Paris could be the first word of an epic poem. While there are many cultural pilgrimages in Western Arts The Alhambra Venice Mumbai Machu Picchu and others Paris stands above others flourishing as an image of possibility and sophistication. The city has a rich history with foreign artists and writers intellectual and political exiles military leaders and philosophers from all over the globe. Americans have gone to Paris since the colonial periodand their writing about the city is a captivating