Things have really gone very smoothly for me thus far in my travels. I have been lucky. My flights were on time; train travel was straightforward, and I had a nice place to stay (at the apartment of friends of friends) upon arriving in Montpellier. This past week, however, was a bit on the challenging side.
Accommodation
As you know if you’ve been following along, I moved into an Airbnb apartment a week ago. I moved, because the owners of the place I was staying in were due back mid-February (at one point). I thus made arrangements to be gone before their return.
The apartment looked inviting from the pictures. As soon as I walked in, though, I could see that the place was not as well maintained as it had appeared in the photos. It may have been nice at one point, but the chipped paint, notes here and there about non-working windows, and the like, told another story. But, I was going to try to make the best of it, as it had good heating and a nice balcony. However, soon after my arrival, I noted a horrible smell coming from the bathroom, like something had died. I notified the owners, and they sent someone the next day. The guy walked in, put some chemicals in the bathtub, answered my questions about how to work the TV and other things, and left. It seemed like the smell disappeared, although I was leaving the door open, which probably helped dissipate it.
That night (Monday), about 10 pm, I heard the sound of heavy machinery. I looked over the balcony and saw trucks, as well as the start of activities, such as welding (lots of sparks) along the tram tracks. I thought back to the notice I had skimmed on the door of the building about les travaux (works, repairs, that sort of thing) that were to take place until March 14.
Further, each night they would be starting at 10 pm and ending at 6 am. I got little sleep that night. The next night I thought I would see if maybe that had been a one-off. Perhaps they had moved to a different area?
No! At 10 pm, it all started again, so I high-tailed it back to the apartment I had just left, where I had another fitful night.
The next day I started negotiations with the owners to get out of the Airbnb contract. I did not want to lose any more sleep, and I especially did not want to stay there with the smell…which had returned. I wondered if it was mold, which can be harmful to health. At any rate, we agreed on a sum for my nights there. But now I had to find another place. As it turns out, the owners of my old place had changed plans, and were now going to return March 1. So, that was my fallback.
However, moving at this point is not trivial! Whereas I had traveled with only a suitcase, backpack, and purse in my trip to France in the fall, let’s just say that the old-fashioned steamer trunk (maybe two!) would be more appropriate now. I am now carting foodstuffs, brochures on places I’ve been, schedules on music venues, books people have given me, and, of course, my new clothes, in addition to the stuff I figured I would need from home, namely my pickleball paddle, hiking poles and boots, cold weather clothes, warm weather clothes…you get the picture. So, not wanting to keep moving, I continued to try to find a place where I could conceivably spend the rest of my time in Montpellier, i.e., through the end of March.
I started combing the places in Airbnb and VRBO. One place looked interesting, so I made arrangements with the landlord to see it. She gave me the address and said her son would meet me there. I went, and waited…and waited. No one showed up. The son told his mother that I never showed up. Now, whom is she going to believe? Thus, that deal went south. I went to see another place that, again, looked lovely from the pictures. I arrived and saw way too much funkiness for my tastes. The curtain separating the living room from the bedroom was enough, to say nothing of the plug-in, one-burner hob, which was “the stove.”
So, making several trips on the tram, I carried all my “stuff” back to the old apartment, familiar and comfortable, but am continuing to look for lodging, as my absolute deadline to be out this time is March 1.
Sleep
Shortly after I arrived back at my old apartment, there was a wild party in the unit directly above me, which went on until 3:30 or 4. This happened similarly about two weeks ago. I hope to get caught up on my sleep soon!
Shopping
Moving on from my accommodation woes…I am at present equidistant from two Monoprix stores. A Monoprix is a sort of Target, where you can buy almost anything, including food and drink (big wine section). Previously I had only visited one of them, but that one was closed today, Sunday, as are so many stores. But the other one was open until 1 pm. So, I headed over.
I entered and was immediately in a narrow hallway. I looked around and saw only large shopping carts, similar to the ones back in the U.S. At my usual Monoprix, I grab a large black basket upon entering, the type that has wheels and handles so you can either roll it or carry it.
But, I didn’t see any of those, so I figured they must do things differently in this store. I grabbed a cart and started down the aisles. I had picked up a few things, and was happily rolling along to the cheese section, when a young man, obviously incensed, said something to me in French. I asked him to repeat it, and he said in English, “That one ees for handicap.” Ahhh…how embarrassing. Although, frankly, I felt a bit justified in using it, as I AM operating under a type of handicap, not knowing French or the customs! So, I casually wheeled my cart back to the entrance, trying to ignore the disapproving looks and narrowed eyes I was sure were upon me had I dared to look. I saw then that the black baskets had been around the corner of the hallway. I casually transferred my goods to a black basket and went back to shopping. THAT lesson learned, for sure.
Hope
I have spotted one apartment on VRBO that looks charming and is in a great location. I have written to the owner to ask to let me see it before committing to it for a month. No reply as yet…but, I’m crossing my fingers.
