Parisian observations

Have you never been to Paris and wonder what it's like and if what they say about Paris is true?  Allow me to clear some things up, based on my highly scientific, vast observations over the last 3 days that I've been here.

• Parisians are VERY chic.  They wear clean lines, look well-tailored and timeless, and seem to exhibit recent trends while still looking classic.  I like.  I saw one person with a gross Ed Hardy bag, but she must have been from New Jersey.  Clearly not Parisian.
• Parisians ONLY wear neutral colors: black, gray, navy, white, brown, and khaki.  Literally.  I dare you to find someone wearing purple or fuschia or Seahawks green.  Not gonna happen.  Makes people-watching slightly less entertaining.  I also see lots of stripes!  Classic French.
• Tons of Parisians smoke, 100 times more than you see in Seattle.  They take smoke breaks on the sidewalk, smoke while eating, smoke while exiting the Metro station on the escalator, smoke while walking to and from work, smoke smoke smoke.  Luckily you cannot smoke at restaurants here, and my hotel is smoke-free, but I still feel pretty bombarded by it a lot of the time that I'm outside.  Disgusting.
• Paris really is as beautiful as people say.  The buildings are intricate and well-maintained, and the famous sites are lovely as well.  The Eiffel Tower at night, especially when the sparkly lights come on (for 5 minutes every hour after dark), really is quite magical.

Le Eiffel Tower, taken by yours truly last night with my handy Hipstamatic app

• The French are quite friendly!  They make efforts to figure out what you're saying (if they don't speak English).  They say "bonjour" or "bonsoir" whenever they see you in an elevator, hold a door, enter a room, etc.  I also like.
• Paris is expensive, especially if tricked into a touristy restaurant.  My colleague and I (on our first day, so we had no idea) had lunch at a touristy little spot.  We had 2 sodas, pasta (for him), and salad and sandwich (for me).  It came to $99USD.  It tasted about $25USD.  The other meals I've had though have been a bit more reasonable and more delicious (but still spendy).  The French onion soup is sooo tasty!
• I think that Paris is a little more dangerous and more of a terrorism target than I'd like to think.  They have had some assorted attacks in the past, but I was not expecting to exit the Metro at La Defense (the high-rise skyscraper neighborhood where most business is done) and see French soldiers with huge machine guns patrolling.  I've also seen them near well-known historic sites (Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower).  I swear I've never noticed American soldiers or police patrolling with automatic weapons in NYC or San Fran or Boston (or Seattle, for that matter) but maybe they're there?  Hmm.
• Starbucks is here.  Amen.  We stop at one in La Defense each morning on our way to work.  If only they could make a decent mocha though...  On Wednesday, I'm certain they forgot the espresso.  Yesterday, they forgot most of the milk.  Today was the best I've had so far, but it's still only okay.  It's also quite expensive here; my tall mocha is around 4.40Euros which is $6.17USD with today's exchange rate.  On the bright side, the office here has a pretty darn fantastic little machine that makes the most delicious petit chocolat drink EVER.  It's a tiny little rich hot chocolate hug that makes my afternoon.

That is all for now, friends.  Paris has been great so far, and this weekend's plans include exploring the city with Jeff and seeing some authentic Parisian cabaret/burlesque tomorrow night at the Crazy Horse.  It has the most mixed reviews I've EVER seen on TripAdvisor, so I have no idea if we'll love it or hate it.  Should be memorable, at the very least.  :)