The Travel Diary of Larry Appell (with a hat tip to Holly Rubenstein)

The “Travel Diary” of Larry Appell

Holly Rubenstein is the host of a podcast called “The Travel Diaries” in which she interviews well-traveled people about their experience as travelers and what those experiences have meant to their lives. I have been listening to these interviews when I ride my bike a few times a week. The format of the podcast is a structured series of questions that she asks of each person, and she calls each question a “Chapter”.

Along the way, the podcast listener is guaranteed to increase their wanderlust and add to their bucket list. So far, I’ve added the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland; the island of Paros, Greece, The Kimberly in the far Northwest of Australia and Fivizanno, Italy, a part of Tuscany that I have not yet been to.

So, what are the seven “Chapters” of the Holly Rubenstein Travel Diaries?

1. What is your earliest travel memory?
2. What is the first place that you fell in love with?
3. Which place was it that you learned the most about yourself?
4. What is your all-time favorite destination?
5. What is your hidden travel gem?
6. What was your worst travel experience?
7. What is at the top of your bucket list?

Wouldn’t these questions be a great dinner conversation with friends or family? I think you’ll find that if you listen well and probe just a bit you will learn a lot about the person answering the questions since travel is meaningful to people in ways that are unique to each person.

As you read my Travel Diary, ask yourself, “what is my Travel Diary?” We would welcome your thoughts if you would be willing to share them with us. If you are willing, and only with your permission, we could post your Travel Diary on our blog at

https://www.planyourvacationswithus.com/BlogPosts/

Without further ado, here is the Travel Diary of Larry Appell.

• What is your earliest travel memory?

I was born, and spent the first 10 years of my life, in Brooklyn, NY before moving to the Bronx, NY. When I was about 15 our family drove from NYC to Niagara Falls. It was the first time I ever left the familiarity of NYC, and I was overwhelmed by the geographic vastness of New York State as seen from the backseat of the car. I was further awed by Niagara Falls. I couldn’t articulate it then, but I think the seed was planted to see more of the world- beyond the familiarity of my neighborhood.

• What is the first place that you fell in love with?

Early in my career, I had the chance to travel around the United States and probably spent time in every state in the union, but it wasn’t until Jacqui, and I went overseas for the first time to Madrid and toured Spain that I was smitten. Not just with all that we experienced but the history- which became real, and not a textbook abstraction. I was probably a bit insufferable when I returned home having touched hundreds of years of history and was returning to a country with “only” 200 years of history.

• Which place was it that you learned the most about yourself?

Sure, I always wanted to travel to see more of the way people live elsewhere but when I had the chance to have dinner in the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo I was keenly aware that I was out of my league. Standing next to us as we had dinner was a bodyguard with a machine gun who was protecting the President or Minister of an African country, I didn’t know then and don’t know now. It’s a nice fantasy to be surrounded by chichi people who are used to and comfortable dining in tuxedos each evening, but I learned that night that it was not on my list of life goals to be “George Clooney”.

• What is your all-time favorite destination?

I’m fortunate to be able to answer this question with a list but I will stick with the format and choose one………. China. I’ve been there a few times but have only touched the surface of a place, a people, and a culture that is so different from my own experience. Certainly, one could visit regularly and not fully absorb the vastness of the geography and the impact of its history on its people. A quick story…. when I first toured the Forbidden City, my host was pointing out a building that burned down around 1450 or so and I commented, “Wow, that was before Columbus” and she said, “Who was Columbus?”. Yes, travel broadens one’s perspective and forces one to see the world through the eyes of others.

• What is your hidden travel gem?

You may recall the 2000 movie “The Perfect Storm”. You may not remember that it was a true story, based on the 1991 storm that ravaged the eastern coast of Massachusetts. Well, we used to vacation in Rockport, MA each summer at a lovely BnB called The Chicataubett Inn. We went as newlyweds, as young marrieds with friends and then with our boys. This hidden gem was situated right on the beach, and we luxuriated in all that being on a beach provided. Alas, this hidden gem was wiped out in the 1991 storm and will be a hidden gem in my memory forever.

• What was your worst travel experience?

Again, I can make a list but will just say that while I have a great friend who is from there, and when I visited he did everything possible to make my stay pleasant, India is not on my bucket list. Yes, it is as different from Brooklyn as Beijing is but let’s just say that if I get a chance to go back in around 2050, I bet it will be more to my standards- which are not universal or obligatory for others to experience.

• What is at the top of your bucket list?

I’ve been to 24 countries on 4 continents and while I could identify a bucket list for each of the 7 continents, I will say that western Europe and the UK have places that I want to see again or see for the first time. I’ve not been to Wales or Scotland, or Capri, or Taormina, Italy, or Zurich, etc. but if I had to pick just one place as my bucket list it would be in Siena, in Tuscany. When I was there for the first time, pre-iPhone and internet I said that it reminded me of Brooklyn when I grew up. That is, a daily routine that followed the day from sunrise to sundown. From the morning cappuccino on the piazza to the daily loaf of crusty bread for dinner, I felt at home. For me, when it is all said and done, my travel experiences have taught me that as culturally different as we all are, there is a commonality to everyday life across the globe and since I am now well into the last phase of my life story that being able to re-experience the familiar rhythms of life from my childhood, wrapped in the history, culture, and cuisine of Tuscany would be a pretty good coda to a life well-lived.

What did you think of my Travel Diary?

I’d be happy to hear your reactions and even more excited to read your Travel Diary. If you have questions or comments you can reach me at 941-677-8840 or at larry.appell@cruiseplanners.com.

Thanks for reading.

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