Fortnight in Paris -- Adventures in Washing

Ahh, we had been here a week.  We had successfully been putting off the washing of clothes!  We awoke, decided we needed food before we began this adventure!  I have no idea where we ate breakfast, which by now was lunch.  I just know it tasted wonderful.  Of course, the obligatory picture of the meal.  Simple omelette and salad for me, some kind of pasta dish for Mike.  Of course, after this, we had to wander around a bit.

Finally, back at the apartment, we began to study the washer/dryer.  One machine does both.  It was rather small, and didn't hold a lot.  It also did not appear to have a setting for "cold".  Of course, I really do not know what temperature "cold" is on my machine at home, much less a French machine.  Our Apartment owner had patiently explained all this to us.  We thought we had it mastered....until we looked at the machine.

It looks innocent enough.  How hard could it be?  Everything is written in French, but Mike speaks French, so that should make it easy.  The problem is,  Mike does not routinely wash clothes!  I know we made it harder than it needed to be, but we finally looked at the manual, which was in French.  Thankful for Google Translate.  Once we had an idea of the cycles, we were home free!

The only problem, the washing basket is SO small, it will only hold a few things at a time.  We washed towels first, and everything worked out great.  Then came the drying.  It took 2 hours to dry!  And actually, even then, the towels were not really dry.  There was a drying rack in the apartment, so we had to hang the towels, and really anything else we washed, to dry.  We washed a blanket, and it took overnight and then some to dry on the rack.  Had to keep repositioning it.

I read somewhere that the French think dryers ruin your clothes.  And our owner had said something similar when explaining everything.  And if it always takes two hours to dry things, I can see why!  I am told the French washateria washers and dryers are faster.  If I ever want to use a washer / dryer again in Paris, that's where I am headed!

We came out of the whole thing with clean towels, etc.  And I handwashed a lot of stuff, too.  Such was our day of rest in Paris.  What more could we do, but walk around some more and find a wonderful place for dinner!

"You know everything I do;

from far away you understand all  my thoughts.

You see me, whether I am working or resting;

you know all my actions.

Even before I speak,

you already know what I will say."

Psalm 139: 2-4