Four

I don't know where this image was taken, someplace in Paris. But it's a pretty typical street. I chose the photo because it shows a building about the same height as the building our rental apartment will be in. Our flat will be on the fourth floor and there is no lift. There were other apartments available with lifts or on lower floors, but this one was closer in to the center of Paris for a lower price - I'm guessing it was because of the lack of lift. But we decided it was a fair trade - a better location and price for a bit more physical exertion. William and I managed tall buildings on our trip on several occasions and were none the worse for it. (William might disagree - we were on the fourth floor (or was it the fifth?) when he injured his ankle in London).

A few of the more observant readers might be saying to themselves right about now - but wait, that building has FIVE floors, so you won't be on the top floor. Au contraire! If you're an American, you're counting five floors because you call the ground floor the first floor. If you're in the UK or France (don't know about other places, but I'm guessing most of Europe follows suit) then you know that the ground floor is called the ground floor but not the first floor and the second floor is the first floor and called the first floor not the second floor. Which means the third floor is really only the second and the fourth is only the third.... Confused? But honestly, once you get used to it, I think it actually makes a lot more sense.

It might even be considered an extra benefit to climb four flights of stairs several times a day (or perhaps more than four flights of stairs - some of those older buildings have two flights of stairs between each floor) since we'll be getting a free cardiovascular workout if we plan on leaving the building each day. And they don't even charge us for the built-in work out room... er, stairwell.