Paris: Smoke Free

Like most of the population of planet Earth, the people of France are addicted to smoking. Ew.

Although many countries have a smoking ban, France is not one of them. Yet. The only good thing about smoking is that it kills people. Unfortunately, it doesn't do it fast enough. In the meantime, we don't want to smell it. Ever.

What? I'm being too harsh? Too bad. Smoking is about self-hatred and killing yourself. And it's completely disgusting. If you hate yourself that much then just throw yourself under a bus and get it over with. Then maybe we can have dinner without feeling like we want to vomit because of the stench.

Anyway, before we went to Paris, John and I researched non-smoking restaurants in Paris. There are quite a few and even some that aren't on that list. In fact, our entire trip to Paris was smoke-free. We did not have to deal with it at any meals. The few times John went to a smoking restaurant he sat outside and it wasn't a problem. Although it can be, from what we saw walking down the streets lined with outdoor cafes.

One restaurant that is on the list is "Le Copreaux" and it was great. It's in the 15th district which is not posh, but not bad either. We took the Metro and then walked one block. The restaurant is very small and very charming. It's not posh, it's an old fashioned family business with a small menu of excellently cooked French country cuisine. We loved it.

And the restaurant is 100% non-smoking. Not one of those jokes where they pretend to have a non-smoking section that is 2 feet away from the smoking section with no barrier. We just walk out of those kinds of places.

The chef's wife is the hostess/waitress and was delightful. She spoke some English and spoke at length with John in French. It's worth a ride on the Metro to eat in this charming, non-smoking Paris treasure.

I usually get some nasty email when I go off on smoking like this but I don't give a damn. None of my friends smoke. None of them. And I know a lot of people. Get a clue.