I was just beginning to relax. I was just beginning to be ok with Paris. I hadn't run into any typically stupid French inefficiencies for quite some time. That was until this afternoon when I tried to get to the airport to catch my flight to Amsterdam. There was a strike that affected the train that goes to the airport. I waited in the train station for over 2 hrs and finally gave up. No trains, no buses, impossible to get a taxi. I called Air France when I got home. Their reply "your ticket is non-refundable and non-transferrable - but you can try going to the airport and maybe they'll honor your ticket." Yeah, thanks - drop dead Air France, you suck.
So, I'll wake up early tomorrow and try to get to the airport. Not sure if the strike is ongoing tomorrow or not. Welcome to Paris, the most inefficient, annoying, stupidly backwards city I have ever spent time in (with the exception of Bombay, perhaps....)
5 comments:
Seems like the trip to Amsterdam is full of challenges... my trip got held up by me getting into empty train that ended up in a train wash and ultimately garage =P..
Nevertheless I made my way here... so I am sure I will see you tomorrow :)
Doesn't the strike get announced by the newspapers, radio and TV? I thought these strikes are so plentiful and organized that the public knows about them way ahead of time.
Here I am in Paris, not Amsterdam, replying to comments.
Puffin - hope you had a good time there with your friends. Wish I coulda joined you.....
Sal - this one seemed to catch people off guard, but since I don't watch French TV, read French newspapers or listen to French radio, who knows.... Brooklyn, I can't wait to see you in a few days.
I hear there's a high-speed train running between Paris and Amsterdam in about 3 hours. Is this true? Of course, I'm so old-fashioned that I prefer train travel. Since I'm not a travel-lover, you can take my preference with a big grain of salt!
Pingles took the train both ways, it was more like 4 hrs long.
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