So i just got back from my first trip to Paris. We had a great time and saw many beautiful sights, but I have to admit the smoking ruined it for me. Smoke in the air is evident from the moment you step foot out the door. It is impossible to not walk behind, next to or infront of someone smoking. All those charming sidewalk cafes are filled with smokers. I even had a pair of tights scorched by a fast-walking smoker who breezed by and grazed my leg with her lit end. The only place I was able to get a break from the smoke was inside the Louvre. And the other thing I found dismaying was the butts all over the sidewalk. It's disgusting. Omg, I thought Parisians would be more sophisticated. Ha! I cannot lose the mental image of a lovely sidewalk near the Opera Garnier where a planter area with little trees was covered in thousands of disgarded cigarette butts. The smell was horrible. Then walking along I always noted the hundreds of cig butts dotting the sidewalk. Versailles on Fri and Sat nights was no better. I regret that I never made it over to Sacre Coure but I won't plan a trip back...my suitcase still smells from the clothes I had to bring home that reeked of cigarettes.
And to the ass who spouts off about how smoking is their legal right...your right to do somethng shouldn't require me to do it to. Unless you smoke in an airtight chamber then you're forcing me to smoke and smell it too.
