Newbie Navigo

The Parisien transport system is extremely convenient and is such a luxury for me. I don’t drive and I love to walk, so cities like Paris or London are perfect for me. In Paris, even if you get lost, just wander around a bit and you’ll eventually find a way to a Metro Station or RER.

I am a bit puzzled however by their ticketing services. If you’re here for less than a week, then just buy those one-off paper tickets or a carnet (a bunch of 10 tickets), which you can use it anytime, as you please. However, when you buy the weekly or monthly carte orange, you will have to know the following facts:

1. If it’s your first time to get one, buy it at the ticket desk and not at the automated machines. You will need to get the paper card, paper ticket and the protective plastic cover that goes with it. You’ll also need a 1×1 pic for the ID portion.
2. The weekly ticket is from Monday-Sunday of the coming week and is available from the Wednesday before it. So for the week of the 26^th of March-1^st of April, you can buy it from the 21^st of March, 2007.
3. The monthly ticket is from the 1^st to the last day of the coming week and is available from the 20^th of the previous month.
4. You can also get a Navigo card, which is like London’s Oyster card. This is more convenient than the carte orange because you just need to tap it on the card readers installed at the barriers, instead of inserting a paper ticket. It also avoids the hassle of the occasional de-magnetized ticket, and avoids the mess of used up tickets littering the metro. You can get an application form at the ticket desks but it will take about 2 weeks before it gets to you. Again, have 1×1 pictures ready!!!
5. All this information is in www.ratp.fr, but of course, it won’t be in the english version of the page.

What I find a little weird is that inspite of being electronic; the Navigo still operates in the same fixed price – fixed period use of the tickets as the Carte Orange, (only that it looks nicer). It has speeds up getting through the barriers and to your train, but it hasn’t really revolutionized transport as much as only electronics and computers can.

I would have thought that being ‘pre-paid’ and electronic, surely you should be able to load it anytime so you can avoid the inevitable long queues everytime the end of the month comes near. Then again, this is a country where employees can take leaves almost all at the same time every year (which is August, tourists beware).

Rue Mesnil

It is lonely to be away from everyone you know. The technical convenience of webcams nor instant communication cannot take away that fact. It is only the beauty of the city that eases it somewhat. It is natural to seek the familiar, to give the foreign city the semblance of home.

I looked for the Filipino store today at Rue Mesnil in the 16th arrondissement to try and see how the community here is like. In Belfast, there is this lovely family that makes newcomers feel welcome and helps them find their way. As to us Filipinos, food is an unequivocal binding force, Pinoy restaurants in other countries double as information centers for services and events.

I was walking the length of Rue Mesnil, trying to look for the store sign of Marche Manille (Manila Market). Being blind as a bat, I missed it on my first pass. While I was looking around, a Jehova’s Witness evangelist, Ate Nida, approached me. It doesn’t matter which city you’re in: they will find you.

For those who have encountered this group, you know that most of them can be a bit pushy. Even if you say you are in a hurry, they will insist that it will only take a minute… and it never takes a minute. It’s unfair. I think they’re exploiting the fact that most pinoys are exceptionally polite. I thought I’d entertain her for a few minutes.

I apologize for any offense, if you are part of this group, but really, I had a traumatic experience when I was a twelve year old. This lady tried to recruit our little group and she talked to us for hours (literally), interrupting our summer games, boring us to death, and making us extremely wary of ‘It will only take a minute’.

I find that saying yes to whatever they’re inviting you to will generally make them leave you alone. I did just that and said I’ll be there on Easter Sunday. She then proceeded to sell me some magazines with captions saying that the ‘Internet is evil’. This is when I made my exit.

On my second pass of the street, a big tin can of Nido caught my eye and voila – there it is! There were two stores on the street and a small shop for takeaway food. The first store I found was the ‘Pinoy Store’ (very imaginative). The grocery section had almost everything you can see in a sari-sari store, including Lucky Me Pancit Canton (my favorite). In the takeaway shop next door, there was crispy pata, menudo, sisig, puto, turon, kutsinta – you name it. I got myself some menudo and rice, and bought some chichiria: a big bag each of cheeze curls and clover chips.

Time for lunch!

comfort food

I've been on the prowl for some chinese takeaway since I got here. For the past week, I've seen nothing but sandwiches, croissants and other different types of bread.

Thank goodness I went to level 0 of the Quatre Temps, where there's this turo-turo of chinese food for quite cheap prices. I've forgotten the name because I devoured the meal completely. I think it was Vang Hour or something. There will be no malls in Paris, so if you do need a mall, go to La Defense in Zone 3 which is at the end of Line 1.

Aaah…one craving sated. Now only if I could find the Filipino store….

day to day

It's been freezing, as of late, just when I've already packed my winter clothes and left them in the UK. I've been extended in my hotel for 10 more days, and then moving to a shiny red new apartment in the 17th arrondisement after that.

