And one place we always go is to the New York Times Travel show each January. It’s a great midwinter break that provides a glimpse of warm beaches, exotic destinations, and experts who share their window into other worlds.
Our favorite speakers are Arthur and Pauline Frommer. If you are an American of a certain age, you may fondly remember “Europe on $5 a Day,” written by Arthur Frommer in 1957 to inform a whole new generation of travelers about how to get the most out of Europe on a budget. It guided us in the 1970’s, and it has been an amazing thrill to encounter Arthur at this show every year. Have to admit that the first time we met him here, Don almost dropped to the floor in homage. Arthur is an absolutely charming gentleman, who continues the Frommer publishing empire in partnership with his daughter, Pauline. Their point/counterpoint on travel updates and new destinations is the highlight of the show for us.
One other treat took place on the Tasting Stage, where Madhur Jaffrey prepared a recipe from her new book. Another one of Don’s heroes, she was gracious enough to spend some time with him, and to marvel over his 1984 copy of her “Indian Cooking” book, his bible. As proof, every page he cooks from is stained with each flavor that appears in the recipes. Madhur is in her 80’s and still going strong!
The rest of our weekend was spent exploring the exhibits and refreshing our travel vibe, plus seeing our friends Gerry, Sunita and Jay also taking in the sights. It was almost as good as being somewhere else. However, there is no way we could ever come close to the exploits of Lee Abbamonte, currently the youngest man – at age 32 – to have traveled to every country in the world! Guess it’s too late for us to top that record – unless we want to claim the other end of the age spectrum…
Just to be clear: there’s “seeing every country in the world,” and there’s “seeing countries like Don and Jo.” There’s a Big difference. Big.
I suddenly feel so much better! Take that, Lee Abbamonte!!!