LESSONS LEARNED

So....I've been in Paris a bit over two weeks now.  I turned off my US iPhone upon arrival in France due to the exorbitant charges from AT&T for international roaming, and I decided to just get by with the phone in the apartment.  Indeed I can make unlimited calls to the US for no charge.  I'm out all day nearly every day, and family and friends in the US are asleep during half that time, so I thought a European cell phone would be a waste of time and money.  Just another thing to cram into my already overstuffed purse.  The phone in the apartment should be all I need.

WRONG!

Today, I had a long list of plans and bolted out the door around noon.  Immediately as the self-locking door closed, I realized BOTH sets of keys were on the dining room table.  [Expletives deleted.]

What to do?  OK...Let's review.  I have no phone.  I have no access to a computer.  I don't have Jeanne's phone number.  I have not seen an internet cafe anywhere in Paris (apparently all have been run out of business by smart phones and iPads).  I haven't even seen a public phone booth since leaving the airport!  And I certainly had not seen any locksmith shops.  

So...resigned to spending the remainder of the day paying for my stupidity, I headed for the main drag, the rue de Rivoli.  

Almost immediately, my spirits lifted as I found a shop that specialized in keys....but it was closed until 3pm.  I strongly suspected he only MAKES duplicate keys and doesn't make house calls, so I didn't want to gamble on waiting for his return at 3 pm.  Finally, I decided to go into a nearby hotel to see if I could get computer access so that I could either get Jeanne's phone number from my gmail or the phone number of a nearby locksmith.  The desk clerk obligingly googled a locksmith for me, dialed the number,  handed me the phone, and I set up an appointment for 2:00 pm.  They quoted me a price of 53 euros,  and the desk clerk and I agreed that it was a very reasonable price.  (Too good to be true?)   At 3:30, he finally showed up...only 90 minutes late....and then the fun began.

After his abject apologies for being late (but he couldn't call me to tell me he had been delayed because I had no cell phone....so it's my fault).  He surveyed my door and lock.  "Oh, madam.  This is going to be quite difficult.  You see, you have a security door.  It is not a simple process of just opening the lock.  I will have to destroy the lock and then we will have to replace the entire mechanism. "  "How much will that cost?"  Well, madam, this is a very special locking system.  It could cost as much as 1,500 euros [$1938....yes, nearly two thousand dollars!] depending on the lock you choose."

Huh?  1500 euros?  To unlock a door?  My French must be more deficient than I thought.  How many ways are there to say 1500 euros in the French language?  "Monsieur, vous avez dit QUINZE CENT EUROS?  MILLE CINQ CENT EUROS?  Un, cinq, zero, zero....EUROS???? " 

I wrote it down.   1500 euros.   "Oui, madam."   

You must be joking!

"Mais, non, madame.  Voyez, ce n'est pas MOI qui détermine le prix!  C'est la compagnie."  Yeah, right.

As I contemplated this "mugging," I suddenly remembered I DID have Jeanne's phone number in my wallet.    On a small piece of paper, I had written in French "In case of emergency, please call Jeanne Chabaane, tel.  XXXX....(Hey!  You never know when you will get hit by a bus and rendered unconscious!)

I asked the young man to call her "for authorization" of the charges.  When she learned the situation, she immediately sprang into action.  Within minutes, a young man from around the corner named Cedric, bounded up the stairs and literally threw himself between the locksmith and the door.  He instructed me to pay the guy the 53 euros ($68) I had been quoted on the phone (which was merely for his "house call" and nothing else) and then sent him packing.  

In the meantime, Jeanne was speeding across Paris with her master key....and she let me in.  Both she and Cedric were appalled at the audacity of this locksmith and underscored that I should always, ALWAYS call one of them first with any similar problem.  

So, what did I learn from this?

1. Be absolutely paranoid about having my keys in my hand as I leave the apartment.
2. Do not hesitate to ask Jeanne or Cedric for help.  They know this city.  They can recognize a scam when they see one.
3. Keep a few more phone numbers in my wallet that Jeanne gave me (in case she is out of town and Cedric is not available.)
4. Buy a damn cell phone.

Obviously, I did nothing else of consequence today.  It was raining pitchforks most of the afternoon while I was resolving my problem, so I'm drying out this evening, and planning for a better day tomorrow!

Now.....What did I do with that corkscrew.........?