Twist has always been a woman of adventure, also the kind of person that things happen to. I remember stories of hanging upside down waiting to be rescued while climbing, of strange men coming into hotel rooms. Actually the strange men seem to happen less frequently these days with a six foot plus male beside her. But wherever she goes she has adventures.
TWIST PHELAN: I am a traveler. Over the past three years I've visited over 50 countries and flown nearly a million miles. I'm peripatetic by nature, and being a mystery and thriller writer allows me to work wherever there's an outlet for my laptop and a decent WiFi connection. Even then, the latter is optional.
Several people have asked me
how I decide what to do and see when I go to a different country. It's easy ...
and hard at the same time.
When at home, I write, go to
the gym, ride my bike and ski in the mountains, enjoy contemporary
art/architecture/design, visit science museums and booksellers, listen to music
and see plays, eat at casual healthy places, ethnic holes-in-the-wall, and
"foodie" restaurants, walk or cycle through neighborhoods, shop
current designers, read fiction and non-fiction, go to dinner parties ... and I
do essentially the same when I travel.
When I was younger, I made a
point of seeing the iconic in a foreign place. That meant a lot of trips to
gigantic churches and a lot of Renaissance art. But upon embarking on this
latest phase of travel three years ago, I decided I'd had enough. No more
scowling men in gilded frames. No more monuments to politicians.
I'm not saying these things
aren't interesting. They just aren't interesting to me. Now when I see or do
the iconic when I travel, it is because it appeals or interests me, not because
I'm supposed to. As Erle Stanley Gardner said, “I like what I like and not what
I'm supposed to like because of mass rating.” I happily rode in a gondola in
Venice because it was something I thought would be romantic, not because a
guide book told me it would be. And despite four trips in two years to
Florence, I have yet to make it back to the Uffizi Gallery. I might one day,
but there are still many other things I want to do and places I want to explore
first in that city.
It's quite liberating—and a
bit scary—to decide nothing in the world is a must-do. It makes you responsible
for your own good time. And your own fails.
When I have no set agenda,
I've happened onto some extraordinary experiences. At Lago di Garda in Italy,
pausing to watch the sailboats ended with me and my traveling companion being
drafted to compete in the race. Lingering in a restaurant in Jaipur, India led
to an invitation to a three-day wedding celebration.
Of course even when things go
wrong, it can turn into a memorable experience. Accepting an invitation to go
paragliding in Cartagena, Colombia resulted in a cracked shinbone, but I will
never forget the (literally) bird's-eye view of the city!
On your next trip, consider
skipping at least some of the Top Ten Things to See in [insert city name], and
instead make your way to a neighborhood café or an art-movie house or a golf
course, or whatever it is you enjoy doing at home. Chances are, you'll enjoy
doing it in the city you are visiting as well.
RHYS: Twist shares her adventures on her Facebook page, her newsletter and her blog on her website. Great reading for armchair travelers! And the pictures are of Denmark, Abu Dhabi, Japan, Iceland, and Istanbul.
