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[expatinuk]

. And have you ever gone out to the airport on the RER and then discovered that the machines at the exits couldn't read the perfectly correct RER ticket (purchased from one of the machines that only take the Carte Bleu or correct change -- so convenient for the foreign traveler -- and that work . . . frequently) you'd used to enter the system in the city? And that there was no one around to fix the machine or open the gate? Oh, if you haven't climbed over the gates at CDG, you haven't really lived.

*ROTFL*  That's what I had to do!!! Twice!  The night before I left, I'd gone into Paris from Cergy and bought a ticket from the ticket booth for my return. It didn't work. I had to crawl UNDER the barrier. Being 5'2" there is no way I can manage to jump OVER the barrier.

The next morning I had to buy my train ticket from one of the machines... which as you pointed out is only in French. At one point the ticket I chose came up with a 103euro price... I didn't buy that one!!! I did manage to get a ticket that said it was for the airport. When I got there... yep... the gate wouldn't work and I had to crawl UNDER the barrier again.

I'm too darn old to have to do that twice in two days... LOL

[estresada]

I thought the train/metro ticket misreading incidents in Paris were only MY bad luck!  How refreshing.  However, I'm so tied to my sense of propriety regarding not cutting in lines and not jumping over barriers that I clearly stood out in Europe, particularly when flying with RyanAir (my boyfriend said that bus stations in Guatemala were less disorderly than lining up to get on those planes).  Paris was fine, but during my visit, I needed to escape to Brussels to get excited about the rest of the European trip.  For me, Brussels had much more charm than Paris.  And what's better than a warm waffle on a cold day??  Well, maybe pizza in Venice or pintxos in the Basque country.

[gobelin]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience in Paris.  Yes, strikes are a frequent inconvenience there, and the outskirts are soulless and depressing.  But Paris is my favourite city and if I don't go for a while, I really start to miss it.  Maybe before you go with Hubby, you can post for suggestions, so that we can make sure your next trip there is a better one!