When you travel for a living and you’re on your way to visiting every single country in the world, it’s kind of a buzzkill to be put on pause in quarantine. But traveling to every country in the world is about adaptability, and cooling my jets at home was pretty blissful for these past three months. But now it’s time to get on the road again, and while travel right now is not for everyone, it feels good to be back in a modified swing of things.

I love to fly; it’s one of my favorite parts of travel.  The last major flight I took was on Qatar Airways, which has to be one of the best experiences possible, even compared to flying private. The service is impeccable on Qatar, from the First Class lounge in Doha to the on-board experience, where I ate literally eight times during my flight, and I rarely eat on planes. Everything is made to order, and we even have a recipe inspired by the coconut shrimp I had on board.

Flying is a different ballgame though today, but I’m just grateful the airlines are fighting to survive.  We would be crippled as a society without air travel.  Yes, it’s uncomfortable and at times unnerving to wear a mask an entire flight, but you’ve never seen planes more spotless.  I’ve been flying Delta and while I loved them before, their CEO Ed Bastian’s updates and their communication has been unparalleled in the industry.  They now have special air filters on airplanes, that I dare say make it safer to fly than eat indoors at a restaurant.  Especially now, I’ve found that getting to the destination is worth it.

One of my first trips has been to see family for the first time since the pandemic in Chicago.  It inspired our entire issue, as the week I spent with friends and family reminded me how much I love this city.  I did the circuit, from the new Nobu, the Park Hyatt where I’ve been staying for almost 20 years, and my favorite restaurants like RL, along with new favorites in the West Loop.  It’s worth it to get on a plane or car to road trip to this way underrated city.  If  you are comfortable traveling, this is the time to explore.

I’ve also been out West, to my favorite Aspen, which is like my second home, and to Jackson Hole in Wyoming, which I just loved.  If France doesn’t allow Americans in, I’m definitely headed back to Amangani, which is my new happy place.  As for the rest of the summer, I’m going to make a break for it while we can to Turks and Caicos, St. Lucia, Jamaica and wherever else will allow us in.  So far, so good.  I’ve been healthy and with some limited international travel, continuing my track to all 195 countries.  It’s good to be back on the road again.