Alone time: four seasons, four cities, and the pleasures of solitude

Introduction: Witches and shamans

Part I: Spring: Paris

Food

Café et pluie = Coffee and rain: the science of savoring

La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin = Life is too short to drink bad wine: on eating alone

A picnic for one in the Luxembourg Gardens: alternatives to the table

Of oysters and chablis: servings of delight and disappointment

Beauty

Musée de la vie romantique: how to be alone in a museum

Window-licking: finding your muse

Part II: Summer: Istanbul

Nerve

Üsküdar: the art of anticipation

The hamam: the importance of trying new things

Call to prayer: learning to listen

Loss

The rainbow stairs of Beyoğlu: appreciation

Before it's gone: ephemeralities

Part III: Fall: Florence

Silence

Arrows and angels: games for one

Alone with Venus: on seeing

Knowledge

The secret corridor: schooling yourself

Part IV: Winter: New York

Home

The city: on assignment

Sanctuaries and strangers: designing home

Ode to the West Village

Tips and tools for going it alone.