Notre Dame

Behind the Scenes of House Hunters International

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, January 17, 2011 • Paris, France

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Yesterday and today, we have been filming another House Hunters International episode with one of our property clients from California and an international production crew hired by HGTV. This will be the third episode we have done with them as it turns out that Paris is a popular destination (duh!) and therefore their episodes about Americans (and others) buying property in Paris are frequently aired and viewed.

The two 'in the can' are the following -- which aired this past December. Stay tuned for upcoming showings -- we'll keep you posted.

VACATION HOME IN PARIS
Episode HHINT-1A05H
New Yorkers Jeff Ballinger and Mary Schiller recently began the first steps toward making their dream together a reality. After honeymooning in Paris, they knew they wanted their own vacation property in France. Now, they've moved out of their house and into a smaller condo in the Bronx, NY and have begun their search for a pied-à-terre in Paris.

SETTLING DOWN IN PARIS
Episode HHINT-402
Join a soon-to-be married couple in their search for the perfect Paris palais.

I'm not at license to give away too much, but this particular show features a widowed woman with two children who are fulfilling their dream to own a “pied-à-terre” in the City of Light. In the episode, she will visit three apartments of similar price, yet in three different locations, different sizes and in different states of condition -- from needing total renovation to move-in but open for improvement and a total renovation. And then she must make her choice between them. What's so fun about seeing the show is second guessing what her decision will be.

It will take a few different filming sessions over a period of six months to complete the footage before it is edited and prepared for airing, so don’t expect to see it on TV until at least nine months to a year from now. “C’est la vie du monde de television.”

The crew of four come from Scotland, Ireland and France. In the past, we had worked with Americans who had a hell of a time getting the right work permits to film here for even a few days. A European-based crew makes so much more sense for this reason, as well as travel expense.

To start off the filming we met at dawn Sunday at Notre Dame to film the visits to an apartment in the area. While waiting for the crew to arrive, I had a “café crème” and “tartine” at the corner café watching the sun come up and begin to glow on the “Préfecture de Police” building opposite the world famous cathedral. Notre Dame sits at “Kilometer Zero” from which all points in France are measured, therefore this location for a property is about as 'dead center' as it gets.

There were few people at that hour and it reminded me of when we first moved to Paris, woke up very early due to jet lag and set out to walk the city streets at dawn. It was so memorable that to this day, any early rising brings it back to mind as if it were yesterday. There is no more beautiful time in Paris than the dawn when a golden light seems to come from the earth itself and the streets are sparse with people, noise, pollution and hubbub.

Within only a couple of hours, and after filming in the apartment, we ventured out onto the street so that both myself and the client could offer our thoughts about the property with Notre Dame as a backdrop. The sidewalk along rue d'Arcole was buzzing with tourists. The shopkeepers had their souvenirs out on the sidewalk and the cafés were serving up "croque monsieurs" and what they call a "hot dog," but doesn't resemble the good ol' fashioned American kind (the French version is a foot long sausage on a baguette with melted cheese). The noise from the traffic was distracting, but the bells of Notre Dame were a pleasant addition. 'Lookie-loos' stop to watch the action, naturally.

While the crew took midday to film 'B-roll' (supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot to add to an interview or documentary) of the area around Notre Dame, we took a break and prepared for the afternoon's filming in another apartment. This one is in the rue Montorgueil district (2nd arrondissement) in an old building (17th or 18th-century), but is a large apartment with lots of windows and lovely views.

By 5:30 p.m. the sun had come down and lights were added to the interior to supplement the lack of natural light. It's tough to catch the rays when winter daylight is short and often scarce. Lucky for us the day was bright and sunny with unusually blue skies for Paris.

Today starts another full day of filming in a third apartment, this one in Le Marais with a view on Eglise Saint Paul and a wrap-around balcony. It will provide yet another varied choice and in the end, the buyer will have a tough decision to make!

Which one will she buy? We won't tell. It will be for you to watch and find out! Stay tuned.

A la prochaine...

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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