StCig,
palease !
I WAS joking ...
and all stuff about "being local" it was the comment to wsoxrebel advice.

Friends

well

Tat, because if you want "one" pastry, and you hold up your index finger, you will be given TWO pastries and charged accordingly. You hold up your thumb for "one" and then you will get ONE.

I have NEVER gotton weird stares!!!
When they rattle off the brands of minral water, I smile and say no just maison Léau. I knew you'd respond that way.

Waiters always try to sell you bottled water, for instance asking you what brand you would like when you ask for water. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some restaurants try to prey on ignorant tourists by plainly refusing to give them tap water, something that actually they can't refuse to serve.

One should remember that a significant part of the restaurants' benefits come from the beverages, since their margin is much more important on them than on dishes.


Also, last year, some cafes on the cote d'azur began to charge for tap water.

I don't understand this big deal about getting tap water in France -- particularly Paris. I haven't had a single problem getting it since I learned the simple phrase "carafe d'eau". I've never detected a snide look or reaction, and the vast majority of locals seem to be drinking it too. In many restaurants it will even come in a bottle that has already been chilled, rather than a pitcher or standard type carafe.

Now in Italy -- that's a whole different story!!

I agree, Patrick, that getting a carafe d'eau in any French café or restaurant is a no brainer, but asking for a
*maison l'eau* is bound to elicit a totally weird response, since you're basically asking for the "house the water." You'd have to be singularly prescient to figure out what THAT customer wanted.

In Italy, I agree that you have to work harder to avoid the automatic dispensal of a bottle of mineral water and make sure that your request for tap water is fulfilled.