Paris notes

Random notes:
* Lots of fur coats on women. Old women are dressed in old but fashionable clothes.
* Men wear dark coats, scarves and dress shirts. Sweaters with diagonal zippers. In my T-Shirt and ski jacket outfit I am underdressed for Paris.
* People do actually walk around and ride around carrying bread sticks. I saw one person riding a scooter holding a breadstick in the middle with her mouth!
* The Louvre is huge. It has a beautiful campus towards the Champs.
* I was surprised to see streets named after U.S. Presidents (Wilson, Kennedy)
* Lots of people with small dogs. A couple poodles, but not with the fancy poodle haircuts.
* Expensive. Cappuchinos regularily sell for 4.50 euros.
* Minimal skyscrapers. There are two under construction. Other than those two the city is pretty much all classic looking.
* I can get by not speaking any English at all. My french is not that good, so often after asking a question people start to answer in english. I continue speaking in french though so I can get practice and get better at it. What is funny is I catch myself thinking in french - even though I am missing words - so I must not be thinking as well!
* Lots of motorcycles and scooters in Paris. More motorcycles and scooters than I have seen in any city to date. Motorcyclists and Scooterists have these leg coverings that they drape over their legs to keep themselves warm. These same coverings are used to cover the seat when the bike is parked. They are very aggressive and drive down the bicycle lanes, taxi lanes and between lanes to get where they are going. I have also seen alot of young men with older ladies on the back of their bikes. I am not sure if these guys are driving their moms around or not.

I have had a cold for the last couple days so I have been cooped up in a very small room on "Rue de Mauvais Garcons" :). Basically the room is just big enough to hold a window, sink and bed. The roof comes down towards the bottom of my bed so I can actually put my feet up on the 'ceiling' if I want. From the window I can see Notre Dame. The walls are covered with white wall paper with repeating patterns of 3 green and brown scenes of moose and deer near a lake with mountains in the background. Very Canadian looking.

Last night I went to a French restaurant and ordered the 15 euro menu (cheap compared to the more popular 26 euro menus around town): Included a nice Salade d'endive au bleu et noix, followed by a Poulet Basquaise and finished off with an Entrement Framboise.

Food here is very rich and my stomach is not really used to it. So far I prefer italian food - though I have had a really nice orange tart here a few nights ago.