Scandalous train

Big turmoil Sunday: several trains traveling from the South to Paris were delayed. That, in France, is scandalous, believe me! What happened? There was a problem with the catenary between Marseille and Nice and some people had to wait up to... 10 hours to go back home. I was in one of these trains, but was lucky enough to be delayed only 40 minutes. No harm ;) And I really enjoyed my 3 days in the south (in Languedoc, more precisely).

Death Danger!

You can find this sign above most of train tracks (I took this one near the St Lazare train station) and it never ceases to amaze me. It says roughly "it's prohibited to touch the catenary : death danger". Really?! It seems to me pretty obvious, but maybe not to everyone... These signs are pretty popular in France, some are even sold on ebay...

Caps exhibit

Remember the train photo I took last week? I told you it was for an exhibit in Le Grand Palais (the 70 year anniversary of the National French Train Company). Well I went to see this exhibit and it was fun - I even got to see the inside of the locomotive I shot the other day. They also display things that are train related, like station furniture or even ticket controllers' uniforms and caps, as you can see on this photo! A nice change from Christmas scenes... If you want to see more photos, here is a little animated diaporama made with a little help from the guys from Animoto!

Paris Car share

Like many big cities throughout the world - and on top of our rent a bike 'Velib' system - the town hall of Paris has appointed 3 companies (Caisse Commune, Mobizen and Okigo) to offer a car share service. The principle is simple: you first need to subscribe to the service (some companies charge a subscription fee) then whenever you need a car, you just need to pick it up in a parking space near you (like the one I photographed) and pay by the hour (2 to 9 € depending on your plan) or the kilometer. When you're done, you return the car where you took it. The petrol (gas) is included. Pretty clever, especially when you need a car to go to Ikea or to take the kids to the country!

What transportation strike?

I don't know how long the strikes will last, but so far so good. People get organized, they walk, use roller blades or, drive their bike - or Vélib' - to work (I took this photo this morning on Place de la Concorde). Also, as always in difficult times, people talk to each other much more, they share their feelings, help each other... Of course that is, those who live in Paris for the ones who live in the suburbs and have to suffer the long hours in the traffic probably don't agree with me!

A fun way to move around Paris

If you're looking for an unusual way to visit Paris, how about this "Urban Car", a sort of taxi with no engine but a pedaling driver instead? This will not look too unfamiliar to some of my Asian visitors as you can easily find this kind of vehicles in countries like Thailand or Vietnam, but in Paris they are new. The main purpose is to limit the gas emission. It's affordable: 1€50 per person + 1€50 per kilometer (up to 2 passengers) - add one extra euro on Sundays. - and fun. More, here.

(Almost) free bike ride, day one!

You remember this post, when I told you they were currently installing a fantastic bike service called Velib in Paris? Well, that's it, they opened it yesterday (Sunday). The principle is very simple: there are 750 terminals throughout Paris (and there will be more - one every 100 meters/ 110 yards - by the end of 2007) from where you can take or return a bike. If you're just visiting here you can buy a 7 day ticket for 5€ (or even a 1 day ticket for 1 €) then pay as you go. Well, in fact you may never pay since the first 30 minutes are free... For a complete information, please visit the PDP Forum under this topic.