About Me
I’m Kevin and I have been traveling the world since age 4 (1974). My hope is that my tips, recommendations, itineraries, travel guides, and first-hand experiences will inspire you to get out there & explore the world!
Hi, and welcome to the FoodyTipsyTraveler blog.
My travel philosophy: My most memorable travel experiences have revolved around food, drinks, and meeting new people. So while my tips & itineraries cover sites, museums, hidden gems, etc. they will also include a heavy dose of where to explore food, restaurants, bars, or rooftops that I believe make up the fabric of a city. To me, this is what brings me back to a place and sears a lasting memory of why I love a city so much and why I need to return. In addition, I hope I can impart this information to you and inspire you to start planning your own travel experience. My belief is that each person’s travel experience is unique. So find out what makes you excited in your travel & hopefully my tips & recommendations elevate your experiences. So get inspired, start planning, and pick a destination… whatever inspires you to travel and eat, I hope that I can play even a small part to add to your own journey & memories. Thanks for following FoodyTipsyTraveler.com!
Welcome to my blog!
A quick summary about me:
- Started the FoodyTipsyTraveler blog February 2020
- Reside: Phoenix, AZ since 1998
- Education: Bachelor of Science Finance and Bachelor of Science Management, Virginia Tech, 1993
- Born Pakistan 1970
- Grew up in Alexandria, Virginia
- Expertise: Traveler since 1974. Love to build travel itineraries for myself and others. Focus on travel and food.
Before covering my travel history & experiences, I wanted to go over my travel mantra: I am a strong believer that it’s better to get there than just keep saving up for the 5* vacation of a lifetime (which may take longer than expected, or some other life situation pops up and you have to postpone the plans like the recent Covid-19 travel restrictions). If the time & money allows, go ahead and take the trip, and know how to maximize your budget for maximum satisfaction. The second part of my travel mantra is to “Enjoy what’s in front of you!” I strongly believe in that mindset which in turn creates long-lasting memories, no matter where you are. Choose when to splurge on things that are more important to you and cut back on areas that won’t necessarily add value to your trip. Ok enough of that, a little history and my travel background:
I was fortunate to start traveling at the age of four. I did my first round-the-world vacation that summer of 1974 (Virginia->Honolulu->Australia->Pakistan->London->Virginia). Luckily, I went on these overseas trips every 2 or 3 years for the next 20 years (until college graduation). Plus, they were all arranged courtesy of my Mom’s work, and they entailed all business or first class itineraries. These were quite the family vacations! I just had to show up. I grew up thinking this was the way it is…but reality set in once I graduated from college. However, I was hooked on traveling the world, and it became part of my fabric.
Fast forward to mid-1990s and suddenly the First Class travel gig was up. Now I had to plan my own trips and on my own post-college budget! I started researching and thinking about heading back to Paris, for the World Cup 1998. I went to a local bookstore (what?) and spent time in the Travel section. Fortunately, I found some good travel guidebooks on Paris (this is all pre google/Facebook/Instagram) that gave a lot of great travel tips. I also liked that the writers covered Paris like a local. The tips were great and very easy to follow. I liked the first-hand knowledge. You really got the feeling that they had experienced the visit before you and knew the ins and outs of the locale. The tips were great and very easy to follow. I learned how to be efficient & effective with my travel plans and choices; for example, when to save money by staying a few metro stops away from the city center, or when it was best to spend extra money because time was limited. The other valuable lessons: be flexible, have several choices in mind, have some sort of game plan (but not so rigid so that if something unexpected popped up you couldn’t deviate from the initial itinerary). I found that some of the best travel days were a bit unplanned. I wandered around a Parisian district, stumbled upon quaint cafes and patisseries, but based on my research, I knew how to get there and what to look for as a starting point. This experience was invaluable and inspired me to provide this service to you!
That Paris trip went off really well and I have so many fond memories. After that trip, I continued to develop a similar approach when researching a new city and planning for the next trip. Consequently, even though we now have endless information at our fingertips to sift through, I find the same approach to travel continues to serve me and others that I plan trips for very well.
Over the last 13 years, a couple of business partners (including my sister-in-law) and I owned and operated a luxury Italian shoe & accessories boutique in Scottsdale, AZ. We imported Italian designer shoes, handbags, belts, and other leather accessories. A few times each year we traveled to Milan, Italy to complete our orders. We quickly started adding some extra side trips to explore Italy and Europe. These business trips created an opportunity for me to explore Italian and other European cities that I vacationed. These trips gave me the opportunity to combine business with leisure travel on a short time schedule. I also became more accustomed to train travel and country hopping by utilizing smaller and local airlines. I found that getting from country to country in Europe is quite easy.
In my recent travel experiences, I have come to appreciate taking time to slow down and enjoy a glass of wine, or champagne in the middle of all the sight-seeing. I love to visit a rooftop bar in the middle of the day to take in the view of the city or walk through a local farmers market versus rushing from place to place taking pictures. These are the experiences that have made my trips worthwhile and memorable. When I think back to all my years of travel and numerous places I have been, the memories that stick out usually involve food & drinks, socializing, and meeting new people. Finally, after going through all of my memories and pictures of my trips for the past 20+ years, and during the shut-down of Covid-19, I decided to share my experiences, my travel knowledge, and inspire more people to get to know other countries, their food, and their culture.
Thank you for reading and I hope my tips, stories, and travel guides enhance your own travel experiences. Welcome to the FoodyTipsyTraveler world!
Recent travels to name a few: Japan, Croatia, Greece, Paris, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Marbella, Milan, Lake Como Region, Florence, Sienna, Venice, Rome, Bologna, Naples, Positano, Capri, Civitanova Marche, Koln, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Cancun, Cabo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego, San Francisco, Honolulu, Maui, Washington DC & Alexandria, Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, and my current residence Scottsdale/Phoenix area.