: PERHAPS THE best thing “about the Eurostar + train is not the ride : under the English Channel but the fact

‘that the sleek rail-

“rocket zips through

the dismal clutter of . ‘Parisian suburbia and

a othe Gare’ du Nord is a ood start. | mean, the “French build railway sta-' . “tions the way Italians build. ‘churches. The high ceiling ‘has room for a flight of angels, ‘there is the smell of good coffee, it -

8 quiet and clean, and Paris is just ouiside.” -

.Bombers:-have been about but worries vanish’ when we see the regiments of police skulking saround every corner; with half this

lot Napoleon would have had a bet- ter day. at Waterloo. Security is

ight on the Metro, the tunnels inder the Arc de Triomphe are

‘scoured for a beret-clad Guy |

fawkes, and all litter boxes have

Life in Paris goes on, the ; -fomantics waik:arm in arm along “the Seine, artists seek inspiration and Sunday moming philosophers

ll Left Bank cafes. We catch a good-humored student rally and “miss a grinding strike. Timing i is everything:

Parisians enjoy the winter ‘because they get their city back. Few tourists are in evidence on the “newly widened Champs Elysees and they have room to move at the Louvre, whose new wings and - pyramid have changed the way Parisians think about this historic

uilding that houses the Mona ‘Lisa.

, You can even eat well here at

Enroll now in our popular c courses

: GEMSTONES (6250): Thu, dan, 18+ March 21

| DIAMOND GRADING: Wed, Feb. 7- Apri | Classes: 6:15 — 9:00 pm at 549 Howe Street ff

‘RG.A. and A.G. Diploma Program =

~ For info and ragitration (VISAMC) WWW ideapcove.co or «toll-free 1-800-294-2211 _

Extra savings on every

PRINCESS CRUISE (2h booked between Jan. 22 & 29/96 &

Call now for unbeatable , cruise fares!

i May 12 or 19

the Cafe Marly. Of course it’s hard

to be disappointed with any kitchen

_in Paris but the exchange rate

(three francs for $1) malses it nec- essary to choose carefully.

At the Cafe Clement near the opera a bottle of 1990 Bordeaux, a _ top vintage. was just over $30. Such a steal seemed reason enough to go over the top one night with a meal at Le Bristol, which has one Michetin star. Do it. What I did not do.was sleep upstairs, where a dou- ble room starts at $1,000 a night.

Having said that you don’t thave to be the Sultan of Brunei to enjoy Paris. There are affordable rooms in the Cheap Sleeps guide (Raincoast Books) where genera- tions of idealists have read Balzac and dreamed of bocuf a la mode. In Hemingway’s early days on the Left Bank a bookshop owner used to fortify him with hot soup and bread.

. Paris stili has heart. The people who run the Louvre, bless them, have just Opened a room which has

- copies of 20 sculptures which blind

visitors can touch. A museum pass is a good idea

Song ofr

nights con *7200.00 con *1235.00

May 08 or 19 June 09 or 30

| ly 29 or June 19 con *1300.00

cy

con *1300.00 May 26 or June 2 con *1370.00

David Wishart photos

ABOVE: MORE room te move on the Champs Elysees, espe- cially in winter. 5 Left: The Louvre’s _in- spired pyramid has Parisians in love again.

but it was a pleasure to pay extra to see the Cezanne exhibition at the Grand Palais, a blockbuster that was the talk of a city that is not easily impressed. As for the timing (September to January), the peak tourist season was obviously not a consideration. Some 180 paintings and drawings cover Cezanne’s

‘life’s work and include two large

versions of the Bathers.

At the Musee d'Orsay all the Impressionists are at home and on this occasion are supplemented by a collection from the Carlsberg family of Denmark as weil as two more versions of Rodin’s the Kiss, one from Copenhagen and one from the Tate in London. Rodin himself never saw the three statues together.

As for that new sensation, the Eurostar, 11 trains daily make the three-hour journey to and from

London. And of all the London sta- .

tions to chose for the terminus, the beastly Brits chose Waterloo.

Ah well, the French will always have Paris. Round-trip fares start at

- $192, Contact Rail Europe at |-

800-361-7245.

Aboard the fun ship Tv0

Sept. 24 to Oct. 5 11 nights — trom con *2475.00

Sail from Vancouver on Sept 24th to Maui, Hilo, Kona, Kaui and Honolulu, and fly back from

Honolulu to Vancouver on Oct 5th,

OR stay in Honolulu for a while and

fly back to Vancouver later.

* Prices ara psr person/double occupancy, inside cabin, Raservations are Ta:

ON SALE Row -£ ‘ EXTRA FOODS

Whole, bone-in

i fresh

perk picnic shoulder Limit one.

505982 1.84 kg

zucchini squasn

1.50 kg

556639

Bakeshop, or unsliced, 580g

San Francisco sourdough Frenen bread

094897 each

Foremost™, 4L jug -

2% milk

581983

Roger's, white granulated, 2 Kg

sugar

281527

Bee Maid, creamed or liquid, 500 g

squeeze honey

354290

President's Choice™, 225 g

macaroni & heese di

| CONVENIENTLY LOCATED at 7 AND LONSDALE |

Prices in effect until closing January 27, 1996, while stocks last. We reserve the right to limit quantities,