Deluxe Digs

We contacted our trusty leasing agent, Anne-Laure, last year and discovered the cheap and cheerful apartment we’d rented in the past was rented for 2010. But she found us something better, bigger and within our budget. All three Bs!

It seems as though 8 boulevard Victor Hugo is considered ‘une residence de bon standing,’ which is French real estate parlance that roughly translates to 'a better address.’ The building even has a name, Le Metropole.

And our mailbox and buzzer have a name: Mine! Wow. I’ve arrived!

The apartment came with an unexpected bonus: the owner. Madame Manteau was at the apartment with Anne-Laure to greet-and-meet us when we arrived. Madame had gone to great lengths to ensure that everything was in order for our stay. We’ve rented furnished apartments a number of times, but none have been as well-stocked (or as fancy) as this one.

Christine took us out for a lovely lunch on the rooftop of Splendid Hotel & Spa. Good food, great views, and a dear new friend make for a perfect afternoon.

Anyhow, Madame (or Christine, as she keeps insisting I refer to her) not only made us feel welcome, but she has quickly become a friend. In the following days, she showed us some secret spots in Nice we’d never have discovered on our own. She pointed out the good restaurants in the neighborhood, the nicer avenues to stroll, smart cocktail lounges, fancy hotel swimming pools you can sneak into. She even played tour guide for Vince one afternoon (I stayed home to work), showing him around Beaulieu sur Mer and St. Jean/Cap-Ferrat.

Speaking of work, Christine really saved my bacon. Anne-Laure had arranged a mobile broadband Internet connection for my stay. It’s that little USB stick you plug into your computer to get online. That little stick quickly became a big headache. My Internet connection would flake out, switch networks, work again for awhile, then sometimes not at all.

I poked around online (as best I could) and discovered that, as a technology, mobile broadband isn’t quite ready for primetime. It made me miss the days of dial-up! Christine whisked me to a telecom provider, presented some paperwork, and signed me up for a landline with DSL and a Wi-Fi box.

And I’m back online thanks to her help. Merci, Madame…Christine!

I'll post some pictures of our glam digs in my next installment. Stay tuned...