1. Mr. Le Fevre – Wagram

I was struck with the formality of the young real estate broker who insisted that we could speak English. After a few words, I realized that it was much better if we stuck to French, but didn’t want to insult him. I remember the apartment had an elegant entry and there was even a door mat that looked like the American flag which I took as a good sign. I laugh when looking back on it because it was probably one of the nicest apartments I saw, but I instantly dismissed it due to the “vis a vis” meaning it faced an interior courtyard with views only of other apartments. It also had absolutely not one closet and a kitchen that was completely "vide” or empty. So not only were there no appliances, relatively common, but there weren’t even any shelves or cupboards. I explained I needed more light at which point the broker immediately dismissed visiting the next apartment on his list. Apparently, it was “sous sol” or below ground – yikes! At the beginning my husband and I had a whole list of criteria. We thought it would be helpful for the brokers to know what we wanted. We learned quickly that not only was it not helpful for them, it wasn’t welcome. We never heard from Mr. Le Fevre again.