From the Washington Post:  During my first week in Paris, I shooed away several groups of would-be thieves and pickpockets: thin young men and women preying on vulnerable tourists, swarming around them, badgering them to sign a piece of paper or read a document in English, or pretending that they’d found a valuable gold ring. These scams must work some of the time, because you see these groups over and over.

A week after we arrived, my wife went to Israel to visit her family, leaving me alone in Paris. The day after she left, a Saturday morning, I started early and walked for hours, heading toward Montmartre. When I got there, I was exhausted and looked it: a sweaty 72-year-old tourist; a turkey fit to be plucked.  Continuez.