"When I started traveling professionally, I was surprised and delighted to find that I could still make emotional connections to places. I discovered this for the first time in Portugal, where -- after having schlepped around Spain -- I met a young Dutch woman who introduced me to a her friend, a colorful poet, who...

"Of course, writers of any kind are never the norm; those of us who write about travel are different from the start, since we usually head out alone. The reason cited most often is freedom from distraction; when you’re by yourself, you're more attuned to your surroundings. Less discussed, but just as important, is the...

"Tell most people you're a travel writer and you'll be greeted with exclamations of envy. Ask them to name a travel book they've recently read and, almost inevitably, you'll be met with silence." --Thomas Swick, " Are Travel Writers the New Poets? " World Hum , October 24, 2011