Paris is great. I’m somewhat sad to think that I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. More on that in a minute. First…

I think I have found a solution to America’s obesity nightmare: make food more expensive. As I look around on the streets of Paris, I see very few overweight people and certainly none that are obese. I thought that perhaps this was because of the excessive amount of walking that all of them seem to do, but then I saw the prices of food: astronomical!



Let’s say that I want to eat a sub sandwich. In Paris, the equivalent is a sandwich made from a baguette (As an aside, baguette-based sandwiches seem to be the most popular ‘fast’ lunchtime fare in this area). The baguette sandwich is about a foot long, roughly two inches in diameter, and filled with a single layer of lettuce, a single layer of tomatoes, and a single layer of cheese (the exact type of filling obviously depends on the type of sandwich). Overall, it is *considerably* smaller than anything one would find at a Subway, Quizno’s, or Jimmy John’s. The strange thing is that it tastes considerably better than, and is just as filling as, anything found stateside. The real shocker is not the petite size of the sandwich; instead, it is the price: an average of EUR3.50. At current conversion rates, this works out to roughly $4.55. This price seems fairly consistent wherever I have been in Paris, even when relatively far away from the usual tourist hotspots.

Keep in mind that the mean purchasing power parity per capita in France is 28% lower than that in the USA. Note that purchasing power parity is independent of exchange rates.

Other food is expensive too. Want two scoops of ice cream in a cone? That’ll be EUR3.00 — and these are small scoops, about a third of the size of an American scoop. A liter of orange juice will set you back at least a euro. Want a plain baguette? Plan on about EUR0.80 to get one from a bakery. Here’s the real shocker: a liter of Pepsi — the same fructose-laden caramel liquid that we have in the States — costs EUR1.50. That would be EUR3.00 for a two-liter bottle.

I think that the French simply can’t afford to get fat. Calories are cheap in the US, but not so in France. Over here (Paris), foods come in smaller portions, but at high cost. Over here, foods aren’t stuffed with sugar and fat. High-fructose corn syrup and partial hydrogenated soybean oil are but vague, distant concepts. Without using these additives, it is harder to make food cheap.

The French appear to enjoy eating just as much as we do, perhaps more. Americans, more and more, seem to view eating as a sort of race: faster, faster, faster! Everywhere, from home, to school, to work, eating is a chore that must be accomplished as quickly as possible. We need to consume massive amounts of food just to satiate our hunger: the taste and energy value of the food does not seem to register in our brains as quickly as we can devour it. The French, on the other hand, seem to view meals as an opportunity to enjoy company and make good conversation. Meals are a time to savor life, perhaps with a bottle of good wine to remind one of the finer things in life. Service at restaurants and stores is prompt, but not hurried. Meals often are spread into courses, usually including dessert and terminating with coffee (a small cup, roughly espresso-shot-sized). Eating is a rewarding experience. One leaves a restaurant satisfied without consuming much.

If food, on a caloric basis, were more expensive in the US, I think that people would enjoy it more, enjoy it slower, and enjoy it in smaller quantities, as much more effort would go into paying for said food. Would people be supersizing as often as they now do if to do so cost $2.00? I think not. (This is not especially relevant anymore; supersizing is being phased out.) Just think of the health benefits if Americans simply cut a hundred calories out of their daily diets.

Ah, cheap fast food. It seems as though some people virtually live off of the stuff. One man tried to do so for a month, and it took an incredible toll on him. On the upside, the effort won him a Sundance award.

Make food more expensive, make people eat less of it, and make people live longer.

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On Tuesday, we visited Versailles. The gardens and chateau there were simply breathtaking. Although the plants lacked their flowers, the evergreens were as lush as they always are. I found walking through the long rows of trees and shrubs to be extremely relaxing. The entire place was a refreshing change from Paris.

Getting to Versailles was more of a challenge than it should have been. We started by taking the wrong train out of Paris. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize our mistake until we were well into the northwest suburbs (Versailles is to the southwest of Paris). To make it worse, we had to pay for another ticket just to get back to where we started so that we could take the correct train, at which point we had to pay for yet another ticket. Oh well. We got there eventually, and we got to see a part of France that we otherwise would never have visited.

Today, we visited the catacombs. Tonight, we plan to dine at a nice Parisian restaurant. Tomorrow, we return to the United States.

After looking closer and trying harder, I can now say that, yes, many Parisians speak English. We must have simply had bad luck on our first day here. I’m not sure where the notion that Frenchmen are rude developed. Everybody we have encountered has been polite, helpful, and friendly, even when we weren’t buying things from them. I’m also curious how Paris got a reputation as a dirty city. Other than an occasional lump of dog feces, Paris seems at least as clean as any major US city. Overall, people seem happy here. I’m glad I got the chance to experience it.

I still can’t believe that I’m in Paris.

When I look out my apartment window, I see a museum and 1800-year-old Roman ruins. When I walk down the street, I see example after example of beautiful architecture. When I peruse the street shops, I find multitudes of delicious foods, all prepared to look oh-so scrumptious. When I go out to eat, I find real cloth napkins, quality wine glasses, and a delectable menu — at every corner cafe.

