Shocked in St Germain

Today we dip into the irreverent and off-color. I do this strictly because I am compelled to warn Romanians and my fellow românofili about the dangers that may take them by surprise on an April evening's romantic promenadă in Paris.

For those of you who don't know Romanian, the essential background you need is this work-safe word definition and this not-so-work-safe-but-more-accurate-in-connotation definition. You click on the latter at your own socially embarrassing risk.

For those of you who like to grasp the sounds of foreign words, it's a plural word pronounced, roughly, "bootch."

Now that you are properly edified, you can imagine what might happen when a Romanian of more gentlemanly upbringing takes a wrong turn in search of a nice dinner or dessert in the St Germain district:














Buci, everywhere you look.

Then again, this may appeal to some parts of the tourist population, who will be sorely disappointed that most of these establishments appear to be quite respectable.

I have no idea what the French city planners and owners of these establishments had in mind, but I tend not to ask that sort of question.