Sacre Coeur String people

Apparently there are these "string" people who hang around the base of Sacre Coeur, who grab your wrist, tie a string around it, and then demand payment. Sounds freaky, but it is said that if you decline to pay them they will not bother you.



My goddaughter and her friend were accosted by these people in the Spring and ended up giving them 10 or so Euros, and also ended up not pleased with themselves for caving in. They should not be too hard on themselves. According to what I have read these people are quite intimidating.



Shirley and I are armed with knowledge of this little enterprise and that will contribute to a different outcome. I can explain to the string people in Quebec French, bad Spanish, and English that we are "stringophobes" and as such must decline their offerings. If all this fails, I will just show them the "Maggie face". This has frightened people in the past. We'll see.

Four sleeps.