The Apartment

We arrived at the apartment at 10:15 am last Wednesday (Belgium time). We were a bit early since the meeting with the landlord was scheduled for 10:30am, so we perched outside on our suitcases and waited. She arrived at 10:45 with her son in tow and, I think, is one of those people who is always in a rush, always late. I had been emailing back and forth with her for several weeks and it was nice to put a face with the name (Muriel). After apologizing profusely for being late, she unlocked the front door of the building and let us in. The building itself is three-stories high with five apartments, two of which are empty at the moment. The huge front door opens into an entry way, with stairs leading to the upper floors. Our apartment is one of two located on the ground floor. We walked in, or rather, I walked in while Rich hauled our baggage in from the sidewalk - it was really nice! I was so relieved! The ceilings are at least 12 feet high and freshly painted off-white. The walls also appear to be freshly painted, and are butter yellow. The floors are old pine (I think). If you walk into the apartment and look to the right , you see the two living room windows looking out onto the street and with sheer white panels and yellow curtains. They must be 8 feet high. They open inwards and have wide marble ledges that will be perfect for plants. There is also an old fireplace (blocked off) with a mantle and big, tall mirror. The furniture is simple: white loveseat, iron and tile coffee table, small table with 4 chairs, a desk and a TV. Oh, and a giant ugly yellow, green and red floor lamp with a H U G E lampshade, bigger than most umbrellas. Unbelievable. It looks like something from the Flintstones! On the walls there are four tiny little paintings, two on each side of the fireplace, all hung abnormally high up on the wall. Its a very interesting look. Back to the tour...

Looking straight ahead from the front door is the kitchen It is very small by American standards, but perfectly serviceable. The refrigerator is about 1/3 the size of what we are used to and we discovered that it doesn't get very cold. The freezer is miniscule, with enough room for an ice cube tray, ice cream and maybe one more thing. The counters are laminate and there is a nice tile backsplash all the way around, from the sink to the stovetop with two gas burners. The oven is on top of the refrigerator, which should give you an idea of how small the fridge is. No microwave and the only appliance is the coffee maker. I don't think we will be making any four-course meals! The cupboards and drawers are all well-stocked with dishes, utensils, pots, silverware, dish towels, etc.

To the left of the front door is a short, wide hall that leads to the bathroom and bedroom. In the hall itself, there is a large, coffin-sized wooden trunk on wheels that holds the vacuum cleaner, iron and a single-sized inflatable bed. The bathroom door is directly to the right and is sort of small, with a pedestal sink, mirror, yellow and blue tile walls, two built in shelves and a tub with a bright yellow and blue shower curtain. The only disconcerting thing is that there is no shower, just a hose with a nozzle on the end. I realize that people have taken baths for ages and gotten along just fine, but gosh, I'm going to miss taking long, hot showers! If the ceiling wasn't so high, the bathroom would feel tiny, but its actually fine.

The bedroom has a french door, a bed (obviously) with a yellow and red duvet, nightstand, lamp, armoire, two chairs, clothes rack and a strange tall chest with narrow drawers. Each drawer is big enough for maybe three pairs of socks. Not great storage! The best thing is that one whole wall is windows, with yellow and red curtains and a french door opening out into a private courtyard. There is a small red table and chairs, dead bamboo plants in pots and several planter boxes filled with dead plants. In the spring it will be great for planting flowers, but until then it is a great source of natural light. As soon as we open our eyes in the morning we can tell what the weather is doing. And today, its raining!

So that's the apartment. We feel lucky to have found it!
~K