmerizing when it starts sparkling every hour after sundown from our fifth-floor location. (The building has an elevator.) The beauty of staying in the same area is getting to know the locals. The dry-cleaner across the street knows us by name; the butcher shop lady knows that we love her cucumber/cream salad and will fix it even out of season when we are there. Antoine, the wine shop guy downstairs, invites us to…