29 April 2007

A couple of days ago we told you about the removal of illegally parked vehicles. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of the process but this morning they were in our little street again. Rue Cyrano de Bergerac is a short street and a one way street. This morning, the truck used to remove automobiles pulled into the street and the end of it was blocked by a car with three police in it. The police got out and started ticketing cars while the truck began the process of removing them.

It is a bit of a spectator sport. People flew to their windows to watch and even the pigeons on the ledges seemed to stop and focus their attention on the process. After removing the first two cars, the truck drove off only to be replaced by a smaller vehicle which removed another car.

Then one of the bigger trucks returned and took two more cars away.

One woman came out between the time the trucks were there, took the sticker off her windshield, ripped it up and drove off. Another woman came out, saw her car being lifted onto the truck to be towed away and just stood watching with a quizzical expression on her face. And if you have any doubt, let me reassure you that the area is clearly marked as a "tow-away" zone.

For those of you who know Paris, there is, in addition to the Metro, the RER which is the suburban/commuter rail line. It is similar to the District Line in London or the suburban/commuter line in almost any major city. We both remembered just how nervous we were the first time we used the Metro many years ago. Now we feel as if we are old hands at it, jumping on and off and changing stations with no problems at all. We are also comfortable with the buses.

But the RER was a new experience and we were back to the level of basic learners again. Imagine, if you can, picking up a book of instructions on how to use something as simple as a toaster. The only problem is that it is written in Greek and you don't read the language. That's what it is like to use the RER. Nonetheless with Virginia's French we finally nutted it out. It was an interesting, if unnerving experience. Because these are commuter lines they are double-decker trains, much larger and more powerful than the Metro trains and not unlike those one sees in Sydney. They are fast and make fewer stops and what stops they do make are at major stations.

Unlike the Metro, you need to use your ticket to check out of the system as well as to get in to it. Best of all, at least the ones we were on were air-conditioned which, considering the temperatures here at the moment was a real added bonus.

Later, after leaving the RER, we returned home on the bus. Whilst we were waiting at the bus stop we noticed some officials from the bus security service. They were all in very smart outfits. When the bus drew up at the stop, the doors were guarded by some of these officials while other boarded the bus and checked that everybody's ticket was in order.

Clearly the driver was involved in the process because he guarded the front door did not drive on until instructed to do so. We were then allowed to board and noticed that the security people remained on the bus, and proceeded to check the tickets of the new passengers and the alighted at the next stop. It was all done with the precision of a military operation.

Later we caught the little electric Montmartrebus up to the Butte where we sat enjoying a beer and watching the passing parade.