How to fill an afternoon in Paris and New York City? As the New York Times reported last month, French cafes (or “the parliament of the people,” as Balzac wrote) are under threat “as traditional cafes and bars suffer and even close, hit by changing attitudes, habits and now a poor economic climate”; meanwhile, the Big Apple’s controversial renovation projects are no longer relegated to the Atlantic Yards, Ground Zero or 2 Columbus Circle — add Washington Square Park to the list: the 181-year-old park that was once farmland for freed slaves and is now considered “the beating heart of Greenwich Village” is currently undergoing massive renovations, including the iconic fountain being moved “about 22 feet to the east to align it with the arch and Fifth Avenue” and becoming, in the words of one critic, a spot “where benches and trees would soon vanish, a spot where..entire communities would be washed away.” Troubling times under the arches…