The entire hour, I was glassy-eyed. I was in the presence of one of my author idols, Frances Mayes. She was doing a book reading at Warwick’s in La Jolla for her new book, See You in the Piazza. After painting Italy with her lilting Georgia accent, she moved toward the book-signing table. She stopped and turned toward the crowd. Her eyes met mine.
To me, the most friendly city I’ve visited in Europe has to be Amsterdam. The people are genuinely welcoming and don’t seem annoyed that every year, millions of tourists invade their beautiful city. Sure, they get us back by zinging past us on bikes with a mere ching of the bike bell as a warning, but in general, you couldn’t ask for a more accommodating people.
While I travel a fair amount, I don’t always feel a kinship with the places I go. But sometimes, there’s just this jolt, this realization that this place is somewhere magical. Somewhere I could be. San Luis Obispo (let’s just call it SLO, shall we?) is one of those rare places for me.
If you ask me what one city you should visit in southern France, I’m going to say Nice. It’s a beautiful coastal town, metropolitan without being overwhelming, and full of things to see (and eat).