2 days ago
Michael ‘Fitz' Fitzpatrick on jet lag, crashing a scooter, and using AI to help plan a trip
I would go to the south of France. I grew up with a French mother taking me to France as a child, so it always holds a special place in my heart.
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Do you prefer booking trips through a travel agent or on your own?
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It can be stressful, but we love to plan our adventures. We have kids, and we rent a car, and sometimes we find a place on Airbnb because our max drive time is four hours. As a result, we've discovered all these amazing small towns and places you'd never visit as a tourist.
Thoughts on an 'unplugged' vacation?
I definitely want to battle my phone addiction and unplug, but I also have kids, so we let them have a little screen time so we can stay sane as parents!
What has been your worst vacation experience?
Crashing a scooter on an island in Vietnam about 20 years ago and having to fly back to the US with a partially collapsed lung. Brutal.
What is your favorite childhood travel memory?
Traveling with my parents to Rome for my first time without my siblings. Just me and my parents. I was 12 or 13 and was able to live out the fantasy of being an only child.
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Do you vacation to relax, to learn, or for the adventure of it all?
I would say all. I like a balance of relaxation, with a hefty dose of adventure mixed in, and a light sprinkling of museums and historic sites.
What book do you plan on bringing with you to read on your next vacation?
'Trust' by Hernán Díaz.
If you could travel with one famous person/celebrity, who would it be?
Anthony Bourdain, because I know I would eat the best food of my entire life and have a really amazing [experience] of culture and food coming from one of the greats. And I'm sure that guy liked to party.
What is the best gift to give a traveler?
A universal plug adapter.
What is your go-to snack for a flight or a road trip?
Peanut M&M's and Sun Chips.
What is the coolest souvenir you've picked up on a vacation?
We've collected sea glass from just about every corner of the earth.
What is your favorite app/website for travel?
This was the first year that I used AI to help work through planning our trip. I used it to compare two towns based on my family, my kids' ages, and our interests. It gave me incredible insight into each place with amazing comparisons and really helped me find the best places to visit that fit our family.
What has travel taught you?
Nothing teaches you more about the diversity of the human experience than traveling.
What is your best travel tip?
Jet lag hack: If you're flying to Europe from the US, book a flight that gets you in around 1 p.m. … Drop your bags and stay outside in daylight as long as you can and make yourself stay up until at least 10 p.m. Add one melatonin and you will completely avoid jet lag.
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Juliet Pennington can be reached at
