Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Where would Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler â aka Shamie â go for their honeymoon? I asked Mayim Bialik, the actress who plays one-half of the geeky dream team on âThe Big Bang Theoryâ: âProbably Stockholm, home of the Nobel Prize, maybe, or somewhere with lots of trains, since Sheldon loves trains.â
“I love South America and Mexico City,” says “The Office” actress Nora Kirkpatrick. “I loved Cuzco, Peru. I spent time there before I hiked Machu Picchu. A city that took me by surprise last year when we were on tour, was the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. We played this amazing festival called Noorderzon that combines theater, arts and music around this beautiful lake in the center of town. It was an incredible city, specifically geared for biking. I could have lived there, and I rarely feel that while traveling.”
Born in Ohio and raised in Indiana, Ted Allen â the host of âChopped All-Stars,â currently in its third season on the Food Network â remembers his parents dressing him up in smart pants and a blazer, before boarding a flight to visit his grandparents in Orlando. âThis was during a time when everyone dressed up to fly,â says Allen, 47. âI remember getting to go into the cockpit on an Eastern Airlines flight, which was very exciting for me as a little kid. Iâve always loved going to visit different places.â Allen resides in New York City.
âTravel is one of the best ways of knowing that weâre all one as human beings on this planet,â says actress Frances Fisher. âI grew up traveling. When I had my baby (Francesca Eastwood), it seemed natural to take her everywhere with me. She loved it!â Fisher, 60, may be seen in the film âThe Host,â which is based on âTwilightâ author Stephenie Meyerâs novel of the same name.
As the captain of the U.S. Womenâs Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Aly Raisman led the squad â dubbed the Fierce Five â to its gold medal in the team competition. She also won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, as well as a bronze medal on the balance beam. Today, the 18-year-old gymnast is looking to add a mirror ball trophy to her collection of awards as she competes on âDancing with the Stars.â Currently residing in Los Angeles, Raisman says one of the things sheâs enjoying about the city is everyoneâs quest for a healthy lifestyle.
Author, Targetâą Style expert and HGTV on-air personality, Sabrina Soto is known to viewers as the host and designer of such shows as âThe High Low Projectâ and âGet It Sold.â Soto, who has a background in both real estate and design, says she has always been interested in decorating and interior design. To get paid to do it is literally a dream come true for her, she says. A resident of New Yorkâs Upper West Side, Soto admits that itâs sometimes difficult to get her out of her beautiful apartment when sheâs not working. Still, the allure of travel is something she canât ignore.
The son of a Nigerian psychiatrist and a Grenadian nurse, Kevin Olusola enrolled at Yale University intending on pursuing a medical career. But the classically-trained cellist and innovative beatboxer couldn’t resist entering the âCelebrate and Collaborate with Yo-Yo Maâ international competition, where he won second place. As a member of the a cappella group Pentatonix, the 24-year-old musician and his bandmates won the third season of the NBC reality series âThe Sing-Off.â
“Mexico is pretty amazing,” says singer Tristan Prettyman. “From San Diego, itâs so close to drive to Rosarito and rent a house for cheap and relax, surf and chill out. My parents also have property about 19 hours down in a little surf town. I love going there to get away. No phone service or Internet. Itâs the perfect unplug-from-everything getaway.”
Author Matthew Salesses says his year in Prague was one of his favorite years: “It was very cheap for Americans when I was there. Beer cost about one dollar, rent was about $600 per month for a four-bedroom apartment and you could get a really good meal for a few dollars. As soon as I ran out of my American money, I had to live off my earnings. I was paid in crowns, not dollars, so then I was even poorer than I am now. Itâs not the kind of place where you can make a lot of money and travel around. But it was such a beautiful city and there was plenty to see. There is this great beer garden in Prague on Letna Hill where you can have a drink and look over most of the city.”
“I just got home from Japan, and it is by far one of the coolest places Iâve ever been to,” says U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe. “The culture is so unique. We actually got to do a little bit of sightseeing on this trip and visit some of the temples. Iâve never seen anything like that in my life. All the castles and architecture of Europe are beautiful. But then seeing Japan and its architecture is completely different and so special. Also, we went to Kazakhstan for a World Cup race and it was by far the coldest place Iâve ever been to so far. But it was a beautiful area. The buildings looked so cool and futuristic.”
