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David Farley

Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.

Name:  David Farley

Occupation:   Food and Travel Writer

Hometown:  Los Angeles, CA.

Residence:  New York City

Twitter: @DavidFarley

Facebook: Facebook.com/davidfarley7

Pinterest: Pinterest.com/davidfarley/

Bio: David Farley’s books include the award-winning travel memoir “An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town” (Penguin, 2010) and the essay collection “Travelers Tales Prague and the Czech Republic” (Travelers’ Tales, 2006). He’s a Contributing Writer at AFAR magazine and also writes regularly for the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Worldhum.com and Gadling.com. He teaches writing at New York University and often wishes he was a better dancer. More at: www.dfarley.com

How often do you fly: About once a month.

How many countries have you been to:  There appears to be two camps when it comes to travelers: those who count countries they’ve been to and those who don’t. I fall squarely into the latter camp and have no interest in numbers. Also, I can’t count.

How many continents have you been to:  Well, I can count if it’s a low number. Five.

Favorite American city:  Bakersfield.

Favorite international city:  Djibouti. It’s a country and a city. I love saying it: Djibouti, Djibouti, DJIBOUTI! It’s really a missed opportunity that they don’t sell t-shirts there with stupid slogans like, “Get yer booty to Djibouti” or “’bouti call.”

Least favorite country:  Djibouti.

Favorite airline:  Delta. But only because I somehow fly them enough, I get upgraded regularly.

Favorite aircraft type:   Hhhhmmm….I couldn’t tell the difference between a 747 and a….well, 747 is the only name of an aircraft that I know. I know a lot of about airplanes, as you can tell.

Aisle or window: Aisle

Favorite airport lounge:  Any lounge that will let me in.

Favorite U.S. airport:  To be honest—and this is going to be scandalous—I don’t really find airports exciting enough to have a favorite.

Favorite international airport:  Well, okay, I do have one favorite: the only one I can say for certain is Udaipur International Airport because it was there, waiting at the gate, where I witnessed a man, quietly reading his newspaper, lift up his leg and let out an eruption of a fart. He then put his leg down and continued reading the paper as if this were an acceptable daily practice among us all.

Favorite hotel:  Any hotel with free Wi-Fi.

Favorite island:  Manhattan

Favorite fancy restaurant:  The restaurant with the fanciest name goes to La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise in Prague.

Favorite hole in the wall:  Lately I’ve been eating a lot at this meat-on-a-stick place in Chinatown . It’s just a cart on Forsythe and Division Streets underneath the Manhattan Bridge. I also like eating at any taquerias in Los Angeles where the menu is in Spanish and the Department of Health letter grade is a B or lower.  

Favorite fruit:  This is an odd question. Does anyone really care? No? Well, here’s my answer anyway: bananas.  

Favorite food:  I pretty much eat anything.

Least favorite food:  I’ve never been a big fan of I-talian restaurants, the sloppy red sauce joints that flank Mulberry St. in New York or exist in other neighborhoods in America named “Little Italy.”  

Favorite travel movie(s): The forthcoming documentary about me (http://vimeo.com/30731215). I’m not biased at all.

Favorite travel book(s): I’ll name some of my favorite authors instead: Joan Didion, Susan Orlean, Bill Bryson, Francine Prose, David Grann.

Five things you bring on a plane:  A book, a couple back issues of The New Yorker, a bottle of water, my sole piece of luggage (a carry-on-size backpack) and a lot of patience.

What do you always seem to forget:   ….that people seem to lose 25 IQ points the second they board an airplane.

Favorite travel iPhone app(s): I have a BlackBerry. Yep, that’s right, let the judgments begin.

Favorite travel website(s) – besides JohnnyJet.com, of course!: http://www.menwholooklikekennyrogers.com/

Best travel tip: Don’t be a dick.

1 Comment On "Travel Style: David Farley"
  1. Meghan|

    This guy is brilliant. He makes me laugh. If you want to read about something delicious or thought provoking, without pretention, read David Farley.

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