City Expert Interviews:

Click on the destination name to read the interview.

Santa Fe - Paige Penland

Memphis - Linda Romine

Winnipeg - Judy Waytiuk

San Jose (Silicon Valley) - Marty Cheek

Sacramento - Barbara Steinberg

Chicago - Elizabeth Blackwell

Philadelphia - Richard Varr

City Expert Interview

Elizabeth Blackwell is the Chicago City Expert and author of the Frommer's Chicago guidebooks.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Q: What were your first experiences with travel? Where did you go and what were your impressions?
Elizabeth: I was lucky enough to start traveling at a very early age--my father worked for the U.S. Foreign Service, and he was periodically posted to American embassies overseas. When I was growing up, we lived in Peru, Kenya, and Italy (in addition to Washington, D.C.), so for me, travel was very much a way of life. There's no question that it made me an adaptable person and gave me an appreciation for how other people lived. The only downside was that I started junior high in the United States not knowing any of the "cool" TV shows, which, at the time, made me feel like a real loser!

Q: The privileges of travel writing seem pretty obvious. What do you think the drawbacks are for you?
Elizabeth: A lot of people don't realize how much travel writing consists of dull, repetitive fact checking: Do you have the correct hotel phone numbers and addresses? The hours that a certain museum is open? When I work on a guidebook, I have to check hundreds of phone numbers and websites to make sure they're right--not very glamorous! But that information is crucial for readers, so you've got to make sure you've got it right.

Q: What's the most absurd airplane story you have?
Elizabeth: One of my very worst in-flight moments happened a few years ago when I was flying with my husband and baby daughter to Washington, D.C. One of the security measures enacted after 9/11 is that passengers flying into D.C. can't leave their seats for the last half-hour of the flight, as the plane approaches the city. Well, the minute the pilot announced that all passengers had to be seated, my daughter let loose in her diaper. I smelled immediately that it was a complete disaster, and instantly I stood up to take her to the bathroom, but the flight attendant yelled at me to sit down: "No exceptions!" So there I was, with a squirmy, stinky, fussy baby--and the more she fussed, the more she moved, and the more disgusting the diaper got. My husband and I realized we had no choice: we had to change her right there, in our laps. A poor teenage boy was sitting on the aisle seat next to us, and the look on his face when he realized what we were doing was priceless! As the smell wafted to the rows around us, I've no doubt we grossed out half the plane. But we were desperate! Ever since then, I've been very sympathetic to anyone flying with a baby. Believe me, they know you don't want them sitting next to you!

Q: If you need to get away for a weekend, where do you go?
Elizabeth: Now that I've got three kids under the age of five, my weekend trips usually involve a drive to Costco or Target. But I have had a few kid-free weekend trips to New York City. The city's energy is invigorating, and it feels like a real "adult" getaway. Whenever I go, I make a point to pick up some bagels from H& H (the best ever!) and go to Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings. I think most of my favorite travel experiences center around food!

Q: If you could escape for a whole month (or more), where would you go? What would you do?
Elizabeth: Last summer, my family had a reunion on Squirrel Island, off the coast of Boothbay Harbor in Maine. The island had about 100 houses, but no cars--just a few miles of walking paths, an ice-cream parlor, and a small library. I would go back there in a heartbeat. Although I thought at first that I'd get bored with so few activities, it was amazing how quickly I adapted to the island's slower, more relaxed rhythm. If I had the luxury of a whole month of vacation, I'd sit on the rocks overlooking the beach and catch up on the long list of books I'd like to read (and get some writing done, too). Of course, I'd also make time for day trips to eat some Maine lobster rolls (there I go, talking about food again).

Q: What would be your dream assignment or project, as a travel professional?
Elizabeth: How about a story ranking the top luxury hotels in the world? If any magazine out there is looking for an enthusiastic writer to try out expensive suites and spa treatments in Paris, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, etc., I would be delighted to volunteer. But since that's highly unlikely, I'll suggest something a little more realistic: like most travel writers, I'd love an excuse to explore a part of the world I've never been to. Tops on my wish list: Australia, New Zealand, and Spain.

Q: What's your favorite food?
Elizabeth: As you can see from my answers above, it's just about impossible for me to narrow it down to just one kind of food. From a travel perspective, my favorite food-related vacation destination is Italy. I've never had a bad meal there. I could eat pasta for every meal and not get tired of it--if only my hips would allow it!

Q: What's your favorite mode of travel?
Elizabeth: Train, by a long shot. That's part of what I love about traveling in Europe and Britain--the wide availability of trains, which allows you to really see the countryside as you travel. After a busy day of walking around and sightseeing, I also find the motion of a train very soothing--it allows me to fall into a kind of relaxed trance. It's a shame that the United States doesn't have a better, more convenient train system, because it sure beats sitting in traffic on a soulless interstate highway.