G201 has been a wonderful home and I am sad to leave it. What you are seeing as you walk around is the apartment staged so you can imagine your own furniture in it. What is not visible to the eye is what it offers as a home.
It has hosted parties large and small, sometimes just a few friends sitting around the island in the kitchen, drinking wine and chatting while the meal is prepared in front of them. Other parties have been grander - the largest, a sit-down Burns Supper for over thirty people, with tables and chairs supplied and delivered for free by security.
If you have grandchildren, they love the excitement of opening the toy box in the kitchen to see if there are any new toys inside, and chasing each other up and down the long hall. Not to mention the swimming pool!
On summer evenings, the light from the setting sun spills through the window, casting dancing shadows on the walls. And in winter, while the gas fire flickers, the twinkling lights from the Christmas tree reflect in the dark glass of the balcony windows.
The view from the window remains constant but ever changing: the Monday-to-Friday crocodile of toddlers from the nearby daycare shuffling along the river path, sun hats on in summer, puffy snowsuits in winter; the joggers, cyclists, parents pushing strollers, dogs with their tails held high prancing alongside their owners; the wildlife – the goslings who start appearing in May, the hares with their coats changing from brown to white and back again, the squirrels chasing each other spiraling around the tree trunks, the robins, the magpies and our elusive owl, glimpsed only occasionally at dusk, nestled in the branches of the tree outside the balcony; trees greening in spring then shedding their leaves in fall to allow a clear view across the park to the sparkling lights of the River Café; the screeching of hundreds upon hundreds of seagulls, swirling white stars against the midnight sky, as they circle around and around and around recalibrating their internal sensors when the air pressure changes.
And then there are the balconies, perfect for sitting out with either a morning coffee or glass of evening wine. In winter, a Christmas tree is set up in the middle of the courtyard and the surrounding trees spun with fairy lights. Very occasionally, you might witness an intimate marriage ceremony held by the bank of flowers.
Eau Claire will probably be the safest place you will ever live in. The security guys do an amazing job of looking after us, and if you’re ever worried about anything – anything – they are at the end of the phone. The same goes for the rest of the admin, cleaning and maintenance staff. Dave, Karie, Chris, Brody, John, Sunny…. the names go on and on and they are all fantastic.
If you choose to make G201 your home, I hope it provides you with the same joy it has given me.