9/17 Nibblet: Centre Pompidou looks like a huge hamster cage turned inside out. Here is someone else's pix of this wacky complex. Marais has a tiny shop that sells the self-proclaimed "best falafel in the world" (although it could have stood a little more tahini, IMHO). Cafe viennois and crepes at bustling Bastille where the huge column not only commemorates the storming of the prison and the end of the monarchy but also TP's and Najm's birthday. Les Halles was once a thriving marketplace for 700 years but has been replaced by shabby 1970s mall-type stores. The only cool thing in that area now is this guy, "The Listener":



Dinner was had at the restaurant "Paris" at Hotel Lutetia where, during WWII, the Nazis camped out to enjoy the art deco and posh surroundings and where, during the height of dinner-time, our hosts' three-year old, strong-willed, strong-legged boy ran roughshod over said surroundings. Note to self: do not feed children multiple scoops of chocolate ice-cream at 10 o'clock at night. In other news, apparently I have become the proud new owner of a machete.