Le métro

life, metro, paris, city, transit, tips

Ellimaija

If there’s one thing you learn to use (and to hate) very fast when moving to Paris, it’s the famous métro. “Métro, boulot, dodo” (a French expression describing the Parisian lifestyle, that translates to “metro, work, sleep”) becomes very real, and it also becomes very obvious that it is the reality of millions of other grumpy Parisians as well.

Paris has a pretty extensive metro network, and when you first lay your eyes on the map, it can look a bit scary. How is anyone supposed to find their way in that labyrinth? And you haven’t added the RER (regional trains), busses and tramways to the equation yet. But don’t be too alarmed, because the truth is that the Parisian metro was made for idiots. Really. It looks complicated, but most of the time it’s super easy to navigate in those long tunnels, and connections between lines have been made…

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Pompeii

Day trip from Rome to Pompeii with museum + other cultural tips

Unfolded Maps

When in Rome Pompeii is an easy, if long day trip.  Early one morning we met up with City Wonders for a bus ride down to the ruins of Pompeii.  The bus had a guide who pointed out points of interest along the way like the ancient Abbey of Montecassino and the Appian Way – the ancient main road from Rome to all other points in the empire.  Three hours and 1 rest stop  later we arrived in the ancient city of Pompeii.

Note: My sister had her iPhone stolen from her while on the subway to meet up with the tour group.  If you choose to ride the Roman subway system be wary – thieves take advantage of the extremely crowded conditions to press up against victims and search any pocket and bag they can get a hand into.  A few days after this incident I had 60 lira stolen…

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