You don't have to explain to the waiter that you don't drink alcohol. It's really none of his business that you NEVER drink alcohol, and especially none of his business why. If you simply order tap water or bottled water or whatever other non-alcoholic beverage you might want, you'll be one of many people who will not be ordering alcohol at that particular meal, for almost as many different reasons as there are diners in the room--they don't like wine, they can't have alcohol with the medication they're taking, they're allergic to wine, they're going to do some difficult driving after dinner, they're alcoholic, they just had too much to drink at a pre-dinner party, or they just plain don't feel like having wine that day--whatever. I'm not a NON-drinker, but I don't drink a lot of alcohol. I like to have wine with dinner, so sometimes I order it, but sometimes I don't. I prefer not to have wine at lunch if I'm going to be physically active immediately after lunch, so usually I don't order wine with lunch. I've never felt that waiters or fellow diners had the slightest "funny" attitude toward me because I did order wine, or because I ordered only a glass, or because I didn't ordered any alcohol and had only water. Just order whatever non-alcoholic beverage you choose to have with each meal, and don't give a second thought to waht the waiters will think, because honestly, they will not care and you will NOT stand out at all.

Elaine, I'm not sure what you mean by the "joke" re teatotaller, but it's "teetotaller" (spelled with EE not EA), i.e. tee as in the letter T, for emphasis: T-Total, absolutely total abstinence. I'm not criticizing anyone's misspelling, just explaining the word, though not exactly explaining a joke.

I really didn't have any intention of telling my life story to a waiter. I think xyz's response was just what I needed...a short French phrase or two that I could repeat at each meal, to dispense with the topic of wine ordering, etc. I'm all set now. It's no longer an issue. Thanks for all your comments.

i think your a victim of the cliches that have you believing that everyone drinks wine all the time in france. you should realise that in france and most of europe, it is very common for a driver to have no alcohol at all. drink driving is taken seriously by people and therefore, it is very acceptable and common for people to abstain from alcohol. as compared to north america, i would say the social pressures to drink are less in france and other parts of europe.

You will find that a waiter usually asks something like "Et pour boire?" All you have to do is order water. Or whatever else appeals to you. French cider is very good--both the hard and non-alcoholic stuff--and goes particularly well with crêpes..

French cider sounds perfect, Underhill. Fizzy water is fine, but I like having something more interesting to drink with my meals.

And Walkinaround, it's not that I believe the old cliche that the French are always drinking wine. It's more that the last time I was in France, I was drinking a lot of wine, so I thought that's what everyone did!

Dasher, I have a friend in Paris who is a drummer. I was surprised that he did not drink wine. He never liked it but he does like Genipi that he makes himself :)

Dasher,

You aren't the only one who has had such questions, in this forum and others. As a nondrinker, I've had them myself.

No problem at all in Paris. I have to say, "no, no vino" in Italy ALL the time, and sometimes I even hear, "NO vino?" in response, but as Stuart Smalley said, "that's ok."

A very good source for English speaking meetings in other countries is the TimeOut guides. This information is in the back under general info. They usually list a phone number.

Unable to have alcohol (lack the enzyme to detox it) and managed very well by asking for sparkling water wherever I went in France, Italy, Spain, etc. Only felt I'd let down a waiter once in a while, but I figured it was his problem if he was unprofessional enough to try intimidation on such a point. Once or twice, I responded to overt snobbery by getting very specific about whether I wanted the sparkling water room temperature or chilled, with or without ice, and with or without a slice of lime (NOT lemon, please). Hah!

Happy 2nd birthday. That's wonderful. Good for you and hooray. You have done something that most people don't understand. My congratulations.

You made my day, janeg.

I join Jane in wishing you a happy time in Paris and keep up your new life style.

Thanks. I'll be ringing in the New Year there, so what could be more fitting? New Year? New Life? New...?

Hi Dasher, I have never been in France but I can assure you that I have friends in Italy that do not drink wine. One due to the medications he takes, one due to? I would never think to ask. I have never seen a problem or an attitude from a waiter when these two great fellows order bottled water but no wine. And I believe Italy is as much of a wine drinking country as France is.

Go and have a wonderful time! I congratulate you on your success with your life. I hope you can give us a trip report when you get home and settled in.

You can count on a trip report. I'll be writing in my journal instead of drinking! :0)

We're not wine drinkers and don't care for beer. Always ordered un carafe d'eau. No problem. The waiter doesn't care, and there's no need to explain anything. The next time I'm going to try citron presse, the lemonade that you mix yourself. They bring water, lemon juice and sugar syrup....voila!

Happy 2d birthday! And don't let this be a concern. My favorite travel companion has been in recovery for over 15 years, and I drink alcohol only on occasion. We have dined all over Europe with nary a problem.

A comment about the cider. The first time I was in France, shortly after men were painting bison on the walls in caves, I ordered cider and it came as an alcoholic drink. I even asked if it had alcohol and the waiter said no. I later figured he meant no alcohol was added, not that the cider was not alcoholic. So I'm not sure ordering cider is a good alternative.

Nikki--I was thinking the same thing. In some countries, sparkling cider is an alcoholic beverage.

Cider in the UK is ALWAYS alcoholic - and it can be EXTREMELY alcoholic - 8.4% is not unusual.

So what is non-alcoholic cider in the US? Is it just apple juice?