More Paris

i hope monsiur dominique strauss-kahn is guilty because his punishment & descent into hell have been mighty. apriori, i think he is, but i know no more than all the experts in france - lawyers, journalists, politicians, historians, psychologists, friends, enemies - who've come out of the cracks to discuss, argue, & fight about it passionately in public without respite. judging by the media it's hard to believe there's anything else going on in the world. i watch, listen & read obsessively. but, why did his lawyer shove his hands deep into his pockets while trying to convince the judge what an honorable man DS-K is? the ladies who sat with me at the bus stop at the place voltaire yesterday suspect he was set up; they raised eyebrows about the timing, so close to elections, and the fact that it took place in a french hotel.

i saw woody allen's midnight in paris & loved it. the french critics call it a masterpiece, yet there were moments when i was the only one in the cinema who was laughing. i visited the gardens of the rodin museum next day looking for carla bruni but she was not there.

the weather has been perfect for wandering around paris, as i do each day, hopping on buses, visiting different neighborhoods, stupefied by the beauty of the architecture, the monuments & public buildings. the bus # 69 ambles through the marais, then along the rue de rivoli and makes a sudden sharp left turn under a narrow arch, with only a couple of inches leeway, emerging into the vast. astonishing square of the musee du louvre. i see crowds gathered in front of the glass pyramid entrance & remain in my seat. i'll get off later & watch the seine flow slowly under the bridges.