What happens when the people you are hosting during your Italian adventure reach their limits of the country’s mass transit? When they’ve been stuffed into one too many subways during rush hour, stepped on and off one too many buses, and lugged suitcases on to one too many trains? After an admirable week in Milan and Tuscany, the strain of traveling GFA-style and a very hot day in Florence got the better of my mother. She put her foot down and refused to walk one more step or get on one more bus. A quick run to the next piazza and I had a cab pull around to pick her up. A gelato at the train...

When I travel, public transportation is a part of the experience. I rarely have a need or feel the urge to get anywhere quickly. I just take the challenge to get somewhere without a car or as cheaply as possible. I ride a bike, take the bus, find a train or use my feet. I meet people, I overhear conversations, I see the landscape of a different country…. But sadly, Travel Me and Work Me are two different people. My real world persona is all Type A… and always late. So what is life like without a car in the concrete jungle of Phoenix, Arizona? A little like trying to be a tourist on the Amazing...

As tipoff for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals approaches, I take a quick segway back to happy hour in Madrid three years ago. I was in the middle of a 9 hour layover trying to see as much of the city as possible when I took a break in a backstreet courtyard. Like most of Madrid, it was bustling with people, and as evening neared, most were out for their happy hour stroll. I ordered a beer and joined the merry Spaniards. As I wrote in my journal, I saw a Segway in action for the first time. These two-wheeled mega scooters always looked cheesy in video, but this man had a charisma to spare. He...

I had only one objective on my trip to Belize – to see the Mayan pyramids. So even though everyone arrives on the coast in Belize City, I wasted no time getting on the first bus to the jungle border town of San Ignacio. The good thing about small countries, is that there are only so many roads in and out of cities. In Belize, this makes for an efficient bus system. There was one going west just after I arrived at the station. Of course, with so few roads, most of the buses are locals meaning it is a slow trip with many stops to your destination. In a little over 2 hours, I was finally in San...

My summer travel plans shifted like everyone else’s with the economy. Instead of escaping to Ireland to avoid a few days of Arizona’s summer, I opted for a few short trips to visit old friends. I landed at Denver International with no agenda other than to see my best friend from college and get a sampling of Colorado. Given my past experience with public transportation, I should have known the bus to downtown would give me my first glimpse at the city. I was in stay-cation mode and in no rush when I looked at the options into town from DIA. Aside from shuttles and taxis, the less expensive...