The most egregious example of all was the eccentric fashion designer, John Galliano, who shocked many by spilling vitrol in a Paris cafe.

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Its Dior maison had just announced that it had suspended John Galliano, its creative director, following his arrest over an alleged anti-Semitic tirade in a Paris cafe.

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In Mexico Perez just broke ground on the three-tower oceanfront Icon Vallarta, whose interiors will be designed by Philippe Starck (the creative force behind Cafe Costas in Paris).

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It all started with Rose Bakery -- the bastion of the UK cafe scene in Paris -- which kicked off the trend for casual, homely fare with a British accent back in 2002, when their first branch opened in the south Pigalle area (46 rue des Martyrs, 9e, 01-42-82-12-80).

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There are many flattering things to say about Buenos Aires, not the least of which is that it is rightly considered the Paris of South America for its architecture, cafe culture and romance.

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In the Dupont Cafe, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, Anne-Sophie Barreteau and her friend Augustin Romieu struggle to decide how more young people might be attracted to the Church.

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