Lost in Paris - Part 2

Our hotel was located close to a station called Massy – Palaiseau in the southern outer suburb of Paris in a city called Massy, which meant neither the station nor the hotel was located in the map provided to us by the tour guide. 

The sorry meal at Louvre

It was a 20-25 minute walk to the St. Michel Notre Dame station from the Louvre. We were feeling good about making it to the Louvre and even better about finding the station without any aid. But the bubble burst at the ticket vending machine. It was all written in French and it looked so complicated. I went to the help counter and the guy at the counter probably thought I was free entertainment. I told him I wanted to go to Massy-Palaiseau and he told us to get the tickets from the machine. We stood in the queue (along with other equally clueless foreigners who were forever fidgeting with the machine) and when we finally reached it, we were at a loss to choose. I went back to the counter – got instructions – went to the next step, again at a loss – went back to the counter – came back… this went on for the next 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the other tourist gang got the help of a local who was exasperated and helped only because she was next in the line. When another group of tourists asked for help, she hurried away saying she had a train to catch. It was already 8 pm by then and we were both panicking. We somehow got the ticket and we sprinted off to find the right platform. Each line had a different platform and the lines were indicated by footprints on the floor with a colour matching the line. Massy-Palaiseau trains were running in TWO platforms and we didn't know which one was the fastest/which one was coming next. We took a gamble and went to one of the platforms arguing all the way down. A train came and I asked a gentleman if the train goes to Massy-Palaiseau and got in. Cheena refused to believe it was the right train and he was apprehensive to get in because it didn't want to go in the opposite direction. I was inside the train, screaming at him to get in, worried that the doors might close. He got in with a sour face and we got into an argument and I was almost in tears. I decided to have the rest of the sandwich :P The train was getting emptier with every passing station and our anxieties were only growing. After an hour, we got down at the Massy-Palaiseau station.

The desolate roads

We were about to walk out, but when we put the tickets in the ticket barrier, the barrier closed and refused to let us out. We were at a loss and didn't know what to do. We saw some locals jumping the barrier and in a wave of panic, Cheena tried doing the same thing. But as he was jumping, another barrier closed and he was kind of stuck, but he somehow got out. He was out and I was in, and some of the locals took pity on us I guess so one person held the barrier for me while I jumped out. We thanked them and came out.

Enge sellum indha paadhai

With all the panic and stress, we had forgotten the way to the hotel. So we called the tour guide. She tried to guide us and put us through to our driver who gave us vague instructions. We tried to follow what he said, but we always ended up at a fork or crossroads and had to call them again. After calling them for 5-6 times, they stopped answering calls. It was well past 10 pm and we were wandering the streets of Massy without having a place to sleep. Our stomachs were already growling and I dreamt of the “Indian dinner” waiting for me at the hotel. We would have asked directions to at least 10 people – a Telugu guy who had no clue (Indians everywhere, I know), a drunk Paris youth who said something random, a guy on a car who asked us for the way in turn, a black gentleman who pointed us to some three streets away, few other people who just stared at us and walked away. 

Angels in disguise. If you know these people, please introduce us.

Finally, we saw a signboard saying “Hotel Novotel Massy-Palaisseau 300 metres away” and followed the arrow. We still couldn't find the damn hotel. Then, we asked directions to a guy and girl who said they were going towards the hotel and asked us to walk with them. The guy’s mother had apparently been to India, and they were being quite nice. They walked us to the end of a road, and asked us to take a right from there for the hotel. BUT, when we took the right, we were facing another random hotel. We kept looking in all directions like cartoon characters bobbing their heads on all sides, but Novotel was nowhere to be seen. Just as we were cursing and wondering what rude joke this was all about, the girl who walked with us came running to us and catching her breath, she apologized for directing us to the wrong hotel. She mentioned that her friend had gone to get his car, the hotel is a bit far off and that they will drop us. We were grateful for her help, but we were also a bit apprehensive. The guy brought his car and Cheena kept looking at the girl’s phone from the backseat following the map on her phone. After what seemed like eternity, we were finall at the hotel! We thanked the two of them PROFUSELY and took pictures with them(of course). We got back to the hotel and ate the dinner that had been left for us and crashed. Too bad we didn't get their contact details. Wish we could have thanked them more properly.

All is well that ends well I guess. This will be a day that will be etched in our memory for all our lives.

Lesson 1 – ALWAYS carry a phone with Internet

Lesson 2 – NEVER rely on tour guides (no offence, but not-answering-calls but would never happen in India)

Lesson 3 – NEVER argue when you are tired and hungry

Lesson 4 – If you don't know French and don't have a map, maybe it is a bad idea to venture out in Paris

Expenses:

Train Tickets - €6.80