Git Merge 2015 in Paris - Day 0

My stay in Paris started optimistic. At the RER train station of Charles de Gaulle Airport I wanted to buy Navigo Decouvert ticket card (similar to e.g. London Oyster). My conversation with the clerk at the desk was rather swift:

She: Bonjour

Me: Bon-jour par-le-vu in-gle?

She: No.

She actually didn’t even look at me once. When the lady noticed I didn’t leave, she made an angry gesture to the screen above. Quick exploration revealed one other clerk had a Brittish flag on his screen. A-ha!

Well, the guy was friendly, we wished each other nice day and I was leaving with my brand new public transport card. The sun was shining, what could go wrong on such a wonderful day.

So, where is this place I’m stayin?

I decided to arrive to Paris one day earlier to the Git Merge 2015 event. I’ve never been to France, so I wanted to have enough time in case anything went differently to my expectations. Well, lucky me…

After my arrival to the presumed B&B location, I found out it is an appartment building with no visible sings of the accomodation service. Quick call to the number provided at the booking took me through a brief automated call receiver to an english-speaking (yes!) lady. After brief conversation it was obvious there was something wrong with my reservation (damn!). Apparently it has been cancelled due to invalid credit card and the room is not free anymore. I admit I was a little stunned at that very moment.

I currently don’t know why my credit card wasn’t accepted during the booking (I’ve just paid my new accomodation without any problems), but that wasn’t the most upsetting issue. What I can’t really grasp is how the hell could my reservation be cancelled without me getting a single email? Until this very moment my Hotels.com account claims the reservation to be active and ok!

It seemed a little odd that my account wasn’t charged at the time of the booking, but then there was this sentence present at the booking details:You'll be charged by the hotel in the local currency after your arrival. There was no e-mail address for the B&B, only French phone number, so I let it go. I paid for it…

New directions

It’s fair to say the lady tried to help me and offered another room at a different location. Unfortunately, our call had repeatedly suffered from technical problems and in the end it was impossible to finish the conversation. So I was on my own. The task was clear - find a replacement, reasonably distant from the centre and pay less than my monthly sallary. I bless the providence which made me buy a roaming mobile data package before my departure as the internet connection made things much easier. It took me about two hours to find a new place to stay.

So here I am - at a hotel 120 EUR more expensive, without breakfast and wireless (actually, they are both provided at extra fees which are ridiculously high). The room is clean, but as the building and equipment are very old, the air is rather stiff. Still, I’m very happy to be here. The location is good, the staff is nice and it is warm inside :).


Rest of the day was a pleasant thing. Paris is a beautiful city, the food is awesome (that will take another post, I guess) and I had a wonderful walk with my camera. And hell, some of their metro lines are trains with tires!

Now I can’t wait for the tomorrows start of the Git Merge 2015!

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