We had about 90 minutes to kill before our airport shuttle left Paris, so I decided we would pop up the Gallerie Lafayette to do the roof tour. Taking the Metro there was a cinch, we saw the sights, we headed for the nearest Metro. That's when the trouble began
First, it was a different station. OK so they're all the same, no biggie. There was no attendant at this one, just 2 machines. A "helpful" guy was telling people what to do and where to do it, I figured he had some kind of scam going. But the problem was, both machines started acting up at the same time. So the clock is ticking for our shuttle and we're standing there in an ever-growing line of pissed off people unable to buy tickets. FINALLY worked out way to the front and got out tickets.
Now problem 2 - just because a station says outside that it's line 7, for example, doesn't mean that it really is. It could just mean that once you're inside, following the signs, you'll end up on endless escalators, hallways and peoplemovers that end up taking you to another station! What's the friggin point, just tell us to go to that station in the first place. So the point is, a seemingly short Metro trip won't always be doable after all.
Oh we missed the shuttle BTW, but the concierge refunded our money, we stuck around and did more sightseeing and then caught a taxi.