This morning, Tyler, Krystal, and I went for a jog around Old Paris. I think that I was under the impression that it would be a short jog, perhaps a couple of miles. The “short jog” turned into a journey from the apartment to the Eiffel Tower and back again. Direct, those two locations are about 3.5 km from each other. With our route, which could be considered somewhat less than direct, each leg of the journey was between four and five kilometers. Depending on the exact distance, that means that I ran between five and six miles round-trip. Regardless of the precise distance, that was the farthest that I have ever run. In fact, that was about twice as far as I have ever run.

After our run, we picked up some croissants and went back to the apartment to eat them with jam and orange juice. Initially, we planned to go to the catacombs today. However, due to the splendid weather (and the fact that the catacombs are closed on Mondays), we decided to visit Eiffel Tower (formally this time) and the Arc de Triomphe. We also planned to visit the Louvre Museum in the evening, as admission is free for those under 26 on Monday nights.

This time we took the subway to the Eiffel tower. Although it was somewhat cold and extremely windy, the Eiffel Tower top was definitely worth the cost. It was a relatively clear, albeit hazy, day, so we could see for many miles in every direction. I got some decent photos of the city, which made me happy, then we all went down the tower.

We walked to our next stop, the Arc de Triomphe. It took us a little while to figure out that the Arc must be accessed via tunnel. Once there, we were all somewhat underwhelmed by the Arc. Sure, it was neat to look at, and the carvings were very complex and well-done, but it just seemed to pale in comparison to the other buildings we had seen.

After clicking off some snapshots at the Arc, we hopped a subway back to the apartment. We dropped some things off at the residence, then set out in search of sustenance. Food came in the form of lunch from an Italian restaurant. The restaurant was a site of several firsts for me: it was the first time that I had pizza as a part of a three-course meal, it was the first time that I drank wine with pizza, and It was the first time that I ate an entire (small) pizza with a fork and knife. The food was great, and the red Bordeaux wine paired nicely with the pizza. To top it all off, they even accepted American Express.

Following lunch, we went to a small grocery store and picked up some random good-looking (i.e., still in the rind) cheeses and an appetizing jam. A quick stop at the bakery for some baguettes completed our shopping, leaving us just enough time to drop off our new foodstuffs before heading to the Louvre.

Depending on who one asks, one will find many different schools of though on the correct pronunciation of ‘Louvre.’ Some claim that it has two syllables, as in “loove-rah.” Others think that it should be “loovr.” It turns our that the correct pronunciation is “loove.” One syllable, rhymes with “groove.” Yes Ted, you were right.

The Louvre was spectacular. It seemed as though their collections stretched to infinity. Everything from Egyptian mummies to medieval castles to Italian paintings finds a home in the massive stone building. We saw the essentials: the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The former was crowded by tourists with flashing cameras, while the latter seemed sadly underappreciated. We walked around for several hours, contemplating and admiring the various paintings and sculptures. I found the building itself to be quite a work of art. I particularly enjoyed the ceilings near the large-canvas paintings: the ceilings were decorated with a dazzling multitude of ornate carvings and paintings.

Eventually, we returned to the apartment and collapsed. My gosh, that was a lot of walking.

On the docket for tomorrow: Versailles.

Although I post my favorite photos in my photoblog, you can see my entire set of photos from the trip here.

After we arrived in Paris today and got situated in our apartment, we ventured out in search of food. Though our clocks read 2:00 p.m., our bodies felt like 7:00 a.m. Perhaps because of a subconscious desire for something resembling breakfast, we settled on a little restaurant with a quiche specialty.

I recall talking before my trip with friends who had been to Paris. They all indicated that a (complete) lack of French language skills would not be a problem, because “virtually everybody” in Paris speaks English. Maybe I’m simply having bad luck, but I have yet to encounter any French person anywhere outside the airport who knows how (or is willing) to speak French.

Due to this language disconnect, our ordering of lunch consisted of pointing to the menu and smiling. Fortunately, this proved adequate, and we received food resembling what we believed we had gestured towards.

Other lessons learned: The automated ticket machines at the airport do not take American Visa cards. European cards appear to work fine, but that didn’t help us. However, my Visa card did work at the cafe. I haven’t yet seen a store that accepts American Express credit cards, but nearly everywhere accepts traveler’s cheques from the same. French customs was a joke: they barely glanced at our passports and asked us no questions at all. Somewhat more startling was that we were not IDed at the gate upon our departure from Chicago. Anybody with a valid ticket, regardless of their identity, could have boarded that plane. Not good, in my opinion.

After lunch, we visited Notre Dame. All I can say is “Wow” — now I understand why it is world-famous. The history, skill, and power which shines from the architecture and workmanship is unrivaled in my travels. Truly it is a breathtaking edifice.

Watch my photoblog for periodic photos from my trip.

To do tonight: learn French.

I’m in Paris! Jet lagged, sure… but I’m in Paris!

The flight was good. Even the airline food was reasonably edible. After considering advice from several experienced travelers, I decided to go ahead and buy a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. After using them on the nine-hour flight, I can say that they worked great (and they weren’t even the Bose model!). Definitely money well spent.

Now I’m off to find food. Fortunately, there seem to be an endless supply of restaurants and stores. Mmmm…