Small Cars (and Bikes)

I was so fascinated by the smallness of the cars we saw in Paris. I have never seen so many Smart cars (half cars) in my life. They have so many cars that we don't have here in the States, and they all seem to be sub-subcompacts! We saw a few "midsized" cars and they seemed huge! There were no trucks or SUVs. Also many of the streets are so narrow! And the parking spots are very small, I cannot imagine trying to maneuver my SUV in Paris!


There are also TONS of motorcycles and bicycles! And everyone just shares the road together, even the buses. The cars, buses and bikes just seem to weave in and out of each other; it is strange.

I wonder... do Europeans think we Americans are excessive?....With all our big vehicles and big houses?

We figured out the cost of gas....after figuring for the euro/dollar and liter/gallon....it comes out to over $7 per gallon! Wow, I would have a small car, too (or ride a bike!)...About bikes, there were these kiosks everywhere, you can "rent" one of the bikes and then return it at another kiosk station.

We saw this gas "station" on the side of the road on our last day in Paris....we realized that this was the first gas station we had seen in Paris. Yes, it is just on the sidewalk!