Stand on the the quais beneath the Pont Neuf bridge in the middle of Paris and look up; these guys will be staring down at you. When it's just faces, and not complete bodies, they're 'mascarons,' not 'gargoyles.' No two of these grotesque visages are the same. Enjoy their individuality as you ponder the decades it took to build this stone structure--begun in 1578 by Henri III, inaugurated by Henri IV in 1607. From 1588 to 1599, construction was interrupted by the French Wars of Religion, which lasted 36 years. The romance that the world associates with Paris belies the many troubled episodes of its two thousand year history...Mascarons or no, though, a stroll along the river in the heart of this city is always de rigueur if you're in Paris with the person whose face lights up yours...