On Loan: Paris Pied-à-Terre With Garden

September 9, 2011 by

Someone I’d never met offered me her stylish little Paris apartment and who was I to refuse. We were “friends” only on Twitter. The experience proved to me that social media isn’t always impersonal, especially when you take it offline and across the pond.

She never mentioned that the petit gem was flanked on either side by terraces–one in the back with its natural canopy of vines, and one in front overlooking the rooftops of Paris. Moments after my arrival, a welcoming party arrived in the form of a well fed cat who let himself in through the open terrace door.

With its small bistro table and chairs shaded by a grape arbor, the back terrace was the perfect spot for my morning croissant and coffee.

The kitchen was a view with a room. Perfectly framed through the window, after dark when the Eiffel tower changed colors, I got my own private light show.


Viewed from kitchen window, the top of the Eiffel Tower peeks over the rooftops.

Later in the day it was difficult to stay awake and fend off jet lag. Good time to explore the neighborhood and pick up some essentials including my favorite cheese (Caprice des Dieux), a baguette, a chocolate eclair, and a bottle of well-priced dry rosé from Bandol.


Roses at the neighborhood florist.

That first night was dinner in and early to bed as the next day I would be headed to the Maison et Objet Outdoor/Indoor design fair to check out the new hot trends.

View from front of apartment.

Photos: Robin Plaskoff Horton

Goodnight Paris, see you in the morning.

11 Comments »

  1. Georgia (local ecologist) said:

    What did you read/are you reading for this trip?

    — September 9, 2011 @ 18:28

  2. Kylee from Our Little Acre said:

    Don’t let your laptop out of your sight. LOL.

    — September 9, 2011 @ 21:53

  3. Ellen Spector Platt said:

    Does your friend-of-a-friend want to trade for a lovely apt. in NYC with a roof garden?

    — September 10, 2011 @ 07:19

  4. Nancy said:

    Robin, you go on so many beautiful trips. What a lovely Paris garden apartment! Lucky you.

    — September 10, 2011 @ 12:50

  5. Barbara said:

    Have fun. Do leave them a note to transplant those shrubs planted in window boxes!

    — September 11, 2011 @ 14:34

  6. Ellen Zachos said:

    OMG, why would you ever come home?

    — September 15, 2011 @ 09:24

  7. Robin Plaskoff Horton said:

    Georgia, I used to live in Paris so I know the city pretty well. I go online to see what’s going on there, but mostly I just explore when I am there!

    — September 18, 2011 @ 11:55

  8. Robin Plaskoff Horton said:

    Ellen, she doesn’t formally rent out the apartment, but if you are planning to go, I can always ask.

    — September 18, 2011 @ 11:57

  9. Robin Plaskoff Horton said:

    Kylee, I managed to make it through the whole trip without losing anything! Yeah!

    — September 18, 2011 @ 11:59

  10. Report From Paris: Hidden Gardens, an Urban Vineyard, Cheese and a Bottle of Rosé - Urban Gardens Pingback said:

    […] you will recall that last year, my friend Anne, aka The Outdoor Stylist, generously arranged to loan me an apartment with two terraces and a view of the Eiffel Tower. Although that sort of good fortune rarely occurs twice. I did find […]

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  11. Some of Our Readers Favorite Urban Gardens Articles - Urban Gardens Pingback said:

    […] sprouting atop city busses and those on parking poles…The High Line in New York and its Parisian cousin…partying in a Chicago edible garden…lollipops you can grow and tables that […]

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