Just buy it!

What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?

I’m not a giant spender while traveling, but if something strikes my fancy and will fit in my luggage, I buy it on the spot. I’ve never regretted it.

If you hem and haw and think you’ll have a chance to return to that exact same spot and buy it later, you’re probably wrong.

If you’re in a foreign land and a locally made item beckons to you (and you can afford it), just pull the trigger. The item will always remind you of that place and of that trip. It’s special.

Bud vase I bought spontaneously while on a tour of Dingle Crystal in Ireland. Sure, I could’ve ordered this online when I got home, but I wanted that exact one.
Bonus, the artist/designer signed it for me because he was standing right there.

Full disclosure, I put this tiny crystal vase in a carryon (my only bag) and TSA thought it looked like a hand grenade or something and made me unpack my entire bag. Very annoying! Even so, I’m glad I bought it IN the factory IN Ireland.

An artisan working at Dingle Crystal, County Kerry, Ireland

Life is short. If you are fortunate enough to get to travel abroad, make the most of it. Support the places you visit by buying their wares and bring home something so much more meaningful than your next Target or Amazon purchase.

AMERICANS: History has its eyes on us.

VOTE!

This is whack

Listen, I know that nobody needs my hot take on what’s happening in the Middle East, but this is truly whack. The Trump regime has literally stranded upwards of 1,500 American civilians abroad. They were not warned not to travel to the Middle East before they left for their trips, and now they have no clear way to get home.

As someone who has consulted the US State Department (and enrolled in its Smart Traveler Program) before going abroad, I find this very disconcerting. Is it even safe to travel abroad now? Is the United States Department of State still a trustworthy institution? Have they fired so many experts that only unqualified people are making the big decisions? Are they just WINGING this whole damn thing???

(I’m still hoping for the best, but realistically—expecting the worst.)