I won't be intimidated by terrorists...

After lunch, I went to Printemps - one of Paris' large department stores. I went there today for two reasons: 1) because it probably is the last time I'll be over in that area before I leave Paris on Sunday; and 2) to make a statement. What statement you ask? The "I won't be intimidated by terrorists" statement.

I almost hesitated mentioning what happened here yesterday, but everyone's probably seen it on the news anyhow. So here's the scoop... yesterday morning, the police were informed that several bombs had been placed in Printemps. So the police swarmed the place, cleared the entire store (which is huge) of customers and conducted a search. They found one bomb - several sticks of dynamite - but with no detonator, in one of the restrooms. Apparently the 'terrorists' did this as a warning, demanding that France remove their troops from Afghanistan.

So today I went to Printemps. The place was packed - clearly the incident is not keeping people away. There were store personnel stationed at every entrance and they were checking everyone's bags and purses before you could go into the store.

Later in the day I went to another department store across town called Au Bon Marche (hadn't been there before) and they were doing the same security checks of everyone entering the building.

If you want to read the full story, it's all over the wires - CNN, Reuters, etc. Or click here and read the story that ran in the New York Times.

These are definitely crazy times. But despite it all I still believe you can't let fear stop you from living. When you do that, the terrorists win.