It took a few days, but we found a great apartment in the 18th arrondissement (district) in Paris. Its great because it is nice and big without breaking our budget: 75 square meters one bedroom apartment, which is huge – most places we looked at were in the 40ish sq m. We are close to the metro on two good lines (though most places in Paris are). The area is very diverse with a lot of ethnic food and markets as well as more upscale stores. We rented it from a couple who are traveling to China for three months – exactly the time we needed.  The building is an old one with tall ceilings and a beautiful staircase and hallway. We are on a main street, but have double glazed windows.

There are 6 (if not more) bakeries (we have only tried 3 so far) within 1 block of us. Click here if you want to stroll out neighborhood with Google Street View.