As I am sitting on the hotel terrace and sipping my drink in the middle of the afternoon, I hear some loud American voices behind my back. A bit surprised, for Americans have turned rather quiet after September 11, 2001, I turn around to see what is going on. And I see a couple in their forties with two children between the ages of eight and ten talking to another man in his forties standing some ten paces away from the table where they are sitting. Thus the shouting. The two men strike me as siblings only a few years apart, but the man who is standing is smoking a cigarette. In short, he is not allowed to smoke at the table, and especially not on account of the children. Even though the terrace is completely open, and even though the afternoon breeze is quite strong, ten paces must be considered the proper distance in this case. Having finished his cigarette, the smoker joins the table again, and the shouting stops. I shake my head and return to my drink. Americans!