Facing my fear of buses in Paris
I have a fear of the city bus. I have been all over Paris via the Métro for the last few years but hadn't bothered with the bus. I had heard that the bus was good times, that you have a scenic view, that it's easy to navigate. Ya ya ya. Buses can also change routes based on construction, get caught in traffic, not open the back door when you want to get off, forget your stop, have shoddy announcement systems, inaccurate maps and chauffeur me to the bad part of town.
And that's just the fault of the bus.
Then there is me who can't figure out the route fast enough so that I see my stop wiz by, me who can't figure out the map system, me who basically fears getting lost.
Fear of buses. It's a whole thing. I pretty much sweat the whole time.
I know of someone who has the same fear as me but with the Métro. She has to decide who to take to tea based on our fears of how to get there: Métro or bus.My first trip didn't go well. I got lost. I couldn't get the ticket machine to validate my ticket. I missed my stop and had to walk back. And I wasted a lot of time in sitting on the bus that was sitting in traffic.
But...
I saw some architecture I wouldn't have normally seen and from a higher vantage point. I learned that bus people are much kinder and chattier than Métro takers. I learned that if a person doesn't give up a seat for a person with a cane, that person might squish your toe with said cane. I learned that if you're talking on the phone too loudly you will be shushed by a fellow passenger who just wants some peace and quiet on her ride Mon Dieu. And I learned that if you take enough photos on your bus ride people will start pointing out tourist attractions. I didn't want to tell them I was a blogger, not a tourist.
But I suppose I was kind of a tourist of the bus.
And the whole time fear was my seatmate, sweating and fretting. I just let it sit near me over and over my bus rides. At some point, I forgot fear was next to me. And sometimes fear sat a few seats behind me. Eventually, annoyed with being ignored, fear stopped riding along, preferring to get off the stop near Gare d'Est likely to start haunting people afraid of trains.
A few poetically picturesque moments on the bus...
She is obviously not afraid of the bus.
Neither is he.
Green on the inside... and green on the outside:
There's a Pret A Manger. Let me off this bus!!!! The chocolate mousse is sublime.
You can spy on unsuspecting onlookers from inside the bus.
And see pretty details on the building. How cute is this mouton?
And this lady gazing down at all who enter.
And this lamp. Paris is very good with lamps.
You can get neat shots of the Eiffel Tower but only at stoplights.
Wanna race?
The one issue with bus photos is the blue filter on everything because of the window shades, plus the glare of your own reflection. Evidently I was wearing white this day. Nice cleave.
Hey there Monsieur Kitty.
This clock is the oldest... bla bla bla bla... King Louis likely had something to do with it. Or Napoleon.
How adorable is this firetruck sign?
Good to know if I ever want to change careers.
This girl was writing a letter. To whom? About what? If you want a letter from me about Paris I can make it happen.
