Thursday 8 November 2012

Surprising Parisienne souvenirs

A six-day trip to Paris got off to a bad start, while trying to negotiate the ticket barrier at the station with luggage.  The advice is to push your luggage ahead of you.  The gates close immediately behind you, trapping the luggage very effectively - almost irredeemably!

What they don't warn you about (and I should have thought about) is that if the luggage that you are pushing hits something and stops, you end up tumbling to the floor, and in my case putting out my right hand to arrest my fall.

Net result - a visit to hospital and a souvenir from Paris that I didn't expect.

An X-ray of the author's right hand!
An X-ray of the author's right hand, from two angles!

Nothing was broken, just bruised and somewhat 'pénible' - or at least that is what I think they told me, and they were right and still are.

Only one word was spoken in English during the visit to the hospital, and that one didn't help.  The experience tested my French language skills to close to the limit. 

I can even claim to have enjoyed it!

Typing was a bit slower than usual for a day or two.  Over the next few days a few more Parisienne delights will appear . . . probably interspersed between other things.

Small note:  Now waiting for the bill to arrive in the post!

3 comments:

LadyAtheist said...

I was in Paris for three weeks a year ago. It was rainy and unpleasant but I found that it's true if you attempt to speak French they will take pity on you. The only place where I was treated rudely was the Bibliotheque Nationale, which is kind of funny because I'm a librarian and a medievalist (they have one of the best collections of medieval manuscripts in the world). I decided not to tell them that I'm a librarian. Let them think I'm an oaf from Indiana.

LadyAtheist said...

p.s. most important phrase: "Ou sommes nous?" (oo some new) Use it and point to a map. Then let a few tears well up in your eyes and sniffle a bit.

Derby Sceptic said...

Avez votre carte CEAM (EHIC) ne couvre pas cela?