“It is not down in any map; true places never are.”

I've been thinking about city layouts. It goes without saying that Paris is not laid out like New York or Portland or even London. But it seems like European cities (the ones I've seen so far) are distinctively different than US cities. European cities largely seem to grow up and out around initial markets or other central locations. They are a mess of streets zigzagging to and fro and especially in the larger ones, you cannot navigate without a map, or better yet, a book of maps. Londoners habitually carry with them something called an A to Z (don't forget to pronounce the Zed), and I now fully believe the story I had heard that London cabbies study for years before becoming such.

On my way to get bubble tea two days ago, I rode past Rue Nicolas Flamel. I didn't look thoroughly, but I'm pretty sure there weren't any sorcerer's stones there. I also passed Rue de Rohan, but didn't see any horsemen.