Paris--Day One, Part I

Well, my Parisian adventure got off to a rough start. I got on the train, found my seat, settled in next to a lovely German lady who was taking her teenage children to Paris and got ready for a pleasant ride. Then the train conductor came by to check our tickets. I handed her mine and she said, "Nein, fahrkarte" or "No, ticket". I explained that was my ticket. I showed her the four print-outs I had gotten from the Deutsche Bahn service machine and she said none of them were actual tickets. They all showed I had a reservation for that exact seat at that exact time and that I had paid for it, but my real ticket apparently never got printed. Because I had never rode a TGV, I didn't know the difference. I was forced to pay for an additional ticket (which was the cost of my round trip ticket!), but the conductor felt bad for me and got me the information card about refunds and recommended I call the number. Then the other bad news fell...I would have to rebook my return trip in Paris. Ugh.

By now, I was in tears, realizing I might be forced to pay for my tickets a third time over. The lady next to me gave me a tissue and said in English, "Maybe you get refund." She seemed sad too. I was bummed because I had worked so hard to make sure I had all my ducks in a row so to speak and now something I couldn't control was costing me. However, I had to make a decision: was I going to let this ruin my trip or was I just going to deal with the situation I had with a positive attitude.

I decided to strive for the positive attitude. The rest of the train trip was uneventful. Most of France was foggy so the scenery was mostly hidden. I got a little nap in and faster than I thought possible, we were pulling into Gare de l'Est.

I quickly made my way to a service station, but because I had purchased the tickets through Deutsche Bahn, there was nothing they could do to remedy the situation. However, they found me the number and address of the DB office in Paris so Monday I'll just have to go and see what they can do.

Next, was to get my carnet of ten transportation tickets to tie me over the weekend and get my Navigo Decouverte for next week. I had to wait in line for about 20 minutes for the Navigo, but it was fun to people watch.

I took the Metro to my Centreparis apartment in the 10th arrondissment. It is literally a one minute walk from the Republique metro entrance which will be very handy this week. Finding the keys and apartment was very easy and I was used to the extremely small elevator (just like the one I had in Rome). The studio apartment is just a bit smaller than my apartment, but still has a really nice kitchen (with dishwasher!), living/sleeping area and bathroom. The bathroom is a little old, but it's an old building so what does one expect? My window looks out onto the street which doesn't bother me since I grew up on a fairly busy street most of my life and currently live down the street from a hospital so I'm used to it.

Once I was settled, I grabbed my Estrella Mountain Ranch green bag. It was time to go grocery shopping at Monoprix! Monoprix is like a French version of Target and I was looking forward to hopefully finding a few things cheaper than in Germany. Several things were (woohoo!), but I also got some specialties to try out like Mousse de Canard (Duck Mousse) and Macrons (the most yummy dessert ever!). And of course, how can one go shopping in Paris without getting a baguette and some pain chocolat.

Even though my trip didn't start out like I wanted it to, I am still really excited. The weather is warm! I didn't need a coat and I was even feeling a bit warm wearing a sweater. I'm in a great area with lots to do. Speaking of which, I wonder what I'll do tonight...stay tuned.