"But, monsieur, I cannot give you these tickets," the clerk behind the thick glass window

said. "I work for Swiss Railways, and this reservation (订票) is for SNCF" (the French national rail line). "So where is the SNCF office？" I asked, looking at the clock, which showed we had only 10 minutes before the train left. "There isn't one in Geneva," he replied. "The only thing I can do is to sell you two new tickets, and I only have smoking compartment (车厢) seats left." This was getting worse by the minute.

My wife and I had booked and paid for our tickets over the Internet and were now trying to collect them. Nowhere had it warned us that there wasn't an SNCF ticket office in Geneva. Rather than miss our train, we paid for two more tickets and spent three hours sitting with several people who smoked one cigarette after another between Geneva and Pads. Fortunately, we were able to get Our money back for the unused tickets without any difficulty through the customer service office at the Gare de Lyon.

I have to admit at this point that not only do I love France and the Franch, I also think that their trains are second to none, anywhere in the world. Having said that, the SNCF Internet ticket- buying process (过程) is very French in nature and requires considerable patience. This is where we fell into the "no SNCF office in Geneva" trap (困境). Once you've figured it out, however, it can work very smoothly and is usually more convenient than buying tickets in the US. This is how you go about it.

Where did the writer run into a problem with their ticket reservation？

A．In Paris.

B．In Geneva.

C．In the Gare de Lyon.

D．In a city in the United States.