Vacation, Holiday, and Travel Planner What is your best vacation/travel memory? It’s my favorite day of the year – I get to take a long drive in the middle of winter! There’s no better way to spend a night than in the company of good friends and great music. I’m also very fond of traveling to the coast. How would you describe your ideal itinerary to go around the world? First I’d go to Los Angeles and then take a long road trip west to San Francisco. There’s so much I’d want to do and see in San Francisco. Once there, I’d go to Joshua Tree to see the sunrise, then Palm Springs, then La Jolla, then Santa Barbara, then Santa Monica, then back home. What’s your favorite destination? I love the beach but also appreciate the outdoors. I like hiking, backpacking, and skiing. But mostly I love watching the sunset and the view from the summit of a mountain. What is the most memorable trip you’ve been on? It’s hard to choose just one, but in my mind, it would be our annual trip to the beach when I was around 7. I recall us getting lost on a bike ride. We found a great seafood restaurant and ended up hanging out with the locals at an Irish pub, where I learned to play pool. There was an amazing band playing and when it came to an end we all found ourselves riding on the back of a motorcycle to the beach and ended up in downtown Miami – all in the course of one night! I’m not sure how we managed it but it was quite an adventure. How does a perfect day with your partner begin? A perfect day with my partner usually starts with a lot of great sex. We both enjoy a long sensual bath before going to bed. After a big shower, we get into bed together and talk about our dreams and what the other wants to do. By the time we both fall asleep, we have a plan for the day. How do you unwind from the day? Unwinding can be as simple as going to dinner and a movie. I also have a ton of fun hanging out with friends, playing games, and going out. When you travel, how do you relax and find your center? When I travel I usually take a road trip – whether it’s a short one like to Santa Barbara or a longer one. Traveling is a great way to re-energize and bring me back to myself. Sometimes I hike or go to a yoga class. I also love going to a movie. When you travel, how do you stay true to yourself while also adjusting to new situations? First I try to make time to get to know the culture. Then I just have to learn to find the language of the culture. I know a lot of French but very little Spanish, so I had to immerse myself to learn Spanish. I also really love to travel to India, which is such a beautiful culture. When I go, I try to leave my iPhone and iPad in the hotel. I love how everything is so simple there. And even when I travel abroad, I like to cook meals at home, which is really not possible while traveling. What is your preferred transport while traveling? My favorite means of transportation is the subway. We live in NYC and I’ve become very good at understanding the signs. The subway is also convenient and usually works well. What is your favorite city? I love New York, even though I haven’t been there in a while. I also really like Chicago and San Francisco. In addition, I love to go on camping trips. What is your favorite place to go? I love the beach and Palm Springs, too. For a long time I couldn’t fathom a trip to Hawaii without my family. But now I look forward to trips alone with my boyfriend or friends. If you had to pack one item and one item only, what would they be? I couldn’t imagine traveling without my phone. And I couldn’t imagine traveling without a scarf to keep me warm. What is the most memorable place you’ve traveled to? It’s hard for me to choose just one but in the next two or three years, I’m really looking forward to Antarctica. When you’re traveling, how do you take care of yourself? I always pack my own food and bring a good travel pillow. If you had a chance to do anything, what would it be? I would live in the Outer Banks in North Carolina in the summer with my girlfriends – soaking up the sun, relaxing, eating great seafood, and making art. When you travel, how do you stay true to yourself while also adjusting to new situations? It’s hard when you have people you love around you. However, the first trip I ever did as a travel professional was to Morocco with friends I had made when I was working in DC. The group of us traveled together for four days and explored a new country. This showed me how much you can get out of travel when you have like-minded people around you. What is your preferred transport while traveling? Definitely travel by private jet. I also like to take helicopters. What is your favorite city? My favorite city is New Orleans. I also enjoy being in the wilderness like camping. And I love to go to the beach. What is your favorite place to go? I love taking trips to Vegas. We stay at the MGM Grand and it is my favorite hotel ever! I also enjoy going to the beach or mountains. What is your favorite thing about Las Vegas? What is your favorite thing about Las Vegas? The energy! I like it because people are so kind and everyone is so friendly and helpful. If you had a chance to do anything, what would it be? If I could do anything, I’d choose to go on a helicopter ride. When you’re traveling, how do you take care of yourself? When I travel, I like to make sure I know the city well enough to do my own things. I also like to pack healthy food. What is your preferred transport while traveling? When I travel, I like to travel by train. What is your favorite city? I really like New York City because it’s one of my favorite cities in the world. It has so much character and so many different things to do and see. It’s always so exciting to visit. What is your favorite place to go? I love going to the beach and having a tan. I also enjoy camping and cooking together. What is your favorite thing about traveling? Traveling is my favorite past time. If you had a chance to do anything, what would it be? If I could do anything, I’d eat at a great restaurant. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? New Zealand would be an exciting place for me to see. What is your favorite thing about traveling? There’s something new to see every time I travel. What’s your favorite thing about yourself? I love that I am always learning new things and I love how I am always trying to grow as a person. Tell us your most significant travel memory. I like to travel because I like to see the world and experience other people and cultures. There have been some special moments. One of them was the first time I traveled overseas with a group of friends. We flew from the UK to Sydney, Australia, and we had a blast. There were 15 of us, all from different parts of the UK. We each brought different people from our group that we met in our hometowns in the UK. There were about eight different nationalities. This is how I got to meet a lot of the British people that I still know today. I love that everyone made new friends and we all just took the time to be happy and appreciate the different cultures around us. What’s your best travel story? I was traveling with my parents when I was a child. I was at an airport in Germany and I saw a woman with a cane. She was walking and I noticed she had a blindfold over her eyes and a stick in her hand. I asked her if I could use her stick to