ismael chang ghalimi

The Most Annoying Parking Meter Ever

Earlier today, I was in Paris for a meeting with a customer. After driving around the block for about half an hour, I finally managed to find a spot where I could park the oversized car I was given in Frankfurt. My joy was short lived though, as I realized that the meter that would allow me to pay my parking dues would only accept pre-paid smart cards that could only be bought from a tobacconist. Problem was: no tobacco store was anywhere in sight, and I was running late for my meeting. French tobacconists are evidently suffering from a decrease in the consumption of tobacco products, therefore seek help from the government in the form of micro monopolies. They recently lost the exclusive right to sell the local equivalent of DMV tax stickers, therefore must be scrambling to find alternative sources of revenue. But as much as I would like to feel any sympathy for their struggle for survival, this parking system is utterly annoying. Note to Bertrand Delanoe: please upgrade your parking meters with models that can accept payment using good old coins. You might also want to consider giving early retirement packages to your tobacconists.

[...] Question: how do you get from Metz to Bonn in less than two hours, while Michelin tells you that such a trip will take 39 more minutes? Answer: you take advantage of the amazing German highway system, combined with the perfection of German engineering as found in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. While cruising on the autobahn at up to 230 km per hours (143 mph), I got there right on time, and parking was definitely easier than in Paris. I wish some highways in the US would also offer unlimited speed as well. Until then, I’ll take the airways… [...]