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Introducing Joanna Prisco: Hudson Valley Travel Writer Spotlight

Introducing Joanna Prisco: Hudson Valley Travel Writer Spotlight

Hometown: Hudson Valley, New York.

Occupation: Writer.

Favorite destinations: Moscow, Pulau Pangkor, and wherever I'm going next.

Dying to visit: Marfa, Texas, and Argentina.

Bizarre travel rituals: Is it bizarre to hold your travel companion's hand while simultaneously nudging him off of the armrest? I thought everyone did that.

In-flight relaxation regime: Bourbon mixed with a little Fleetwood Mac.

Always in carry-on: A long scarf, sunglasses, and all of my power adaptors.

Concierge or DIY? DIY. I'm a control freak even when it comes to leisure.

See it all or take it easy? I've always aimed for easy-does-it, but I have trouble saying no. So inevitably I end up cramming in as much as possible to my itinerary.

Drive or be driven? Be driven. 

Travel hero: Buzz Aldrin.

Weirdest thing seen on travels: On a childhood road trip down South, my family excitedly pulled into a Waffle House parking lot just as the chef was being walked out the door in hand cuffs. To this day, I've never eaten anything "smothered, covered, and chunked."

My favorite hotel is Soniat House in New Orleans because it feels like you've traveled back in time … as Angelina Jolie.

I dream about my meal at Vij's in Vancouver, where every spice tasted as though it had been dried that day. Though you will wait more than an hour for your table, the owner plies everyone with complimentary vegetable fritters and other snacks inside the mini bar at the rear of the restaurant. But don't fill up too much: I highly recommend the curried mushrooms with mung beans entree.

Best hotel amenity: A view. It's a wonderful thing to wake up and immediately see the London Eye or the spastic neon lights of Hong Kong Harbor.

Favorite childhood travel memory: Winning a coin toss against my sister to sleep in the Murphy bed at a condo my father got us at Topnotch Resort and Spa in Vermont. Muppets Take Manhattan was a favorite film at the time.

Everywhere I go, I check out the supermarkets and drugstores.

When I arrive in a new place, I learn the lay of the land by taking a long walk to find coffee.

I always bring home slippers. Cotton in-flight slippers, terry hotel-room slippers, little beaded silk slippers from an outdoor market in Singapore. It's nice to look down at your feet and remember where you've been. 

If I never return to Penn Station, it'll be too soon because it's ugly, it's complete chaos, and I broke my ankle there six months ago.

I travel for the joy of it.

MORE JOANNA

Website: joannaprisco.com
Twitter: @joannaprisco
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