The Best Souvenir: Friendship

The “Divine Amalfi Coast Tour” of 2014 was the trip of a lifetime for Leslie Knotts ’00 and Frances Hargrave McPhee ’61—a chance to explore an area known for its stunning landscapes from Positano to the ruins of Pompeii. Knotts was representing Bryn Mawr’s Alumnae Association Executive Board, and for McPhee, the timing was auspicious. The trip offered excellent accommodations and guides, as well as the opportunity to travel with other Mawrters. 

“This was the third alumnae/i trip that I joined and while the fantastic destinations change, the high caliber always remains the same,” Knotts says. “I knew we would learn a good deal from our esteemed academic sponsor, Professor Emeritus Nicholas Patruno, and that the participants would be interesting, intrepid, and accomplished Mawrters.” 

The people, the food, and “the Mediterranean rim gusto for life” were all highlights, McPhee adds. 

“The trip combined features that set it apart from the run-of-the-mill,” McPhee says. “Some moments were living opera.” 

While on the trip, the two became fast friends, recognizing each other as fellow “citizens of the world.” Knotts noted their mutual regard for scholarship and applying their skills to make a mark in the real world, including McPhee’s own eponymous cultivar of mango. 

It was their shared values that cemented their bond, McPhee explains. 

“We began exchanging holiday cards, which grew to correspondence about our time at Bryn Mawr, personal philosophies, charming stories, pearls of wisdom, Christmas gifts, and books,” Knotts says. “We have remained dear friends.”