Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com is honored to have as our guest, Samantha Brown. Samantha is the host of the popular Travel Channel series PASSPORT TO EUROPE WITH SAMANTHA BROWN.
Good day Samantha and thank you for participating in our interview.
Norm:
Samantha, please tell our readers something about yourself and how you became interested in travel writing? What keeps you going?
Samantha:
I didn't start as a writer actually my first shows with Travel Channel were almost completely improvisational. However I now write my own script for Passport to Europe simply because I can't make-up Roman history if say we are in Rome, I've got to know the facts. I am fascinated by the history and culture of a destination and I thoroughly enjoy taking what I have learned and writing something that informs, entertains, and excites people yet still has a spontaneous off the cuff feel.
Photo Image Courtsey of Travel Channel
Norm:
Could you tell our readers something about
Passport to Europe With Samantah Brown?
Samantha:
Essentially it's a travel show about Europe. In a ½ hour we eat, drink, shop, visit the main attractions and discover the more hidden aspects of a city or region in Europe. We pay a lot of attention to what makes the people so special and why an important aspect of your trip should be trying to get to know them. It's a show that you can watch to get tips on what to do when you travel abroad but most of all I want people to feel as they watch that they are traveling with me right now.
Norm:
How did you go about deciding which luxurious accommodations and off-the-beaten-path spots to include in your series? Did you follow any particular criteria?
Samantha:
I would love to take credit for that but that is due to the incredibly hard working production company PineRidge Film and Television. Writing for and shooting an episode leaves no time for me to be apart of the pre- production process. It's incredibly difficult and time consuming to produce a travel series and it's worthy of a behind-the-scenes show itself. What I can tell you is that there are many all nighters and thousands of phone calls.
Norm:
What were the common challenges or obstacles you encountered while preparing your travel series? How did you overcome these challenges?
Samantha:
My biggest challenge is being overwhelmed by the destinations before me and wondering if I, in the short time I have, will be able to bring the viewer a program that shows off and celebrates that destination. Its funny, I truly fall in love with wherever I am. We shoot for four days and in that time I develop a really intensive relationship with the city. So when we move on to the next city or country It's like I've just broken up with someone and am now dating again! By the end of the trip, after delivering four 30 minute shows I am emotionally kaput.
Norm:
If you had to choose 6 of the most romantic and unique venues you have visited, which ones would you choose and why?
Samantha:
***Little Palm Island
Located in the Florida Keys it's a five star island retreat where there are no phones, no radios and no tv's. It's only a ten minute ferry ride from the Florida Keys and yet you will feel like you have traveled all the way to the Maldives. (did I just rhyme there?) If you don't want to know what's happening in the world you don't have to.
***Royal Palms Resort Arizona
This is a jewel of a boutique resort that is an intimate departure from the mega golf resorts that Arizona is so known for. The grounds are so exotically romantic you won't feel like you are in the United States. Most rooms have private courtyards engulfed by bougainvillea. The Presidential suite has a large courtyard with an outdoor porcelain tub! A bath under the stars&it doesn't get much more romantic than that.
**Inn at Montchanin Village Montchanin DE.
It's right in the middle of the overwhelmingly lush Brandywine Valley. The Inn is actually an existing hamlet of homes that was once part of the Winterthur estate with some of the dwellings dating back to the 16th century. The rooms are exquisitely appointed with antiques and there is an incredible restaurant called Crazy Cats.
***Katikies, Santorini Greece
Something out of a dream all the accommodations are in bleach white buildings that spill out over what is the rim of a large volcano. The effect is that you are dangling over the Aegean sea.
***La Residencia, Mallorca
A 16th century Spanish Villa turned into an impeccable hotel. It's located in the low-key village of Deia which is surrounded on three sides by a mountain range which ambles down to the Mediterranean sea. Rooms furnished in Island antiques look out over the mountains and the terraced farmlands of orange, olive and plum trees. The grounds of the hotel are terraced as well. On one level is the spa on the other a gorgeously appointed pool where you will feel absolutely decadent merely lying around all day.
***Le Sirenuse, Positano
A boutique resort clinging to the cliffs of the Amalfi coast with direct views of the enchanting Italian village of Positano. The elegant Marchesi Sersale family lived in the villa until 1951 and their antiques and exquisite Italian style still inhabit every room so that you will feel no less than a nobleman or woman in this resort that should be on everyone's list for either a honeymoon or 25th anniversary.
Norm:
As a follow up, if you had to choose six unequalled, exotic and unique areas such as parks, beaches etc to celebrate a wedding, which ones would you choose from the point of view of popularity and beauty?
Samantha:
***Florida's southwest coast- for a sunset wedding
***Grand Canyon- there's no better Cathedral in the world
***Nurses Beach, Kauai- for its exotic beauty located on an intoxicatingly romantic island
***Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay MD because it's where I'm getting married in October!
***A lighthouse in Maine- for its down East simplicity and symbolism.
***Ancient fish ponds, Big Island of Hawaii- spiritually it's a very powerful and serene place to be.
Norm:
How does one go about checking on the reliability of a hotel or resort when it pertains to service, food, etc, particularly if you are planning a destination wedding?
Samantha:
The website I always check out for unbiased hotel reviews is TripAdvisor.com. If planning a destination wedding look at the chatter at Theknot.com where brides go into a lot of detail about their experiences with a hotel or you could post asking for feedback on a particular place. There are also quite a few websites dedicated to the subject of destination weddings as well as a few books. I highly recommend covering all your bases before choosing on a destination wedding. My experience has been that it is a lot of work but hopefully worth it!
Norm:
How much research and planning do you do before embarking on a trip? Where do you find your information?
Samantha:
The production company does a lot of the research and all of the planning of the production. I do my own research as well to try to have as much of an understanding of a particular place, its history and culture before I land. I have seven years of articles saved from the travel magazines I subscribe to as well as articles from NY Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Wikipedia.com is also an excellent reference source where I go to find the facts.
Norm:
If you had to choose one place in the world where you would love to live, where would it be and why?
Samantha:
Berlin: I love cities. I love the chaos. Most cities experienced their golden age a few hundred to 2,000 years ago and we travel to them to experience their past. Berlin's importance is right now. The architecture and art that is happening there is more exciting than any other city in Europe. To be there for even a week is to experience a city coming into its own and making its mark for the future. I would love to live in a city where every day brought something exciting.
Norm:
Is there anything else you wish to cover that we have not discussed?
Samantha:
Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.
