what to drink?

what are the suggested beverages for someone who does not drink alcohol? I have heard it is not really %26quot;cool%26quot; to drink soda and also it is expensive. Any tips?

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Mineral water: flat Evian or sparkling Badoit.

I like the French %26quot;diabolo%26quot; drinks...Diabolo menthe, diabolo fraise...they are intended more for children, but nobody raises an eyebrow when I order my diabolo menthe in a cafe. It%26#39;s basically a clear soda with flavored syrup.

Les

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Drinks are expensive in Paris and you won%26#39;t save money by drinking non-alcoholic drinks.

That said, I%26#39;m not sure anyone much cares what you are drinking (since they aren%26#39;t making more money from someone who drinks one or rather than the other.)

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I enjoy a %26quot;citron pressé%26quot; (see-trone press-ay) if it%26#39;s hot. Just fresh squeezed lemon juice, water and ice - and you add your own sugar which I really like. (Or orange pressé...)

Or experiment with sparkling or still waters until you find one you like. Ask for a slice of lemon and/or ice if you feel like it.

Perrier is good as an apéritif. I%26#39;ve even been known to drink it myself instead of a kir or whatever but I don%26#39;t like it with food. It%26#39;s a bit too assertive.

Various juices - jus d%26#39;orange, de pamplemousse (grapefruit), d%26#39;ananas (pineapple), de tomates.

Tea - regular (thé) with lemon (au citron) or without, or herbal tea of various kinds (une tisane) but tea is probably better left to a salon de thé (tea-room) as most French cafés don%26#39;t do tea any better than most American bars/restaurants. (Anyway you Bostonians don%26#39;t drink tea ever since that little unpleasantness back a couple of centuries...)

Orangina - a fizzy orange soda that I dislike intensely. (Can you still get Pschitt citron, does anybody know?)

And if you want to order a Coke (un coca) why not? It%26#39;s your money after all..

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Irish, actually I was like you, I thought that Pshitt was gone with the Pompidou era or something, until, in 98 or 99, Chirac, trying to dismiss to one of his many embezzlement accusations, said: %26quot;Ca va faire pshitt%26quot;, meaning %26quot;it%26#39;s going to fade away%26quot;. Of course, the whole press repeated the bon mot and, as a result, the sales of Pshitt, the soda, soared. To the amazement of the many Frenchmen, including myself, who thought it had disappeared!

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Tonic water with a slice of lemon and ice cubes is great when it%26#39;s hot. In France it%26#39;s only called %26quot;un Schweppes%26quot; as far as I recall.

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I just found a French cocktails-mixer-site.

Tonic water is (SURPRISE !) called: Tonic.

But how aboout some Rose%26#39;s Lime Cordial mixed with either water or soda water (eau minérale gazeuse). It%26#39;s called the same thing in French.

You could also try to ask if they have %26quot;des cocktails sans alcool%26quot; (which seems to be known to the French) - to get something a littel more exotic than the plain Orangina or Coke.

1001cocktails.com/cocktails/categorie-recett…

http://www.cocktails-sans-alcool.com/

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Definitely try citron pressé and also Les%26#39;s diabolos - you can also have them with water, in which case it%26#39;s %26#39;fraise à l%26#39;eau%26#39;, %26#39;menthe à l%26#39;eau%26#39;, etc (my children%26#39;s name for the mint drink was %26#39;liquidised (blended) frog%26#39;, which you may not want to know). We also buy %26#39;brut de pomme%26#39; (fizzy apple juice) and Gini (lemonade), which both appear to be brandnames from Orangina/Schweppes.

If you%26#39;re wanting a drink with a meal, cheapest and easiest is to ask for a carafe of tapwater (une carafe d%26#39;eau, s%26#39;il vous plait).

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When I order water I usually get the carbonated verion.

I get like th e sound of ordering %26quot;l%26#39;eau gazeuse%26quot;

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When temps are high I like a Perrier-tranche (Perrier with a slice of lemon).

On a cold day I like a citron pressé chaud (hot lemonade). There are also many different teas worth trying.

And Coca light is quite popular.

Tîps includedand above beverages can cost between 3 and 6 Euros depending where you are.

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Try Badoit ( water) instead of Perrier, not so bubbly, but not quite flat. Excellant with lemon.