Community Planner

Images courtesy of www.carnets-voyage.com and www.sophieneck-berlin.de

What every town needs is a nice little platz or plaza or square or whatever you want to call it, where people can gather, loiter and watch the world go by. I miss the Piazza del Campo in Florence, which, though touristy as hell, was great value in terms of perching on a step and watching locals, tourists and street performers. Sitting on a bench on the main drag of Lorgues just isn't quite the same.

Every town also needs a nice little park with some green in it. The French are great with putting in parks, but not so great and creating and maintaining a refreshing expanse of green grass and shrubbery. One doesn't pad softly through the park, the grass soothingly underfoot. Instead, you scrunch dustily atop gravel. It's very practical. But harsh and indifferent too. I miss the parks of Berlin. I miss the sweet cemetary garden in Sweden that I used to zen out in every day.