Kevin Michael Connolly, photographer and author of âDouble Take: A Memoirâ (HarperCollins, $14.99), can now add television personality to his resume. The 27-year-old adventurer, born without legs, is the host of the new Travel Channel series, âArmed and Ready.â A resident of Bozeman, Mont., Connolly was a medalist at the 2007 X Gamesâ monoski event and on his show he challenges himself to try feats such as climbing a 50-foot tree in the Smoky Mountains and diving from a 40-foot cliff on Hawaiiâs Big Island.
Remember when Sharon Stone arranged for her then husband, Phil Bronstein, to pet a Komodo dragon at the Los Angeles Zoo? And remember when dragon bit him on the foot, completely crushing his big toe? I thought about this when my husband and I were on the eastern Indonesian island of Komodo, touring an area full of the dragons for which it’s famous. There were experienced guides leading our little group, and they carried large, pointy sticks. I remember asking the lead guide if that’s what he’d use if a Komodo dragon were to attack, and he said, “Yes. It’s very effective.”
Dr. Gino Strada is the founder of EMERGENCY, a global organization that brings free health care to war-torn countries. Strada is featured in the documentary film âOpen Heart,â which is nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at this yearâs Academy Awards. The film follows eight Rwandan children who travel to Sudan for life-saving open-heart surgery. Strada, 64, resides in Khartoum, Sudan, where he spends at least nine months each year working at the Salam Center for Cardiac Surgery.
âI got the travel bug quite early,â says “Suits” actress, Meghan Markle. âMy earliest memories are of going to Mexico twice a year and Hawaii quite a few times. We never did conventional family trips like Disney World. Hawaii and Mexico were closer for us than going to Florida or the Caribbean.â
“My first trip was at six years old. We drove from Tucson to Columbus, in our cream-colored station wagon that we affectionately called Betsy,” says actress Alana De La Garza. “We drove through the night, with my brother, sister and I lying across the back seats. All I remember is my brother poking me, as I tried to fall asleep. I kept thinking, âI donât like vacations. Iâm not so sure what all the fuss is about.â I did love seeing my grandparents.”
There’s no specific quality that makes one destination more romantic than others. While some travelers want access to luxuries and fine dining, others search for a beautiful sunset in a rustic environment. The important thing is being with the right person. As Mark Twain said, “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Toronto, Laurie Holden currently resides in Atlanta, where âThe Walking Deadâ is filmed. The actress plays Andrea on the popular series, which is AMCâs highest-rated show. An avid traveler, Holden encourages people to get out and explore the world, and help others in need. âI highly recommend joining a volunteer organization,â she says. âThereâs no better experience than becoming part of the solution. I did this, myself. I worked in a daycare center for HIV orphans and it changed my life forever.â
As Ken Budd was turning 40, his father died of a heart attack. After the author heard from countless people about what an impact his father had made on their lives, he began to question his own purpose in the world. He began to do volunteer work and spent a couple weeks in New Orleans helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Then Budd began a six-country quest to find more meaning in his life and his travels led to a special needs school in the outskirts of China, a home for HIV-afflicted children in Kenya and an elementary school in Costa Rica.
“The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison says, “When I travel to any country, my goal is to really try to get lost in that city and hit the local haunts. I’m never a big fan of doing touristy stuff. Sometimes you have to do these things like in Rome seeing all the sights and historic places. But even there I like to get off the main streets and find little shops and cafes you wont find on most maps. I talk to locals everywhere. I go and ask for bars, restaurants, shops and activities.”
Born in Texas and raised in Florida, Candice Accola is best known for her portrayal of Caroline Forbes on the CW series âThe Vampire Diaries.â An avid traveler who counts her passport as one of her prized possessions, the 25-year-old actress says, âI donât think I could have a genuine relationship with someone who didnât love to travel and appreciate new foods. Traveling is a big part of my life, and I want to share that with the people close to me.â