it’s all paid for, I’ll just take this one. I took it, thanked her and walked off. I got to the metro station and the card didn’t work, I had to buy another one in the machine, so at least I had the experience of how to do it. It was only until later I realised what had happened. So that’s my bad start to Paris, feeling really silly.”
My first day in Paris certainly did not go as planned. I was expecting to jump in a taxi and be driven to my hotel, only to find that the driver was trying to charge me nearly double what I had expected. I knew I was being scammed, but I paid the original fee and hoped he would take me to my destination.
But when I needed to purchase a Paris Visite Pass to get around the city, I was scammed again. At the Metro station, a woman with an official badge approached me and offered to help me get the pass I wanted. I saw the pass pop up on the machine, but the card reader wasn’t working. She told me it was paid for and gave me a card. I thanked her and went on my way, only to find out later that the card didn’t work. I had to buy another one at the machine, which left me feeling embarrassed and silly.
It’s safe to say that my first day in Paris wasn’t the best. I’m usually good at avoiding scams, but I got caught off-guard this time. I’m just glad that I was able to use the experience to learn how to purchase a Paris Visite Pass correctly. I’m hoping that the rest of my trip goes more smoothly.