When it comes to the ways of love and romance, no aphrodisiac is quite so potent as travel. On the road -- freed from the dull routines and restrictions of home -- you become more open, more daring, more willing to seize the moment. Away from home, the people you meet (be they locals or...

Living in France I’ve taken a lot of flack from my European friends. I don’t know how many countless cathedrals and towers and old ruins I’ve dragged them to, bearing their complaints and whining all the while. Why, they wondered, was I so intrigued with these old buildings and towers? It’s different when you’ve grown...