Before I launch into this week’s recommended travel media, I’d like to thank  Jeannie Mark of NomadicChick for the opportunity to write a guest blog post at her website this week.  In case you haven’t seen it yet, it’s called How to Prepare for Solo Travel and discusses the challenges faced by both introverts and extroverts when traveling alone.  You can also spot me among Journeywoman‘s 30 Travel Tips from Twitter Gal Pals.

And now on to this week’s shiny, shiny travel media:

Did you know that actor Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, The Joy Luck Club) is also a travel writer (for National Geographic Traveler, no less)?  I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t until I saw this interview from CNN.  In my defense, Andrew McCarthy is a somewhat common name, so even if I saw his name in a byline, I wouldn’t have put two and two together, I’d have just thought it was a coincidence.  Anyway, I loved this statement:  “I find myself more at home in myself the further from home I am. . .I think I’m a better version of myself, for sure–I think most people are.” That really resonated with me.  I wonder if that’s why some of us love to travel so much.

Brian at Visit the Coqui offers some excellent advice to visitors to Puerto Rico in Skip the Fast Food, Try the Street Food in Puerto Rico.  I had great intentions of doing this when I was in San Juan, but as circumstance would have it, only had the opportunity once.  It was one of the best meals I had during my trip.  The food was so much better than anything you can get at McDonalds or any of those fast food chains, and just as cheap. If you want the inside scoop on where to get great street food in Puerto Rico, check out the article.

Expedia now has a Gay-Friendly Travel Guide, an idea whose time has come (or should have come a long time ago, actually).  Expedia has worked with The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) to identify hotels where the staff won’t bat an eye when a same-sex couple checks in and asks for a room with a king size bed. Their guide also features a listing of LGBT festivals and events around the world for 2010 and overviews of LGBT-friendly destinations.  Click on one of the destination cities, and the site offers an overview of that place, from an LGBT perspective.  For instance, if you click on Gay Travel: London, it offers bits of advice such as “Gay hotels flourish in trendy Soho in the heart of the West End. Up-and-coming Vauxhall has also seen a recent influx of gay hotels and gay clubs” and “During the week, bars and pubs close at 11 PM; on the other hand, gay nightclubs start hopping at midnight and go until 4 AM.”

Stephanie Yoder at Twenty-Something Travel, in her article How Travel makes us Smarter, Wiser, and All-Around More Awesome drew my attention to another article from The Guardian by Jonan Lehrer (Why We Travel), in which Lehrer elaborates on how travel makes people smarter by making them better problem solvers and providing them with greater perspective.  This is a fascinating read. And the next time you can’t figure out the solution to one of your problems, hop a plane to Paris.  You’ll be able to think better there, apparently.  I love it!

Finally, Daisann McLane writes that Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow at National Geographic Traveler, in which she muses on the act of leaving a place. I know exactly what she’s talking about–most of us don’t have the time to take our leave of a place in a slow, meaningful way.  But then, we don’t have the time to explore the place that way, either.  We’ve got a plane to catch, dammit.  But then, back home, we may feel depressed, off-balance, a bit alien on our home turf. (And add in a little exhaustion from having to cram so much into such a short trip.)  It’s interesting to consider, though, the importance of not just spending more time in a place, but slowing down one’s departure as well to ease the separation anxiety.

Photo credit:  stephenhanafin