My French Kitchen on Spin Cycle

There are hundreds and hundreds of apartments in our lush complex, which is made up of palm trees, swimming pools, sculpted paths and flower beds galore, all interwoven around large, wavy, peach and cream-colored residences. And in each and every one of these apartments, and in French apartments all across this country, you'll find something out of place in the kitchen that you'd never find in an American kitchen: the washing machine.

It's totally normal in France to do up the breakfast dishes to the sounds of the spin cycle. And that right there is one of the aspects of it that I don't like. The dishes part of course....and the noise of the washer, which can sound like a train passing through depending on whatcha got in there; it's just not what I want to hear when I'm doing dishes, or relaxing in our living room. Spoiled Americans with our big spaces...we're used to having a room for everything!!

a homeless beauty that we adore, we call her TFP (tiny fat princess), and she IS the gatekeeper to our entrance!

I will plan phone calls around the washing machine cycle. It's either that, or head into the bedroom or out onto the balcony to chat. From the balcony I can look down and usually spot the TFP (see picture above). She's an abandoned kitty : ( weighing in at about 7 pounds, but don't underestimate the small stuff. She packs a powerful little punch that you never saw coming. We've seen large dogs head for the hills with their tails tucked between their legs. She is the scrappiest little puff ball I've ever met. Fortunately, for my husband and I, we've managed to get on her good side...actually she loves us to pieces, and it's impossible to exit or enter these doors you see pictured without being ambushed by her, purring and meowing and rubbing and pretty much demanding to be caressed. We're all too happy to give in to her demands. It's a joy to pet her; she has the softest multi-layered fur we've ever touched.


You might be thinking, oh come on, what's the big deal? So the washer's in the kitchen. Suck it up buttercup! OK, go down to your basement or to your laundry room dungeon, pop in those clothes, and then hang around for a second when the water blasts into the machine, or have some friends over and park your chairs in its vicinity and see how comfortable that is. What?! Can you turn up the TV?!?

Why washing machines are in the kitchen here in la France I have no idea. I definitely think it's strange, but I also thought it strange that you have to buy all your own appliances when you move in to an apartment here. 

Back in the States, the oven is already there, the stove, the fridge, maybe even a dishwasher. 

So if you're planning on moving to France, and you're not moving in with a roommate who already has all of that stuff, be prepared to shell out an extra 500 to 1,000 bucks for your appliances after you've already paid the 1st and last month's rent plus a hefty security deposit. 


But here's a tip. Buy a toaster oven. If you're planning on moving here, maybe just figure on baking small stuff, so all ya really need is a toaster oven, right? That's what we did. Saved us a bundle, and saves on space. We've got a medium sized toaster oven and it does the trick just fine.

Turkey, the washer and our teeny tiny fridge

But think again if you think you can survive without dropping a few hundred euros on a washing machine. Back home, laundry mats are everywhere. Here, I've seen like two. In fact, I'm not even sure if my town, population about 25,000 even has one. I'm sure we do, but I've never seen it. I saw one in Cannes once. Although I'm sure there's gotta be at least two. Point is, you must have a washing machine here. 

Not many people seem to have dryers including us, and I miss that terribly, but much of the year here is so dry and warm that your unmentionables dry on the balcony in a jiffy. 

Other than the noise of the washing machine being like right there, the only other thing that irks me is that no matter how neat and clean and careful you try to be, life is messy. With the washing machine squeezed right under the part of the counter where we do all our food prep, it's often the victim of a splash of sauce or spilled milk. Don't even want to imagine what's managed to fall in the small crack between the counter/washer and the fridge. Yuck!


Some people do rebel against this, like my American friend Brige who is lucky enough to have two bathrooms, and her washer is in one of her bathrooms. Lucky girl. She detests the idea of having it in the kitchen. Won't hear of it.
 

Pascal and Turkey on our living room balcony. Bedroom balcony is to the right.

Maybe you've noticed things like this in your travels? Washers in kitchens? Things like that? People of other cultures are different after all, and have different ways of doing things. What's odd to us, works perfectly fine for them. 

If any of you have anything interesting or odd to share about what you've discovered while visiting another country, please comment under this post! I'd love to hear what you have to say.


A la prochaine!!

peace out