Notes from the Weekend

RECENTLY read an engaging book about the skin. In one particularly interesting section, the author described a colleague who had travelled to fashionable locations around the world to observe social behaviour. His method was straightforward: he would sit in a café corner and count the number of interpersonal touches made by locals in one hour. The results were rather revealing. Puerto Rico came out on top with 180 touches an hour, while Paris fared well with 110. Any guesses for London? This city lived up to its touch-averse stereotype with exactly zero recorded touches per hour. Studies reveal that everyday physical contact, like handshakes or pats on the back, can profoundly shape our social judgments—despite our tendency to overlook their impact. This finding prompts us to reconsider how touch influences our daily interactions and relationships. In other news, it’s been a busy week, so last week’s newsletter edition was late, late, and not ready on Thursday as planned. It was finally dispatched on Saturday (it is intricate and took hours to put together) and includes the first set of Valencia Recommendations, including musings on Spanish life; a special tapas bar across town; where to get buñuelos all year long; a glimpse of the street we lived on; the best paella restaurant that only locals know, and more. You can read it here. Did you watch the tennis on Sunday?

This week’s links include the best hotels in Crete, and a recipe for Caramelized Leek, Spinach, and Goat Cheese Tart; authenticity under fire; how often you really need to wash your sheets, and much, much more.

xo,