Truffles, galleries and a weekend of 'freedom' for Strauss-Kahn

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife, the television journalist Anne Sinclair, might have settled into the life of many well-to-do Manhattan couples, but for a few twists peculiar to their circumstances.

Until last Friday, their Tribeca town house was guarded round the clock by a private security firm and Mr Strauss-Kahn was not allowed to leave.

If the couple hoped that the lifting of those bail conditions might enable them to get out and enjoy the city undisturbed it was soon apparent that would not be the case. On Friday, they sped off to dine with two friends at the Upper East Side restaurant Scalintella, pursued by paparazzi. Fellow diners rushed to give their impressions of the couple to the waiting journalists (they appeared to be in a very good mood, apparently) and it didn't take long for their menu choices to become public. The former International Monetary Fund boss had pasta with black truffles, washed down with a $116 Tuscan red. Mr Strauss-Kahn and his wife left the restaurant through the kitchen in a vain attempt to avoid the waiting cameras.

On Saturday they drove off to an unknown destination – though Ms Sinclair returned carrying a brochure from the Museum of Modern Art, suggesting they had taken in one of the city's popular cultural spots – before retiring for an evening in.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has not had the charges against him dropped, or his passport returned, so his enforced stay in New York is unlikely to end imminently. Nor is the media attention.