You're a yank - they expect you to be a bit odd! They won't bat an eyelid at your beverage choices.

Don't forget that France has strict drink-drive laws and as such it's hardly unusual to see someone sticking to the soft stuff at dinner (have you ever tried to get a cab after dark in Paris?).

Also the French aren't big drinkers - you rarely see them drunk.

Seriously. No one will even care less.

The French have some corking soft drinks too. I may have an Origina habit.

Just to add. Cider - "cidre" is a strong alcoholic drink. The French (like the British) don't do "soft" ciders.

It may taste like apples but it has the kick of a miffed mule.

Well, so much for the cider idea. It's not worth it. I actually did find a fantastic non-alcoholic sparkling cider here in the states, made from apple cider and grapes. I buy it in bulk from the Colonial Williamsburg catalog and it's called Scuppernong. Wow, I did not mean to make such a big deal out of this, but I do enjoy your responses.

nona1, apple cider in the US is normally pressed from raw apples and not cooked the way juice is. At least I think that's the difference. Tastes fresher and is great to get from the farm stands in autumn. Not alcoholic.

Hi again Nikki--there is also a sparkling "cider"--not the fresh pressed kind-- that is sold in bottles that look like champagne bottles, that is available many places. I think this is probably the kind of drink that Dasher might have been expecting to be available in France. We would often have this for the kids to drink at Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm glad this came up. I didn't know that French cider is alcoholic. I'm used to the great, fresh apple cider we get here that is non-alcoholic.

For any of you non-drinkers out there, Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice is delicious. You can get it in the white grape or red grape variety. It's nice and bubbly - great to celebrate something and still be able to drive home. (:

I never drink alcohol, and I've never had any trouble in Paris. If you don't drink alcohol, it's customary to drink mineral water at dinner instead (Badoit is the most popular). Outside of booze and water, the choice is usually limited at restaurants, so it's one of the two (don't bother asking for a glass of milk, as they don't even understand what that is). Many restaurants will serve Coca-Cola or other soft drinks, though, if you ask for those instead.

Cedre all over France has alcohol. A popular drink without Is Grenadine, pomegrante juice diluted with water or soda. Vittel Delices are frizzy fruit drinks.

The French don't do soft ciders? I just bought two bottles of nonalcoholic French cider at Cost Plus, and I've ordered it in France as well. When in Brittany we saw both hard and soft of menus in crêperies.

"Cidre du Pays d’Auge". There are three types of cider in France:
For those who love cidre:
"Cidre doux": sweet and lightly alcoholic (1.5 to 3 %)
"Cidre brut": less sweet and a bit more alcoholic (4.5 to 5 %)
"Cidre Tradition": dry, bitter and cloudier (unfiltered, 6 % alcohol)

In restaurants the cidre will have some alcohol. Yes you will find cider without the alchohol in creperies and I buy the cider from France that comes in a champagne like bottle for guests during the holidays. who don't drink.
But Cidre is the national alcoholic drink of Brittany and Normandy.

not national wrong word :)

as a general rule, most people are more interested in what THEY"ER drinking than in what you've got in your glass...

don't let it concern you in the least.

True and the same goes for dress :)

Socialworker: I think what you're on about is perry - it's made from pears (and is alcoholic). It has a terrible reputation in Britain as it was popular with teenage girls in the 70s under the trade name "babycham".

It was very popular with teenage boys in the 70s (we didn't drink it - it's foul - but we gave it to the birds) and is responsible for the loss of many many virginities (although I can thank Martini for getting rid of mine!)