Blogger Alex Robertson Textor

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Where was your photo taken: Museo del Chocolate, Havana, Cuba.

Where do you live now: Brooklyn, New York.

Scariest airline flown: My flight from Managua to Big Corn Island last September on La Costeña Airlines was probably the scariest I’ve ever taken. Our tiny prop plane bobbled violently for what seemed like an eternity through enormous rain clouds. Each jolt was accompanied by a chorus of screams from the back of the plane.

Favorite city/country/place: My favorite city is probably Melbourne, though there are at least a dozen cities nipping at its heels. Some other favorite places include Terre-de-Haut (Guadeloupe), northern California, and the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog.

Most remote corner of the globe visited: Boipeba Island, Brazil.

Favorite guidebook series: Bradt travel guides, for their inspiring titles and cultural insights. I’m also a fan of Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, and Time Out.

Dream travel destination: Rapa Iti, French Polynesia.

Person you’d most like to interview for Gadling: The amazingly well-traveled Lauren Hutton.

Type of traveler: Budget, with low-tech adventure undertones and occasional departures of the eco-friendly luxury variety.

Next trip: Boston and Cape Cod.

He’s Baaaaack!

by Andrew Evans on

Clinging to the time-honored American tradition of grand re-entrances (and like a malevolent phantom lunging at you through your computer screen), I have returned. Didja miss me, huh?

Apologies for the disappearance but over the last few months I have been out touring my conspicuous act and feeding my inner hobo. Maybe you heard about that psychotic man who rode the Bus 2 Antarctica? Yeah [nonchalant hair toss], that was me. Or that intrepid explorer who snapped a picture of the super rare all-black penguin and sold it to all the British tabloids? Yeah, that was me too. And the guy who revolutionized Twitter? Well no, actually, that was Ashton Kutcher . . .

But yeah, I’m back from my epic journey to Antarctica with all kinds of fun facts, like the slowest way between any two points on a map and 101 effective toilet paper substitutes at all-night Peruvian truck stops. Boys and girls, ladies and gents! I have traveled the world and (drum roll) . . . hit all seven continents like a redneck hammering plastic gophers at the county fair. I have come full circle and who did I find waiting for me patiently at the dock, heavily lipsticked and with daisies in hand? Gadling: my dear sweet, doe-eyed darling Gadling.

So, kill the fatted calf and pull up a bean bag chair! Gadling’s prodigal son has come back to the fold, poised at my typewriter and ready to bang out nifty travel stories for your ongoing reading pleasure. Beware of good times ahead: it’s gonna be just like that book “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”, only so much trippier.

Blogger David Farley

by David Farley on

1. Where was your photo taken: La Torre, a great restaurant in Viterbo, about an hour north of Rome . The guy to my left is Paul Steffen, an 87-year-old American dancer who, at one time, was quite famous in Italy for his choreography. Those who have read my book, An Irreverent Curiosity, should be familiar with him. The photo was taken by Pancho Garrison, another good friend and Calcata character who has a sizeable presence in my book.

2. Where do you live now: New York City

3. Scariest airline flown: A “retired” Aeroflot plane that was being chartered by a tour operator. I was flying from Prague to the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria.

4. Favorite city/country/place: People ask me this question all the time and the answer changes depending on where I’ve traveled recently and my mood. I lived in Prague for a few years and was quite attached to the city long after I left. Also I lived in a village near Rome called Calcata and still have a deep fondness for both the Italian capital and Calcata. I was recently in Vietnam and came back home hoping I’ll be able to spend a lot more time there in the future.

5. Most remote corner of the globe visited: I’m not terribly well traveled. I was recently in La Paz, 13,000 feet up in the Andes and with altitude sickness weighing me down as if a truck-sized boulder was on top of me, I felt like I had entered a completely different and very remote dimension.

6. Favorite guidebook series: It depends. Often I just opt to gather my own info via travel articles, news and magazine articles, and info from friends of friends who live in the destination. When I do use a guidebook I tend to gravitate to the Time Out series though.

7. The most unusual food I’ve ever eaten is... I’ve eaten rat in Vietnam, llama in Bolivia, fish sperm ducts in the Czech Republic, but the weirdest thing I’ve eaten is “Italian” food –or, rather, what someone decided to define as Italian food –at American chain restaurants like the Olive Garden.

8. Favorite Foreign Dish/Restaurant? Is there still such a thing as a “foreign dish” in this very globalized 21st century? Some of my favorite restaurants are La Grotta dei Germogli in Calcata, ; Da Enzo in Rome; La Torre in Viterbo, Italy; any taqueria in Los Angeles with a Department of Public Health food facility rating of “B” or worse; Momofuku Ssam Bar and Ipudo in New York City . I also love eating cau lau at the central food market in Hoi An, Vietnam. One of the best meals I had in a long time was a few months ago at David Burke Townhouse in New York.

