April 17, 2003 - page 2

After dessert, and after we caught our collective breath, we were met with one more surprise: the waiters brought to each table a hookah, a tall water pipe traditionally smoked after festive meals.  I think everyone gave it a try once the giggles tapered off.  I’ll do my best to commandeer a few of the pictures that were taken and show them here next week.  All in all it was a great time, and most of us couldn’t stop smiling.  We’ll all be lobbying hard for a Lebanese restaurant upon our return to Danville, whatever our chances.
 
My own encounter with Paris began somewhat inauspiciously, even before I hopped on the early train at London’s Waterloo Station.  I’d stayed at Fatoosh a while longer than I had planned the night before – though I don’t regret it in retrospect – and the consequence was that I arrived at the laundromat just after it had closed.  My most plaintive gazes apparently weren’t persuasive to the owner, who just jostled the locked door and pointed at her watch, chuckling a bit as she did.  So the first item on the Paris agenda was emergency shopping.  But I got it all squared away soon enough, and as I say, no regrets.

Where does one start in Paris?  We found as good an answer as any in a riverboat tour on the Seine, which introduced us to most of the major sites and gave picture-takers plenty of good opportunities.  We then parted ways and proceeded to enjoy three days that now seem to have passed in a few short hours.