Paris vs New York

Now that I have been in Paris for 3 weeks, I could start making some comparisons between Paris and NY. Somehow, I feel compelled to always compare it with NY. Well, I didn't spend that much time in both places, so this is nothing profound, but here are some very initial impressions:

• Paris has far less dry cleaners, nail salons and pet shops. In Paris, these are replaced by bakeries (not to mention that pastries are heavenly). Seems to have a similar proportion of pharmacies and banks. Japanese restaurants are everywhere similarly.   
• Paris seems to have more tourists. Anywhere you go, you encounter people with cameras holding a map in their hand. There are certainly many Japanese tourists. I wonder why they come in a middle of winter (sure this applies to me too!), but nothing deters them from finding time to visit France in their meager leave days. You know what? I just did a quick google search. Paris is the third most visited city in the world after Orlando and NY. So, I was wrong. I guess my time in NY was mostly spent working in the office and here entirely different as you know.   
• Rent is cheaper in Paris. We are renting a small one-bedroom apartment in one of the nicest quartier, which seems ok comparing to my tiny studio apartment on 60th St in front of a highway, which I paid a lot for but still told was a bargain. Groceries seems equally expensive. 
• Only things reasonable in Paris, in my opinion, are wine and cheese. You can find decent wine for 4-5 euros. Low end brie cheese starts from less than 2 euro. Probably not so good for cholesterol and over-drinking.   
• People start eating a baguette that they haven't paid for waiting in line in supermarkets. I have only seen this in Montreal but not really elsewhere.
• I am surprised that most of yogurt here are also 0 or low fat type. I thought French would never eat fake dairy products. 
• I am yet to find an equivalent of Central Park in Paris. I went to Parc de Luxembourg and Parc de plante. They are nice and manicured, but I like more woody, bushy sort of parks. In any case, I can't wait for spring with flowers blooming.   
• I like that most of fruits and vegetables are not pre-packed even in major supermarkets. French fridges (European) must be smaller than American gigantic ones and even with a separate deep freezer.
• I guess there is no need to mention how magical the city is. I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Paris everyday. I haven't done anything touristy yet, but I walk by monuments and squares on a way to something. I cross pont neuf to go to my yoga class.    

It's interesting to get a glimpse of life here. You see I have lived and worked in several countries, but I have spent hardly anytime in Europe. I will add more on the list!