I was quite spoiled last weekend as I had some equally gluttonous people with me. On ordinary days, my main meal of the day is lunch, when we go down to the Les Collines canteen. Breakfast is just bread and coffee. Dinner time is usually a takeaway, eaten in front of my laptop while chatting with ma cheri.

It's nice to be back in civilization, and the fact that I can take the train to almost anywhere is such a luxury. The simplest things like pain au chocolat and croissants taste better — more 'chewy' and definitely fresher. I gotta find some asian restaurant soon though as I am missing my rice!!!!

The best meal I've had so far would be at the Marais area, near Pompidou where I had scallops in some tomato based sauce. Oh wow, that was awesome.  I had it with a refreshing glass of white wine. All the wines I've had so far, are certainly  the best I've had in my life,  lighter and smoother to the palate, excellent with food. Not that I'm any wine expert …at some level, alcohol is alcohol) .

McChicken, sadly, still tastes the same. 

houseguests

Seeing that I'm the only non-french speaking person on the project — I kept inviting people even before I got here so I can have some semblance of social life on the weekends. My first weekend, the team from the Netherlands came over. We spent, well, mainly eating our way to the sights. It was my first time to talk in Tagalog in a week, and the first time I had people to have dinner with. It felt good to have company after spending the whole week feeling like a total outsider.

Lea, Jonard and I went to the cementery at Pere Lachaise, where Oscar Wilde was buried, and then to the Musee D'Orsay which has the one of the most amazing collection of Impressionist paintings from Renoir, Degas, Monet and Van Gogh, just to name a few.

Today, we decided to try a walking tour. The Da Vinci code tour by Paris Muse was not worth the money, IMHO. It didn’t have a lot of information, nor did it delve into the deeper influences of the Da Vinci code. I just thought it might be a good idea to do a walking tour so I can get to know the city more intimately, but next time I’ll just do a historic tour, like what I did in Berlin instead of doing a 'pop' tour. I did learn one thing though: that Dan Brown took too much artistic license on his logistics (or perhaps he just has a bad sense of direction). I like writers who stick to the facts when the definite facts are available and he is not one of them.

We walked for about 3 hours in the inclement weather, mind you; it was raining too for a while. The cold wind is seeping back into Europe just when you thought it was already spring.

But oh man, the food warmed us up and was as heavenly as I first remembered.

View from my window

Here's the view from my window.  I'll be moving next week to an apartment but for now I wake up to this every morning

 Life can only be better if you were here.  

turning francophile

Living in Paris is entirely different from visiting Paris. It's the psychological trauma of appearing stupid because you can't speak the language. I remember my amusement at those Koreans in UP trying to learn English.

First of all, the French expect you to speak the language. It’s the least you can do after all. They probably can speak anglais, but they probably won’t.

From the Boisserre Metro Station I traversed their fairly easy to follow subway system. Colors and arrows speak a universal language. Right. First day at the job and I need to get my Medical exam done and dusted. First, I had to get to Montrouge. I preplanned my trip using the facility at www.ratp.fr which tells you the fastest way between two addresses.

Armed with my map, I make my way to Avenue Pierre Brossolette with little drama (except I had to ask for directions ONCE to a very nice lady). The map was filled with little roundabouts and I couldn’t quite figure out which end of the street I was at, as I’m terribly illiterate when it comes to mapspeak.

The whole medical exam took about an hour and several ‘parlez-vous anglais?’ to different staff. (I lie. I didn't even get that sentece right.) It wasn't even the full medical checkup, which was great, just your weight, height, eyes and a chest xray. No blood tests, urine tests and the (eew) stool tests which just makes me feel for the unfortunate folk that check them.

After my medical exam, I tried to find my way to the office in the La Defense area, which is the business district of Paris. It is situated in the glorious shadow of La Grande Arche http://www.grandearche.com/ (the building to the right of the the grande arche).

At the station, I grabbed  a simple chicken sandwich as I didn't know the facilities in the office. I just copied what the girl in front of me said ‘Un big chicken, sil vous plait’.

Only the French can make a simple takeaway chicken sandwich taste really good! The bread was soft and tasty by itself too.

On my way home, my metro billet (ticket) didn’t work Un billet nu marche pas!!!!!…I didn’t know what to do. This very nice french guy on the other side of the ticket machine tried to help me by saying I needed to ‘piggyback’, i.e., follow closely the person getting through so I can get in with them. I tried it twice but always got locked out as I was too slow (obviously a newbie). He gestured that I should follow as close as possible and even spoke to a french lady if she can slow down and let me piggyback as my ticket wasn’t working. All throughout this exchange, we spoke in the silent, awkward language of signals and my mortified laughter.

I am loving France so far. London is still calls to me as 'home' but it is Paris that I want to conquer for now.