I took my daughter in 2000 for her 18th birthday to Paris the end of January, what a wonderful trip! The weather was cool with a couple of days of rain, but not bad. So my advice is to take an umbrella and light raincoat. And as always, layer layer layer. We found the mornings cool as it warmed up during the day, we just took off a layer of clothes. I live in North Carolina and found the weather to be close to what I was use to. You may want to check online the week before you leave the forecasted weather which you can find at: http://www.wunderground.com/global/EU_ST_Index.html.

As far as inexpensive places to eat, stay away from places near the tourist areas. Try lunch and/or dinner picnics. Groceries called epiceries and delis called charcuteries are great places to get together picnics. You didn't mention what neighborhood you would be staying. We stayed on the left bank in he 7th arrondissement. The Cafe' du Marche which is at the corner of rue Champ de Mars and rue Cler on the left bank or around the corner near the Ecole Militaire Metro stop at Le Comptoir du Septieme offer good and reasonably priced food. In the same neighborhood on Bosquet we had some great French onion soup. Ask at your hotel or just walk around and check out the menu's which in most cases will be posted outside of the restaurant.

Enjoy, Debbie in NC