The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Take the topic of transportation systems : I quoted recently an article of The Independent that can make believe that Londoners would be very happy to trade their Tube against our Métro.
Well, the Métro is quite allright. Except for the noise of course. In some sections, you cannot have a normal conversation, let alone a loud one. Oh, and who cares really about air-conditioning ? Certainly not Parisians who like to sweat bullets from spring to autumn. And to gather in large groups in small carriages to enjoy their overheated and deafening trips during peak hours. To be honest, I found my recent experience with the Tube quite exhilarating. And the new Oyster system is so easy to use ! I could never find the courage to go through all the paperwork required to get the rather equivalent (there is no such thing as "pay as you go") Navigo in my own city when it took me 2 minutes of queuing and 3£ to get one in London.
Or so I thought. I just checked out and was able to subscribe online almost instantly. I almost cannot believe it was so easy ! It sure does not help for the noise, but after all this annoyance seems to quite well shared, not only in "old Europe", but in the capital of the world as well (where their EasyPay program does not seem to be half as useful as ours). So I will try to rant a bit less from now on. Even if it can be quite enjoyable at times ;-)
But one thing for sure the Métro will always lack, and this is no ranting, is that it will never bring me to such marvellous, moving and dreamful places as this one :
I will not leave my brand new Oyster card unused for too long, you can count on this.
Labels: London, New York City, Paris
