My introduction to Britain was a whirlwind 48 hours in London while in transit to Greece, and I subsequently spent several months in Greece over a few years time, visiting with my sisters (who lived on the island of Corfu for more than a decade) and traveling through other parts of Greece. My travel writing career had just gotten off the ground when I made these trips, so they were fine fodder.

After my sister Susan died in 1999, Sally and I went on a pilgrimage of sorts: to Nepal and India via Saudia Arabia and Greece. We wanted to do the sort of thing that Susan had hoped to do but never got around to: travel overland through Asia. With Sal's interminable backpacker pluck, we did it on our own and by the seat of our pants, no travel agents, no fancy tours. For six weeks we hopped buses, trains, rickshaws, and taxis, crisscrossing the Indian subcontinent. As much time was spent in transit, I took copious notes in my journal, and for a while sent email missives back to friends at home until finding places to email became too much of a hassle. I haven't actively pursued too many stories related to this trip, but the sheer act of travel inspired me to weave bits of our experiences into my novels-in-progress. I have written parts of a travel narrative book about the journey.