Passage d'Enfer

On Wednesday morning I moved out of the apartment in the Latin Quarter. It was large and comfortable and located near the rue Mouffetard. I was sorry to leave it, but it was time to move on.

Wednesday afternoon I moved into a new place in the Passage d'Enfer near Montparnasse. Those of you who speak French will understand that "Enfer" means "Hell". No, I have not descended into some dark passage along with Dante, I am merely staying in a smaller apartment; a "pied-à-terre" owned by the Lefebvre family, friends of mine since the 1970s. The apartment is in a "cité ouvrière" which is housing built in the mid 19th century to house the workers of a local factory. When my friends first bought two apartments here in the 1970s, each had only a sink. Toilets were located in the stairwell. Now, of course, there is a proper bathroom with indoor toilet and shower. Here is what the Passage d'Enfer looks like:



By the way, you'll find yourself climbing lots of stairs when you come to Paris, so be sure and pack light!


Not too much greenery here, but I thought this was an interesting approach to grow a vegetable garden on the cobblestone street:


I went exploring in my new neighborhood. Right around the corner are artist studios occupied in the 1920s and 1930s by artists such as Man Ray, and Marcel Duchamp who were part of the surrealist movement: