Metro Walk

          The metro walk was interesting as it took us on various metro trains.  This wasn’t the typical outdoors type of walk like the others.  Instead most of the time was spent on the train or walking in the tunnels underground.  The walked explained some of the history and how the metro started out with only two lines.  Since then it has expanded and there are fourteen lines today.  It seems like someone can get anywhere in the city with the metro now with the dozens of stops dispersed throughout the city. 

In the U.S., there are also metro systems.  I have been on some of the different metros before like those in New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco.  So riding the metro was somewhat familiar to me and not something completely foreign.  I knew about the ticket turnstiles, that two trains go opposite directions from a stop, and that the trains can get very crowded during rush hour times.  Bart, the metro system that I use in the Bay Area, connects the suburbs into and through part of San Francisco which is similar to the RER combined with the metro lines.    

There were a few differences that I noticed concerning the American and French metros.  First of all, the Paris metro is very complex and large, much more than Bart.  It reminded me of like the metro in NY in the sense that there are many stops all throughout the city.  I found that the lit up signs with all the stops inside the Parisian metro trains is very helpful but yet different from the metros I have ridden.  Also, some of the metros in Paris have a lever or button you use to open the train doors at the stops.  I found it odd at first since the trains I’ve been on before all have doors that automatically open.  However I think that this seems to be an advantage in keeping out the cold air (or maybe hot air during the summer months) out since the metro doors must be opened manually.  

There are no signs on the Paris metros about food or drink.  In America, most of the trains have signs that say no food or drink but yet people still end up eating and drinking.  In Paris though there are no signs I have seen giving a definite rule.  I, however, haven’t ever seen anyone eat or drink on the train with maybe a few exceptions which were probably tourists anyways.  French people are not snacking kind of people.  They don’t eat on the run or in public.  The French instead eat only in restaurant and kitchen settings.  And when they do eat they take their time and enjoy it.  They find it rude to eat in any other situations or in a rush.  This comes from France’s past.  The French are prideful people in being French and take pride in their food.  They consider it more of an art.

The trains within the Paris metro system even differed from each other.  Some of the trains were quite squeaky and some were cleaner.  All of the trains seemed to have some sort of graffiti whether it was on the inside or sometimes even on the outside.  The people riding it consisted of all sorts of races and ages.  The demographics of the people seemed to vary depending on where the metro was within Paris.  Each arrondissment has a reputation and has certain people living in it whether it is more of a rich or a poor neighborhood.  This was due to how Paris began to grow as a city.  The poor people got pushed to the outskirts of Paris while those with money could afford the inner sections.  Some parts of the metro switched from underground to above ground which was a nice change from the dark tunnels.  Some tunnels had round arches and some had flat ceilings.  Some stops had more color than other such as colored tiles or painted murals.  Even the metro entrances varied from each other.  Hector Guimard designed some of them making them more unique and pretty. 

This walk helped me to familiarize myself with the Paris metro system.  I rode a train from every line and saw some of the unique features of the French metros.  There were some differences I noticed comparing the French and American metros.  The French metro is complex and varies from one another.  It is interesting that the French don’t eat on their metro and there isn’t even a rule publicized.  The French have pride in their country and so they strive to even have pride in their French metro system.