I hope you are having a fantastic Sunday. I got my laptop back and I am surprised that it actually works again. I already made plans to buy a new MacBook but I guess I can save that money at the moment. Phew! What a relief! So now I can finally work on the posts about Paris and the other trips David and I took.
Today I want to start by sharing some of the lessons I learned while I was in Paris.
Lesson #1.
It is NOT a good idea to drive to Paris by car. Take a bus, a plan, a train. Whatever. Just not a car. You will regret it. Trust me.
Lesson #2.
Parisian drivers are a nightmare. They don't look left or right. They honk all the time. They don't care if they scratch your car when they try to park. They leave a roundabout from the inner lane.
Lesson #3.
Parisian drivers don't care when they crash into your car as long as nobody starts to bleed. Because "it's just metal.", "insurance will pay for it." and "you are still alive."
Lesson #4.
Nobody at the English speaking police emergency hotline speaks English.
Lesson #5.
Parisian police does not care about a car crash as long as nobody is injured.
Lesson #6.
I lose most of my French speaking skills when I have a car accident. I can speak enough French to buy the cheapest Metro tickets available.
Lesson #7.
It is not much fun to drive through Paris when you just had an accident and your GPS stopped working.
Lesson #8.
It's not that easy to find your hotel in Paris without a GPS.
Lesson #9.
It makes you feel better to yell at the guy at the emergency hotline of your rental car company when he starts to bitch around.
Lesson #10.
Paris is not the most vegan-friendly city in the world.
Lesson #11.
There are way too many people taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower.
Lesson #12.
You have to wait in line for at least 3 hours when you want to see the bones of 6 million people. And then you will wonder why you don't see any hands or feet, just skulls and upper arm bones.
Lesson #13.
You will feel very relieved when you come home after a Paris trip and did not have another accident.
Lesson #14.
Paris is still a beautiful and fascinating city...even when you have a car accident and are totally angry and pretend to hate the city.
Have you ever been to Paris?
Happy Sunday!
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI have never been to Paris but I just loved your post and it made me laugh a couple of times! :-)
Seems like the picture I got from the French in general!
Have a great Sunday!
Hehe, I am glad I was able to make you laugh! :)
DeleteHave a great week!
oh man, anything driving-related sounds awful in paris.
ReplyDeleteIt really is! I will never try it again!
DeleteHi Katrin
ReplyDeletehahah! interesting post! seems like you had a really tough time driving there!
:)
Really! It was so awful! I will never do it again!
DeleteParis has always been a place I want to visit - but now I'll make sure to take the public transport rather than a car :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend it! :)
DeleteI'm glad you threw one positive in there ;) noted: never drive to Paris!
ReplyDeleteHaha. We really had a great trip! Except of the driving and the accident! :))
DeleteWhat a crazy visit! I'm glad you weren't hurt in the crash. I'll make sure to use public transport if I ever go there!!
ReplyDeleteYou really should. I will never drive there again! Thanks for your sweet words!
DeleteAt least you were able to turn a horrible experience (the car accident) into a hilarious blog post!! I was laughing out loud at this one! :o) I'm still really sorry you had that happen to you, though!
ReplyDeleteI warned you about the long wait at the Catacombs! I could not believe how many people were there. Also, when I was looking up information for my blog post, I found out where the extra bones are, like the hands and feet and jaw bones to the skulls - they're piled BEHIND what you see as you walk through. The organized stacks are so tall that you can't see the piles of miscellaneous bones behind them. Weird, right?
Haha, thank you so much Sarah! I am glad you liked the post and it made you laugh! :) I guess you just need to see the good side of things.
DeleteYeah, I know you warned me. :) I thought that we could be lucky but no. :( Really long lines. We went there one day and arrived at 11 and the line was long. So we decided to go back earlier the next day and then the line was even longer. Haha. That is fascinating the other bones are behind the ones you see. I tried to look behind things but it is just not possible. So weird.
I live in France and even I would never drive in Paris! xo
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah. I will never ever do it again!
DeleteWow!!! I would be so stressed out driving in Paris!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was horrible. I will never do it again!
DeleteIm sorry to hear about your driving experience in Paris....yeah the traffic in Paris seems crazy...but the ones in Asia are even crazier, they won't stop. I almost got hit by a car at red light in Buenos Aires....the car was half an inch away... I was fortunate to be alive.
ReplyDeleteIt really is crazy to drive in Paris. It was one of the worst decisions I ever made. I thought it would be easy to just drive to the hotel and then use the Metro for the rest of the time. And I definitely don't want to drive in Asia! :)
DeleteThat story sounds so scary! I am so happy that you are fine, Rika!
I had no idea Parisians were such terrible drivers! I head heard that about people in Rome, but not France. I did go to Paris once, spent 4 days only and I was surprised by the fact the they don't speak (or don't want to speak) any English. I don't speak French so I pretty much had to get by with Spanish, hehe. It is a very beautiful city, although I'm not sure I saw its full beauty because my glasses broke right before I landed there, hahaha!
ReplyDeleteIt was so terrible. I never drove in a city like that. I thought it would be okay to just drive to the hotel and then take the Metro the rest of the time. I agree that bigger Italian cities are terrible as well (and of course some Asian ones) but this was definitely the worst city I drove to. And yes, a lot of people do not speak English and my French isn't that great so it wasn't always easy. Especially when you had to talk to two policemen and a stupid Parisian woman who can't drive!
DeleteOh no, I am so sorry you broke your glasses right before you landed! :( I broke mine in Milan before I went to the opera. I did not see anything!
Hugs!