The host instructed me to pick up the keys from a Pick Up Store in Gare Saint Lazare. I wasn’t familiar with Paris and with two big heavy luggages with me wondering around a busy Paris train station wasn’t the best idea. I went with his instruction and got the keys with just some minor issues took 20mins.

After carrying 2 big luggages up 4stories, I spent about 10min figuring out which keys were for the 3(old) door locks of the apartment while breathing heavily in the dark(why in the dark you wonder? because I didn’t know there was a light switch from the staircase hallway)

After the opening struggle, I was finally able to enter. Upon entering and I realised that I had to put up with a mess. I will only state the most shocking. The first thing that caught my eye was the carpet. It looked like it was used in a restaurant for years with crumbs and stains all over. The color of the couch was more like grey to me. Dusts,hair, and chipped paint from the ceiling or the wall was on the table, storage box, drawers, just about everywhere of the bedroom. When I swiped my finger across, I could literally something write on it with dust being the material of the background. Although Paris is a city, it doesn’t have the most dust or polluted air compared with other cities in the world so I wonder how long had it been since it was last cleaned. Under the kitchen sink, there was about 10 inches hole from the wall. At that moment I had a feeling that I might put up with something much worst. You can imagine what the condition was for the other parts of the apartment. I had a thought about leaving but with length of my stay, location that I wanted and my budget constrain it wouldn’t be easy for me to pick another Airbnb apt the next hour so I chose to stay and hoped that the location convenience may overcome my discomfort.

A little over 10 discomfort days gone by and my worst fear came- I SAW A MOUSE RAN ACROSS THE LIVING ROOM. That was it for me and I wasn’t going to put up with it no more. Not with my wife and my 7yr old daughter coming to Paris in less than a week. I contact the host about the mouse and he came in and put in two mouse traps. It was known to him about the mouse situation and I asked for the reason why the big hole under sink and his replied was the hole has to be there for some “structural reasons”. I didn’t get it but it’s his apartment so I discuss no further. The host apologized for the situation but gave reasons that there were many mouse in Paris and the apartment building was old.

I have some pictures of the apartment if anyone is still interested.