If August is the month for vacation in Paris, then July must be the month for moving!! As we travel to different parts of the city, we keep seeing indications that people are moving “lock, stock and barrel”. Now, I know that there are people who have only small amounts of things to move and they will call a friend who has a vehicle, or rent a small van for a day. But, what we have seen a lot is something unique to Europe.
In the inter city of Paris most of the more expensive apartments buildings will have an elevator. However, it seems that it is easier to remove a window, put up a conveyer type ladder and then haul everything down to a waiting truck. The conveyer/ladder contraption is interesting as it arrives all neatly folded within itself on a small truck. Slowly it just unfolds and grows until it can reach up at least 7 floors. On this ladder is a metal box about a meter square with sides that can fold down to make a flat platform that glides up and down the ladder. Sometimes the box is left formed as a box to transport things, but more often boxes are carefully balanced on the flat platform to descend to be taken off and packed into the moving truck. At least two, but usually three men work at this job with one loading the platform at the top, one hydraulically moving the platform and removing the boxes at the bottom and one person packing the truck.
The French seem to pay no attention to all this, while we tourists stop and gaze at the scene. So far, I haven’t seen nary a box fall off the platform midways down.
In the inter city of Paris most of the more expensive apartments buildings will have an elevator. However, it seems that it is easier to remove a window, put up a conveyer type ladder and then haul everything down to a waiting truck. The conveyer/ladder contraption is interesting as it arrives all neatly folded within itself on a small truck. Slowly it just unfolds and grows until it can reach up at least 7 floors. On this ladder is a metal box about a meter square with sides that can fold down to make a flat platform that glides up and down the ladder. Sometimes the box is left formed as a box to transport things, but more often boxes are carefully balanced on the flat platform to descend to be taken off and packed into the moving truck. At least two, but usually three men work at this job with one loading the platform at the top, one hydraulically moving the platform and removing the boxes at the bottom and one person packing the truck.
The French seem to pay no attention to all this, while we tourists stop and gaze at the scene. So far, I haven’t seen nary a box fall off the platform midways down.
Just wait until you try this...I'll wager that at least one box will fall.
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