Paris mon amour! :)

Just came back from a weekend trip to Paris by train.
Lots of good things to say about the experience of traveling by train in Europe.
Lots of things to say about Paris (note the progression.)
Lots of bad things to say about French organization (you saw it coming. Didn't you?)

I left Zurich on Friday afternoon around 3pm.
I did not have tickets on the direct high-speed train, so I had to change trains in Basel, Mulhouse, and Dijon.
In Mulhouse, I managed to upgrade to the high speed train and saved myself the train change in Dijon.
That also gave me an extra half-an-hour, so I managed to step out of the train station and get some pictures. So far so good.

The train is fast, more comfortable than the airplane and usually on time.
I made it to Gare de Lyon in Paris by 9:30 as planned.
My friend Takis called me on the spot and let me know that he and his fiancee are waiting for me at their place for dinner.

I took a cab to go to my hotel in Opera, checked-in in no time and then to the Metro.
As per the suggestions I had, I bought for 17.5 Euros a 2-day pass (little did I know) and went to the platform for line #8. I got into the train and waited for it leave the station. After 5 mins of waiting, the friendly voice from the loudspeakers kindly let me know that there will be some delay. After another 5 to 10 minutes and some perspiration from the hot and humid weather, we were notified that due to some failure we were required to abandon the train. Nice start! I thought.

Long story short, after a pleasant Saturday spent meeting with my friends Takis and Andreas where I used the metro only once, Sunday came.  I checkout out of the hotel and sure that less than 48 hours had passed from the time I bought the ticket, I went again to the Metro. What a surprise! The ticket did not work. A brief pause for thought solved the issue. The 2-day pass in Paris is good for literally two days, not 48 hours. Nice job guys!

Conclusion, I paid for 17.5 Euros and was able to use the Metro once!
I do not mind the frustration, that happens to me often without French help, but next time someone from France complains about the Greek debt I will ask for the money from my ticket back!

P.S Visiting Paris is always a unique opportunity, so I might come back with other details and impressions from visiting the "city of lights." Stay tuned!