Oh golly, you are one of Wotan's handmaidens. No, really. Tell me the cost the minute you hear whether it worked (and the date, of course.) By all means come to Paris! After sniping about it for yonks, we've had to admit that Opéra Bastille is not bad at all.

I might come to Munich - I actually drove in my car to Ueberlingen, where I am taking a cure, with the express intention of travelling around a bit. Also most of my German friends, including one I mean to convince to work with me in September, are in Munich, where I lived for a couple of months in 1997. The one drawback are these pesky Alps, meaning that it's a three hour drive when you don't own a flying Ford Anglia. Hmmm... let's think a bit.