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: Kerry Muzzey
Occupation: Composer
Hometown: Joliet, IL
Residence: Santa Monica, CA
College: Millikin University
College major: Piano Performance
Website: kerrymuzzey.com
Twitter: @kerrymuzzey
Facebook: Kerry Muzzey
Instagram: kerrymuzzey
Short bio: I’m a classical TV and film composer, originally from a small town in Illinois. I moved to NYC after college and worked on the biz side of TV and film, while simultaneously pursuing a career as a full-time composer. Eventually things started to happen, and that’s what led me to move to LA just a few years ago. I have the best job in the world.
How often do you fly? Only about 3-5x per year.
How many countries have you been to? 7
How many continents have you been to? 2 (I’m such a junkie for Europe that I haven’t ventured beyond it yet!).
Earliest travel memory: I was three-years-old & we went to visit my aunt in Kittery, Maine. I remember the beach, the giant black rocks along the coast, my other aunt hanging off of a small pier and dipping her hair into the water…I thought a monster was going to jump out and eat her, so I cried. I also remember digging a small moat around my little sandcastle and I kept pouring water into it…not because I wanted it to fill up but because I thought the sand might be thirsty.
Favorite American city: New York.
Favorite international city: Rome.
Least favorite country: Costa Rica.
I have no desire to go to: Asia.
Friendliest people in the world: Midwesterners!
Country with the meanest immigration officers: The US, actually.
Favorite World Heritage Site: The Val D’Orcia.
Favorite airline: Alitalia
Favorite aircraft type: 777-200.
Aisle or window: Window.
Favorite airport lounge: Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow.
Favorite U.S. airport: Chicago-Midway.
Favorite international airport: This is a tie: Rome FCO and Venice!
Favorite hotel: Hotel Raphael, Rome.
Favorite cruise line: Never been!
Favorite travel credit card: My Amex, because it racks up mileage points while I’m on vacay!
Favorite island: St. John, USVI.
Favorite beach: El Matador in Malibu.
Favorite fancy restaurant: Merichka’s in Joliet, IL. It’s not fancy but when I was a kid it was such a treat to go here. It felt like the ritziest place on the planet.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: Cowgirl Hall of Fame, NYC.
Favorite bar: The now-closed “Hell” in the Meatpacking District, NYC.
Favorite fruit: Strawberries.
Favorite food: A really excellent burger.
Least favorite food: A tie: seafood and eggs.
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Aperol spritz, Campari & Soda, margarita.
Favorite travel movie(s): Only You with Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei.
Favorite travel show(s): The old Samantha Brown Passport to Europe episodes on Travel Channel.
Favorite travel book(s): “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Cliché, I know, but still so good.
Right now I am reading: The manual to an old Hasselblad camera I got on eBay.
Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, Afar.
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! NY Times Sunday Travel section.
5 things you bring on a plane: Laptop, iPhone, camera gear, book about my destination, Ambien.
What do you always seem to forget? Advil.
What do you like least about travel? Being 6’3” and flying. Whoever invented 32” pitch in coach seats should be put in jail. If I were to run for president that would be my sole platform: more legroom in coach!
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? A cute t-shirt with the city name on it or a refrigerator magnet.
Favorite travel app(s): The IR Churches app for Rome: It’s a map that shows every church in Rome, and tells you which artists have works inside that church. Makes it easy to find what you’re looking for!
Most embarrassing travel moment: Knock on wood, I haven’t had one (yet).
I’m embarrassed but I haven’t been to: Paris.
Worst travel moment: Every single thing about Costa Rica. Every. Single. Thing.
What’s your dream destination? Provence! What a gorgeous place. I want to go back.
Favorite travel charity: I didn’t know there were any! But if there were one dedicated to adding more legroom in coach I would totally support that!
Best travel tip: Allow yourself to get lost. Make it your mission to escape the touristy areas and to figure out “If I lived here, which neighborhood would I live in?” and then spend some time there and make it your own. And skip one thing on your things-to-see list so that you have an excuse to come back again.
