2. not

3. If you nibble items at grocery store w/o paying, then you will not be bothered trying to cheat the cafe.

6. Monday, definately worth it if you will use it 4 or more days.

I think I remember a Mexican restaurant(the Hard Rock probably would do for a marguerita as well...) in the 5eme and it was filled with beautiful young parisians...otherwise Parisvoice mentions several

http://www.parisvoice.com/03/june/html/news/pickup.cfm

http://www.parisvoice.com/03/june/html/news/pickup.cfm

I drink the water...

As to Mexican restaurants, above is the Parisvoice site...they list several in Paris as well as the Hard Rock...

#2-- I have drunk the tap water and had no problems with it, but we usually order bottled water.

#3 -- Definitely not! You pay a different rate to order at the bar and to sit down at the table, so if you order at the bar, you need to drink at the bar. Otherwise, just sit at the table, and pay the price :-)



#5 --I don't know if I'd say the Paris Visite is a "bust", but I think the Carte Orange is less expensive, and it offers unlimited travel on bus and metro.


You can start using the Carte Orange on Monday... if you need something until then, you can get what's called a Mobilis pass... works just like a Carte Orange, though it's more expensive, and it doesn't require a photo. The Carte Orange requires a passport sized photo.

Best,
Sandy

Jenifer,
I have a very easy solution to the problem of asking for a Carte Orange in French. I always do this, and it works great! I type my request before leaving home and print it up. Then, I just say "Bonjour" and "S'il vous Plaît", as I hand the ticket agent my request. Here is what my request looks like, as we need two Mobilis passes each for the two days NOT covered by a Carte Orange:

Je voudrais acheter ces, s?il vous plait:

2 Carte Orange

Zones 1 & 2

4 Mobilis
Zones 1 & 2


It has always worked just fine for me :-)

Best,
Sandy

I don't know why TexMex would seem weird in Paris. I've eaten extraordinary French cuisine in Australia, Lebanese in Toronto, Chinese in Iowa, Greek in Prague and Italian in Germany.

PERFECT answer Rex... multi-cultural!
So often forgotten. All this stuff about "absorbing the culture"... and that would be....??? Culture would have to be a defined term for any good discussion. An no one gets bent out of shape with Chinese, Thai, Moroccan, etc., cuisine and restaurant recommendations here...
TexMex causes a stir...?

tried posting this earlier...we passed this bar nearly every night on our way out from our hotel in the Marais. It was always full of groups of friends giving it a very sociable atmosphere. Meant to pop in one day and it just did not happen. Enjoy!!

http://www.cafepacifico-laperla.com/Pages/Perl_Fra.htm

hey mdtravel, while researching restaurants for my upcomi9ng trip to Paris, I ran across a Mexican restaurant that is well reviewed in Zagats. It is called "Ay Caramba", located at 59 Rue de Mouzaia in the 19th eme. Never been there, so I cannot comment on the food or margaritas.

Have a nice trip!

We drank tap water in Paris several weeks ago and had no problem. In fact it became my QUEST to get restos to bring us tap water instead of a $5 bottle. They'll ask about water and then say "gaz or no gaz" -- no gaz will bring you a bottle as well. Someone suggested eau naturel. That still elicited bottled water. Finally it did seem that "une carafe" or une cafe de l'eau" would produce a carafe of tap water.