Today we decide we should now get a weekly transit pass. We go to the ticket booth and the cashier does not speak any English so we attempt to tell her what we want to get. She tells us she doesn’t sell them. We don’t understand why so I decide to find a young person (because most of them know English) and I find a young man very helpful. He tells the cashier that we want to purchase the weekly pass and she tells him that it will be 5 Euro each then $18.60 Euro for the pass. We say OK. She wants us to pay 5 Euro for 1 then another 5 Euro for the other – this is for the plastic holder. Then she will process for the weekly passes. She wants 18.60 Euro for one pass then another 18.60 Euro for the other one. We get through all of this then we find out we have to take a photo and attach it to the card, They have one of those self-photo machines and we attempt to take a photo. I push all the buttons and finally see they have it in English. Should be easy. Wrong. There are several options to choose from Passport, portrait, 4 pictures, or a page of minis, etc. I get in a take a picture. I put in 2 Euros as I only need 1 picture BUT what came out was a 4x6 portrait photo – much too big for the card. Now I have to pay 5 Euros to get the other pictures. We thought it would be 2 Euros so now we don’t have enough change for the machine. We go up to the street level to the grocery store by our apartment and get change. Great, we think, they also have a photo booth but NO, it is not working. Back down in the subway to the photo booth. Now there are 2 girls and a boy trying to take photos. They are from the US just got here for 3 months and are trying to figure out how to use the machine also. They finally figure out the right buttons to push and help us get our photos for the cards. So far, this has taken us a total of 2 hours and we have only been 1 block from the apartment. We almost decide to call it a day but then change our mind.
We went to the Arc de Triomphe and actually found our way to the stairway and the underground passage to get across the street. We stood in a long line to go to the top and then found that the lift (elevator) was broken. We decided we wait and not take the 300+ steps up and down today and to come back another time.
For lunch we stopped to have the “Formula” (daily special) any sandwich, any drink (soda, beer or wine), any dessert and coffee or tea for 7.50 Euros. Best deal we have found since we have been here. The sandwich was very good and on a footlong baguette. For dessert, Edward had a strawberry tart and I had a creamy chocolate tart with bananas. We ask about the coffee/tea and the guy told us to just come back after we eat our sandwich and get it then. The French love to linger over dining – no rush-in rush-out for them.
The guy below was on the subway that evening. He has his little plastic bag of groceries for the evening and his baguette. We see people carrying baguettes all the time. I saw one lady with 4 of them – nothing else, just the baguettes. My flash was not on so he had no idea I took his picture. Doesn’t he look happy.
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