A warm winter

The French are serious about the new international scientists' report released in Paris last week saying that human activity is directly responsible for global warming.

The lights were turned off at the Eiffel Tower for five minutes as a symbolic call to action, but more to the point are the unusual warm February temperatures. Everyone's still wearing scarves, a required fashion accessory here, but it feels more like early spring, with sunshine and daytime temps in the high 40s.

This has always been one of my favorite times of year to come to Paris. You take your chances with the weather (I was here around this time two years ago during a blizzard), but it's a time when tourists are few, prices are low (I paid $573 for my airline ticket and the plane was half full), and people seem friendlier and more relaxed.

The dollar is nearing a record low against the euro, but even Paris can feel like a bargain this time of year..

My room at the two-star Hotel Jeanne d'Arc (www.jeannedarchotel.com) on the edge of the Marais, near the 17th century Place des Vosges, is 72 euros, about $93 at current exchange rates.

I wouldn't want to squeeze two people in here, for but for one person, it's just fine. All the bathroom fixtures are new. There's CNN in the room and wi-fi, and best of all, it's in a quiet area, right in front of a pedestrian square, in a neighborhood full of cozy restaurants, cafes and shops selling only chocolate or fois gras or pastries that look like edible works of art.

It's hard not to look at a price and not think it's the same in euros as it is in dollars, but even at an exchange rate of $1.30 to the euro, a glass of Bordeaux at the Bubar wine bar near my hotel also costs just $4.50, and comes with free snacks and entertaining conversation with the English-speaking owner. He made his own statement about global warming by showing up for work the other night in a Hawaiian print shirt, shorts and flip flops.

Stories about $9 cups of coffee are mostly fiction that apply mainly to high-traffic tourist places such as the Cafe de la Paix on the boulevard des Capucines near the Paris Opera.

"It's all about the real estate,'' a friend who lives here told me, and being willing to pay extra for a view of the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame.

In the Left Bank neighborhood of Alesia, where the views are of locals walking their dogs and shucking oysters, I paid $4.50 at a cafe called Le Bouqet d'Alesia, for a "creme,'' the French version of a latte; orange juice and a fat croissant.

I ate it while sitting a window table and listening to Beatles tunes, and noticed that fewer people seem to be smoking than in the past. Maybe they're resigned to the idea of a total ban that goes into effect next year. Afterwards, I took a walk and came upon the cheesmonger in this photo. He was melting cheese and potatoes in skillet, and passing out samples on little plastic forks.

I love exploring neighborhoods like this. After you've done the monuments and museums, it's what Paris is all about.