Happy Fourth of July! Well, it wasn't a big deal at all in Paris, but Tom and Maggie were generous enough to go with me to a chain restaurant called "Indiana" which serves American food. There were no fireworks, but there was an artery-clogging bacon cheeseburger and pommes frites, eaten on the Place de la Bastille, appropriately enough. I was satisfied to see that they put up some American flags on the Hôtel de Ville for the occasion.

We preceded this comfort food with a visit to Willi's Wine Bar, where we savored some great French red wines and stinky cheeses, so I think we did okay in the balance. It's a really great place to go for wine, with a kind of calm atmosphere that I have never seen before in Paris! The three wines we tried were a Nuit-St. Georges, a Domaine de Chevalier Bordeaux and a Chateauneuf de Pape. All were excellent.