Whenever I start complaining about life to visiting friends, they never failed to look at me funny as if I had just said the dumbest thing! Inevitably they would then look around and raised their arms as if to say 'words escape me," though the message is clear: You live in Paris, how could you complain about anything at all? Well, this really gets my goat (hey, I think I am beginning to be a real Parisian) and will start reeling off my bad Paris list. Here now, I want to complain about the metro. If as a tourist long ago I used to marvel at the convenience and the freedom the metro offers and admired the stations that reflect the quart
ier where they are (Metro Musee du Louvre, for instance, has the look of a museum complete with statues and other art; and when you step off the train at Arts et Metiers you'd think you had just stepped into a submarine) and even danced to the music of the accordion played by street (or metro) musicians. Living here has changed all that a bit. Now the word metro, like for most Parisians, evoke crowd, sweat and basically a means of transport to get from A to B (sad, huh). The Parisian life has indeed been summarized as ‘boulot metro dodo” which basically means “work, metro, sleep” (and some lucky bastards would say it’s more like boulot metro sodo dodo..need I translate 'sodo"? oh well).
As I am not a morning person, my mornings would be spent sipping my coffee and under the hot shower way too long before I rushed out to go to my metro station. At the moment, I live near the metro Anvers. Now this metro station only has one exit/entrance, yet it is a major stop for most tourists as it is also the station closest to Sacré Coeur. But tourists are tourists, and they don’t think there are other people who have to get to work and have to move fast. So after waiting for a group of tourists looking for their ticket, figuring out which way to put the ticket into the turnstile etc. etc. while standing there preventing other people to pass, I made it into the train (line 2) which would be crowded all the way to Charles de Gaulle Etoile (where the tourists also go to visit l’Arc de Triomphe or the way too famous for reasons that are probably long gone now: the avenue Champs Elysées). Getting off at Etoile I would be huffing it to get my connexion (line 6) which is no mean feat when the corridors are narrow and the tourists move leisurely in groups that just cover the width of the corridor. Anyhow, still huffing and puffing I got to the train just as the signal sounds and made it to the train after almost being cut in two by the closing doors. Now, after all that, the train moved soooo slowly and stop at the next station for ever and ever. The conductor then said something that is incomprehensible as the speakers evidently were always either too muffled or too loud that you just cover your ears.....the train finally moved again only to stop for another eternity at the next station. Now if you’re already late for work, this is becoming quite a cardiac sport.
Finally, my stop. This is also another major tourist stop (Trocadero). So, you understand if I look at tourists now with dagger eyes! They are blocking my way to get to work and they make the train ride crowded and uncomfortable. But mostly, Ok I admit, I guess I am jealous that I have become a jaded Parisian and have somehow stopped taking the time to admire all the beautiful things that surround me, hey, that I live with everyday! I suppose I should get a lover…since it is said that if you are in Paris with a lover it’s like you experience Paris all over for the first time again…but who has time to find a lover when there’s a metro to catch …
Hints for visitors: You can buy a one week ticket if you stay that long in Paris (called Passe Navigo which can be valid for a week, a month or a year). There are also Paris visite tickets that give you discounts to museums and other attractions. Or you can buy a carnet de tickets (a set of ten tickets with reduced price compared to buying ten individual tickets).
ier where they are (Metro Musee du Louvre, for instance, has the look of a museum complete with statues and other art; and when you step off the train at Arts et Metiers you'd think you had just stepped into a submarine) and even danced to the music of the accordion played by street (or metro) musicians. Living here has changed all that a bit. Now the word metro, like for most Parisians, evoke crowd, sweat and basically a means of transport to get from A to B (sad, huh). The Parisian life has indeed been summarized as ‘boulot metro dodo” which basically means “work, metro, sleep” (and some lucky bastards would say it’s more like boulot metro sodo dodo..need I translate 'sodo"? oh well).As I am not a morning person, my mornings would be spent sipping my coffee and under the hot shower way too long before I rushed out to go to my metro station. At the moment, I live near the metro Anvers. Now this metro station only has one exit/entrance, yet it is a major stop for most tourists as it is also the station closest to Sacré Coeur. But tourists are tourists, and they don’t think there are other people who have to get to work and have to move fast. So after waiting for a group of tourists looking for their ticket, figuring out which way to put the ticket into the turnstile etc. etc. while standing there preventing other people to pass, I made it into the train (line 2) which would be crowded all the way to Charles de Gaulle Etoile (where the tourists also go to visit l’Arc de Triomphe or the way too famous for reasons that are probably long gone now: the avenue Champs Elysées). Getting off at Etoile I would be huffing it to get my connexion (line 6) which is no mean feat when the corridors are narrow and the tourists move leisurely in groups that just cover the width of the corridor. Anyhow, still huffing and puffing I got to the train just as the signal sounds and made it to the train after almost being cut in two by the closing doors. Now, after all that, the train moved soooo slowly and stop at the next station for ever and ever. The conductor then said something that is incomprehensible as the speakers evidently were always either too muffled or too loud that you just cover your ears.....the train finally moved again only to stop for another eternity at the next station. Now if you’re already late for work, this is becoming quite a cardiac sport.
Finally, my stop. This is also another major tourist stop (Trocadero). So, you understand if I look at tourists now with dagger eyes! They are blocking my way to get to work and they make the train ride crowded and uncomfortable. But mostly, Ok I admit, I guess I am jealous that I have become a jaded Parisian and have somehow stopped taking the time to admire all the beautiful things that surround me, hey, that I live with everyday! I suppose I should get a lover…since it is said that if you are in Paris with a lover it’s like you experience Paris all over for the first time again…but who has time to find a lover when there’s a metro to catch …
Hints for visitors: You can buy a one week ticket if you stay that long in Paris (called Passe Navigo which can be valid for a week, a month or a year). There are also Paris visite tickets that give you discounts to museums and other attractions. Or you can buy a carnet de tickets (a set of ten tickets with reduced price compared to buying ten individual tickets).
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