[NicknamedBob]

I think you would find the people very cosmopolitan, or perhaps "continental" is appropriate here, as well.

Almost all of the younger people speak fluent English, among other languages, but I would suspect they might also harbor a charming innocence of the predatory ways of vampires, and others.

Um, wooden shoes, yes, but only in the tourist traps.

[Darkchylde]

I was thinking of a place that would have
victorian houses everywhere. Where the
city just fades into the little towns &
country. Somewhere you can just walk
& get lost in a conversation with someone.

[Monkey Face]

"Um, wooden shoes, yes, but only in the tourist traps."

I had the good fortune 20 years ago to meet a couple from The Netherlands who were on a driving tour of America. The had enough money to bring their vehicle (VW bus) with them, and enough that they could live for $5 a day, for the six months they were here. But they had no money to get their vehicle back to Holland.

They bought a HUGH box of small wooden shoes, which she painted, and they sold for $5 a pair. They would also meet people at churches, and after hearing their accents, would, of course, ask where they were from, etc.

The story usually, (almost always, in fact,) prompted an invitation to lunch or supper. He was a cook on a sloop, and she was a maid for a well-to-do family. I have a beautiful little pair of hand-painted wooden shoes, that cost me $5, and some warm memories of a very brave couple...I wouldn't trade either item for anything in the world...:-)