We were walking down Rue Vieille du Temple in the Marais neighbourhood, when we noticed a couple of little boys grappling in the window of a ground floor business. David said, “What’s with the weird white pants, and why are they both wearing them?”

I jokingly suggested that he was a Philistine for failing to recognize that the boys were outfitted for fencing, and that they were obviously blowing off a little steam while they waited for their fencing lesson to begin. David laughed at my silliness as we returned to the scene and entered the building which indeed was a large gymnasium. Several children and their instructors were playing badminton, but the little boys in short white pants were no where to be found. As we turned to leave, David noticed some young children entering the building carrying their fencing foils. En garde.