Saturday, October 16, 2010

Planes, trains and automobiles.....

Without a car, a trip to IKEA can be a bit daunting. I ventured out with my Bellevue friend, Susan, taking the RER (suburb)train. We were a few stops away from our destination when the driver announced that the train was terminating and that everyone was to get off. As we were making our way to door, the lights went off, the door shut and the train began to move. We were stuck on the 'train to nowhere' and the conducter had no idea we were still aboard. Lord knows where or when it was going to stop. We spent a few minutes laughing at Susan's bad luck since she moved here less than two months ago. (Her son was stuck in an elevator, has been locked out of the apartment, had her iphone stolen, sprained her ankle, numerous necessary items from home never made the shipment,etc.) This just about topped the list. I finally got my nerve up and pulled the alarm. I was half-expecting the train to come to a suddern, violent halt and envisioned myself being taken away by the french police for unlawfully setting the alarm. Thankfully, none of this came to pass. The conducter's voice came over the intercom and I asked him to please let us off at the next stop, which he did. From there we waited for another train to get us to the station closest to IKEA, then we took a bus, and then walked a half mile to our destination. And I used to think 20 min south to Renton, in the comforts of my spacious SUV with seat warmers was a hike. On our way home, we hoped to take a taxi, but couldn't find any out in the 'burbs'. So we did this same journey back but this time lugging a ton of merchandise, including an ironing board and bed frame parts. I'm sure that we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies.

A couple of days later, the kids and I were running late in the morning to get to school. Once our bus finally arrived we quickly hopped aboard. When we were about halfway to the school, our bus was hit from behind by a taxi. We felt the impact but knew the taxi would've taken the brunt of the collision. Of course, the bus driver stopped immediately to check out the damage. I figured both drivers would exchange info and then our packed bus would be on its merry way. Mais, non! As soon as we arrived at the next stop, the bus driver made everyone disembark. I noticed a taxi stopped at a red light, and the kids and I jumped in. They were a few minutes late to school but had a great story to tell about a taxi crashing into our bus!

And don't even get me started on the weekly strikes that have been occurring over the past month because of Sarkozy's proposed retirement age increase from 60 to 62 years. These strikes have crippled the transportation system, including a number of flights within France being cancelled. Getting to and from school dependent on mass transit is particularly challenging. The protesters often march down Blvd. St. Germain, close to the school. The entire area becomes cordonned off and is very difficult to get in or out of.

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