Every Day Life: Home vs. Paris

Daily life in Paris is a lot different than my life at home.  The two biggest differences I have noticed are transportation and grocery shopping.  At home I drive everywhere, but in Paris I only take the metro or the bus and sometimes a taxi.  I can’t decide which one I prefer more, but I think I would like it if I had a choice to take the metro back home.  Taking the metro is sensible for Paris because the streets are small and they are getting more and more crowded every day.  The only think I don’t like about the metro is when I have to carry something through it like luggage or shopping bags.  Which brings me to my next point, grocery shopping.  Going to the supermarket was not something I did every day back at home, but now in Paris I think I go to Carrefour or the outdoor markets almost every day.  At home I would go grocery shopping maybe once a week because we have giant fridges, our food stays good for a while, and we can buy food in bulk like at Costco.  The cultural difference I see in Paris is that people really appreciate their fresh foods and going out to eat also seems to be more popular.  After work I always see the restaurants completely full of people especially now that it has gotten warmer.  People here are always staying at cafes at restaurants and cafes for hours and they take their time eating, drinking, smoking, and conversing with their friends.  Unlike in America there always seems to be a rush when eating and someone is always waiting to take your table at a restaurant, and we also have way more fast food restaurants.  That is something I miss, it’s hard to find a variety of grab and go food here in Paris.  I am dying for some In-and-Out at the moment!