the little shop

It appears, worryingly,  that a 1970's  state school French text book called Le français d'aujourd'hui  has begun to define my 'interior design aesthetic'.

I calculate the length of time I've lived in this flat by the number of Monday morning markets I've opened the balcony windows onto.  Tomorrow will be the 4th, which will make it one month. 

The flat is in an old house that someone, at some time in the 60's decided to divide it into 4 apartments.  The mica staircases are wide and the entrance hall is spacious.  The Dupont family from Le francais d'aujourd'hui lived in an identical building. As a 15 year old I remember being disappointed that they didn't live in an old Parisian apartment, with curlicued banisters and a wrought iron, art nouveau lift. 

Over the course of my first month living here I've developed a penchant for an epoch I'd hitherto had no interest in.  In the small corner shop with no name I find Dupont style chairs and fabrics, a 1960's hat stand and the very ashtray that would have adorned M. Dupont's desk.