Ejem.... actually I meant the Ride.
When I was living in Mexico for the most part public transportation was de rigeur. I didn't even learn to drive until I was 17 and so all my schooling years were spent defying death by taking the daily peseros and combis that constitute Puebla's public transportation system. However, every once in a while someone would give me a "raid" instead.
open parenthesis here,
It's funny how I never realized that "raid" was the mexicanized word for "Ride". I simply used to think that that was the Mexican word for getting a lift somewhere.
Sometimes I'm slow like that.
close parenthesis,
Anyway, what would an everyday project about life in Paris be without a picture of the ultimate Parisian Raid: le métro?
I used to love taking the metro when I first got here. Really, it used to be one of my favorite things in this city. Contrary to Mexican public transportation, the parisian subway was safe, reliable, organized, practical and it got you anywhere in the city. To me, the metro felt like the pure definition of Independence. After a short while I had the subway's route chart stuck in my head and would actually get excited (!!) whenever I'd get off in a new station I hadn't been in yet.
But slowly, the charm has begun to disapear. Like most parisians, I find it a drag having to take the metro to work everyday. During peak hours, the wagons are hot and stuffy. It sometimes (more like often actually) stinks in the underground halls, it's dirty and save for a few lines and more modern stations, the general atmosphere is pretty grungy. On any given time of the day people will hop in the wagons and start individually asking every passanger for money or play music on loud speakers and then ask for money. At first I used to whip out my wallet and hand over my spare change whenever this happened, but it didn't take me real long to realize that this happens so often you can actually find yourself giving out money two or even three times on the same ride!! I now avoid taking the metro whenever possible and if getting to my destination requires changing lines once, or even worse twice, I really really dread it.
I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me, and yes, the parisian subway still is the safest, most reliable and practical way to move in Paris, but I can't say taking the "metro raid" is still one of my favorite things to do in this city.
Fned.
4 comments:
I prefer taking the bus - you get to see so much more of the city, instead of spending so much time underground, where there's no air circulation!
Ay, qué triste! I remember our rides as rather thrilling - especially when we got out and encountered the group that played música andina!!! Remember? I also remember how you explained exactly how to use the metro to get to the Louvre so that I could make the trip alone, though I spoke sub-standard French (meaning zilch); it was marvelous to hear so many different languages spoken from boarding and de-boarding passengers as we whooshed from station to station.
The NYC subway is similar- grungy, smelly, hot... but it gets you where you're going and, depending on the traffic situation above, it can be the fastest way to get around town.
I just always hated the weekend changes they would do- like you'd get on a local train and about two stops before where you were going to get off they'd announce that the train was now express and they'd be going straight to 125 St. or something. I always alloted 1/2 hour to get anywhere in NYC- longer if I needed to change trains!
Sam: I agree with you about the bus being much nicer overall. The downside to the bus system in Paris is that there's usually a ton of traffic and if you're stalk standing up in a crowded bus that accelerates and decelerates (is this even a word?) to the rythim of the traffic jams... well... you get the idea. Thanks for stopping by. :)
Minshap: oh... yeah... that's the "love at first sight" crap the metro usually pulls on unsuspecting turists in this city...
Mexpat: The more I hear about NYC, the more I think I could definetly live there. Hey, if I can get used to a crummy Paris subway, I can definetly get used to a crummy NY subway, right??? (and yeah... 1/2hour is pretty much standard allocated time for getting from A to B in Paris).
Fned.
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