" Gare St. Lazare "

A trip to this arrondissement gave us another facade that is not often seen.
It's actually just a few walks from the touristy Opera Garnier and the fame Printemps and Lafayette mall.
This is your ordinary parisian neighborhood, the middle-class kind,
a walk around this part has a less exagerrated feel to it.





A french architect, Jean Juste Gustave Lisch,
designed this 2nd largest train station in Paris known as Gare Saint-Lazare.



It recently had this huge makeover inside out,
more inviting and less shifty.
I wasn't able to get inside though,
We had no train to catch and from the outside looking in,
still a lot of sketchy characters (i.e. homeless people, vagrants),
yes, i know in Paris, esp. in train stations they're plenty of them. ^-^





He also designed the main line of the railway station.
sadly though, some parts has been roughly vandalized.







* where was this *
8th arrondissement
Gare St. Lazare - Paris

" R.E.R "

The Réseau Express Régional or simply RER in french, is a transit system
that goes from suburb to the city of Paris and vice versa.
It is one of the many transportations that is affordable and efficient.

Yet, to a season traveller with a luggage that's pretty heavy,
It can be quite cumbersome.
Imagine, having to carry it in and out of the door,
managing the stairs, (escalator if you're lucky)
exiting the turnstile, which can only fit one person at a time and
more uneasy situations inside the metro.

Here's what I've learned so far,
a few tips to live by:

In Paris:

1) To alight at the next stop, you have to press a push-button or otherwise,
the door won't open.
It's not the same thing as it's in Asia, where it's automated.

2) For women travelling alone,
always head for the front row seat of the train,
(nearest to the conductor) and never at the back.
A bit unsafe especially at night.

We randomly hopped on the back seat of the train on the way to Luxembourg station,
without knowing that's it's mostly where thieves hang out.
Don't stand near the entrance door either,
pickpockets happen in a matter of seconds.

3) Be on guard in stations like Les Halles and Chatelet les Halles.

Here's a glimpse of the station: