Strike

Today was a very French day, as the flight I was supposed to take was so delayed due to the French air controllers striking that we had to end up cancelling the trip (it was going to be a quick 1-day meeting, and if you only get there in the later afternoon, there's no point anymore). When we told people at work this, it was treated like it's just one of those things that happens from time to time, no big deal.

I also then got to experience Parisian traffic going into the city during the last half of rush hour(s) in the morning, which was not enjoyable. My co-worker was doing the driving, as I'm still too nervous to attempt driving in Paris yet, particularly due to that the first few pages of Google results of "driving in Paris" explicitly say don't do it no matter how much you're used to driving in large US cities. Also the street signs, markings, and intersections are REALLY confusing in the center city. There isn't really any marking between opposite lanes of traffic, you just got to know you're not on a one way street. I'll probably eventually get to it (it would make an Ikea run much easier) but at the moment I'll pass.

Instead I take the train out to work, then pick up my rental car (actually leased since it's for 6 months, so that's cheaper) from a parking lot near the train station to get the last few kilometers to work. I wish the office was right next to a train station, but this is a decent compromise. It does take about 15 minutes longer than it would if I drove the whole way without any traffic, but when there is traffic, it's 30 minutes shorter. Obviously we could have also lived closer to work, but neither Kara and I are really suburb type people, and we wanted to take full advantage of living in Paris if while the opportunity presented itself.

I do need to get a Navigo (unlimited) metro pass, as buying the tickets individually gets expensive!