The realtor from Cesson-Immobilier was very kind! He showed us how to turn on the electricity (we couldn’t figure it out), how to turn on the water, how to lock the door, what a phone jack looks like, and what a cold air return looks like. I think he likes us, and he seemed amused by and interested in the differences between the US and France. It turns out that it’s discrimination to forbid renters from having pets or from smoking, so if we want to start a cat-adoption agency and develop a tobacco addiction, we can do so in our apartment. (I’m not planning on doing either, just in case you thought I was serious).
The other surprising revelation was that electricity costs less at night than during the day, so you can set the fuse box to only heat water at night if you want. Leases are different, too. The owners are required to let you live in a place for three years if you like, but the renters are only required to give three months’ notice of move-out to leave with no extra fees. It’s only one month’s notice in case of a job relocation, job loss, or deterioration of health.
The bonus of the renting experience was that the realtor gave Aaron a bottle of wine since we moved in on his birthday! We have yet to find a cork screw, but we hope that will happen soon. In further celebration and general kindness, Todd brought us the things we purchased from Heidi for our place—a comforter and duvet cover, some mixing bowls, a salad spinner, an oven (apartments don’t come with those here), a vacuum cleaner, an iron and ironing board, along with a TV that Todd himself is letting us use this year.
We went back to Rennes to a pizzeria for Aaron’s birthday dinner, where Aaron had a “Pizza Buffalo” (pizza with bolognese sauce) and a glass of red wine, and I had a “Pizza Roma” (basic cheese pizza) with a Kir Breton (creme de cassis in cider instead of white wine). They were very good.
We hope to have pictures up in tomorrow's entry--both of our apartment and of our makeshift furnishings while we wait for Ikea's delivery!
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