Question:
My first experience with French bottled water was a major shock. In 1963 we had flown into Portugal on our first trip to Euorpe. Our eventual plan was to fly back to California from Parisany stories?

Answer: So on this train we go to Nice, a slow train and with no restaurant facilities. And no water. I found that when we occasionally stopped there were guys with carts selling stuff So I dash off the train at one stop and grabbed the first bottle of water that was for sale.

It was Vichy water and struck me at the time was recycled dish water with a heavy dose of soap. But time has passed and, now in getting old my French doctor insists, in order to combat my uric acid level in my blood, that I drink a quart of this stuff a day! I have learned to "like" it but never order it in the restaurant, I am not sure it is generally offered. Vichy water is really medicinal, with a taste to match.

Most of the French bottled waters are non-gassy, with nearly the same composition and taste. Yet brand loyality persists. We ourselves prefer Badoit, slightly gassy and a good thirst quencher