9. When I’m not writing for Gadling, I’m…eating and drinking and then, usually, writing about it for various travel magazines and newspaper travel sections.

10. Next trip: Oakland, CA. and then Belarus and then …

Blogger Leigh Caldwell

by Leigh Caldwell on

Introducing another new blogger at Gadling, Leigh Caldwell. . .

Where was your photo taken: Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. I took my Florida-born daughter hiking here to see snow for the first time.

Where do you live now: Orlando(-ish)

Scariest airline flown: Air South, a limping, discount carrier that offered $19.99 fares on an aging 727 between St. Petersburg, Fla., and Fort Lauderdale in the mid-90s. I boarded an Air South flight one morning after encountering the same woman checking my bag at the counter and taking my boarding pass at the gate. As I was fastening my seatbelt, she boarded the plane and took her seat – in the cockpit.

Most remote corner of the globe visited: Does that Illinois corn field I accidentally drove the driver’s ed car through in high school count?

Favorite guidebook series: I’m much more likely to surf travel blogs and ask locals for destination advice, but I am an admirer of the Rough Guides. Overall, I think they better acquaint you with the culture of a place than some of the other series.Favorite foreign dish? Restaurant? Banks beer. Flying fish cutter. Any random rum shack in Barbados.

Favorite tourist trap? Walt Disney World. Say what you want, I remain unapologetic.

Where do you hide your emergency cash? If I told you, I would have to. . . change where I hide my emergency cash.

When I’m not writing for Gadling, I’m. . . donning a hard hat to oversee the operations for some coal recovery and reclamation projects at abandoned coal mines in the Midwest. Seriously.

Favorite city/country/place: My favorite place is anywhere I’m able to shut off my brain for a few minutes and breathe. Travel does that for me in a way home never will. I can find my heaven perched on a stool in the aforementioned Bajan rum shack, people-watching in Washington Square Park on a warm spring day in New York City, or surrounded by soybeans driving the country roads of Western Kentucky.

Blogger Katie Hammel

by Katie Hammel on

Introducing another new blogger at Gadling, Katie Hammel . . .

Where was your photo taken: On my last day in Buenos Aires, while enjoying a $3 bottle of wine before heading to the airport.

Scariest airline flown: I hate to fly. I tremble, I whimper, I cry, and generally annoy the people around me. Once (before I discovered the wonders of Xanax) I even hyperventilated and passed out. So every airline is scary for me. But this year I took a step toward conquering my fear with a flying lesson in a tiny Cessna. I was still terrified, but I actually worked the controls during take-off!

Favorite country/city/place: Reykjavik, Iceland. If it weren’t for that whole “virtually no sunlight in winter” thing, I would want to live there. The horses were the cutest, friendliest little things, the nightlife was a blast, the scenery is just unreal, and they make the best hot dogs in the world. Seriously, I dream of those hot dogs.

Most remote corner of the world visited: Iceland again. Walking on the black sand beach near Vik, it really did feel like my husband and I were the only people on earth.

Favorite guidebook series: I’m partial to Rough Guides for overall destination advice, but I love Time Out for dining and nightlife recommendations.

Hotel, hostel, or other? I like small, family-run places for the personal attention and extra perks that often come with the stay. My only strict requirements are that the place is cheap, quiet, and clean, but whether they go by the name bed and breakfast, hostel, or guesthouse, I always try to stay in a place where the owner’s personality makes it an extra special experience.

The most unusual food I’ve ever eaten is. . . lamb brains. They were served as part of a multi-course tasting menu at a restaurant in Chicago. I grew up as a very picky eater, but now I’ll try just about anything, especially after a few glasses of wine. The lamb brains were surprisingly delicious – they had the consistency of potato croquetas.

Celebrity you’d most like to sit next to in first class. Anthony Bourdain, so I can find out where he is going to eat and then relentlessly stalk him and until he invites me to join him for dinner. . . or takes out a restraining order.

How did you get started traveling? My husband has no one to blame but himself for my travel addiction (luckily he loves to travel too). Some husbands have to deal with their wives buying ridiculously expensive shoes, mine just has to deal with me surprising him with yet another set of plane tickets. Before I met my husband, I had never left the country and had no plans on ever doing so. I thought only the rich could travel. But our first trip as a couple, to Dublin seven years ago, cost only $1200. I realized I was wrong and we’ve been traveling (cheaply) together since.