Tales from Paris: our elevator gets stuck, a lot

[Recursion]

Our building is very old (I estimate 1890s) and has a miniscule elevator jammed into the middle of the spiral staircase. We live on the 4th floor, or as Americans would call it the 5th floor. The elevator has broken down three times since we moved here, once with us in it. So that along with the acknowledgment of the kind of food I'm eating makes me try to take the stairs more, all four flights of them (yes: four flights to the American fifth floor; programmers will understand this intuitively).

The first day we got here the elevator broke down with both of us in it. This elevator is about 3 feet by 5 feet, maybe. This is common enough that there's a placard about what to do. Press this magical yellow button and it will put you in touch with a kind of dispatch, tell them "Je suis arreté entre deux ètages" ("I am stopped between two floors" ) . The dispatch lady was nice and said help would be there within an hour ("bon courage!", she helpfully added). In the event it only took about 40 minutes, but I've been leery of the elevator since then.

My leeriness normally decreases with my exhaustion, so usually at the end of a day I will roll the dice and take my chances. But last night I thought of how much I've been eating and decided four flights up would be good for me.

It seems simple, four flights. It's a fairly tight spiral and has rails on both sides to lean against. But by 3 I was panting and pulling with my arms like a climber on the last leg of Everest. My wife stepped out of the elevator and called down to ask how I was doing.

"Je suis arreté entre deux ètages" floated pathetically up the stairwell. Sometimes a fate is inescapable.

[babylonsister]

1. When

did you move to Paris, you lucky duck?

[Recursion]

2. Neuilly-sur-Seine, technically

But, three weeks ago, for the next three years. Hopefully I will have some fun things to report.

[babylonsister]

6. I look forward

to your reports and am green with envy. Enjoy!!

[DFW]

11. How come all the way out there?

Work-related, family related or nothing suitable in town?

I'm in town about once a week, by the way, Usually 2ième and 9ième. and never have time or much else unless I spend the night, which is pretty much never. But I did find he time to have a nice lunch with California Peggy when she was there last week, so sometimes an hour can be stolen.

[hlthe2b]

3. I'm quite surprised there WAS an elevator...

None of the small historical hotels (most often near the Louvre) I ever stayed in, had them. If I hadn't known before the importance of packing LIGHT, any trip to Paris certainly underscored. Those single bag travel backpacks, that I'd always ignored over wheeled bags suddenly made oh so much sense!

Hang in there!

[Kind of Blue]

7. Indeed, exactly what I was thinking.

And I'm not even talking hotels but apartments. I was amazed by my host's behemoth of a dad pushing 70 at the time just breeze up flights and flights and flights of stairs. I was wheezing and pretty young then and he'd look back at me pitifully. Soon though the body got used to all them stairs in all those buildings. I don't know how I'd fare now though.

[James48]

4. And this is why

The French live longer than Americans.

It’s all those stairs up and down.

And it’s why 1st floor Apartments (on the second floor) rent for a higher price than top floor apartments.

[Recursion]

5. Yup

My breakfast today was foie gras and cherry preserves spread on a slice of baguette. I'm still losing weight.

[IcyPeas]

8. how do people move large furniture?

the elevator is small.... the stairs are spiral?

how do you get a sofa or bed or refrigerator or anything up there?

:

[DFW]

14. I knew someone in Sprout City with that same problem. The solution was a bang you head solution

A crane was brought in and the loaded the bulky stuff from outside through the widest window in the living room.

I promise I did not make this up.

[Phentex]

9. Ah, the stairs it is!

After being stuck once, I'd do the same thing and just deal with the stairs. My knees would not be happy!

Good luck!

[BigmanPigman]

10. I lived in an old building in Nice that was from the 1910s

and it had a spiral staircase too. My little dog and I took both the loud, marble stairs and the elevator. It never got stuck but was often too crowded so we took the stairs a lot. Your heart will benefit and I am sure you are walking a lot like most in European cities. I never gained weight and ate tons of delicious food, I attribute it to the hours of walking each day and the fresh, in season food.

[OceanPete]

12. Paris living

My parents and siblings moved to Paris in 1951 for the rest of their lives and we never counted on an elevator; such that living on the 5th floor (IE 6th) their regular walks up and own to markets and wine cellars allowed them to live beyond their 80"s. Read their book Paris Confidential if traveling there.
P.S. I'd run up to the first floor of the Eiffel tower at lunch every day at school to train for my bike races. Enjoy the scenery and not the snobbishness! Bon Appetit!

[elleng]

13. Mon dieu!

Bonne chance!