On that time he got lost in Slovakia, his infatuation with Spain, and the Paris apartment that sparked his youthful wanderlust
On that time he got lost in Slovakia, his infatuation with Spain, and the Paris apartment that sparked his youthful wanderlust
David and his wife on their honeymoon in Rome.
2007: On a shoot for Travel + Leisure in Favignana, Italy. 
A view from the family’s Paris apartment.Was there a trip you took when you were young that shook up your worldview in some lasting way? In high school I went to Spain with my Spanish class. I fell in love with the country, and with Andalusia in particular. It was that visit that inspired me to study abroad (in Seville) and then to live abroad — two experiences that became the foundation of who I am, what I believe, and how I view and interact with the world.
Someone who opened up a destination to you in an unexpected way? When I was 21, my Spanish girlfriend in Seville brought me into the fold with her family and friends. She helped me realize for the first time that my American views were not the only views, and that they were not even necessarily the right views.
Favorite words to hear while traveling? “Pensé que eras de España.” (I thought you were from Spain.)
Travel outfit: Dress up or dress easy? Dress easy but stylish. Varvatos jeans, fancy sneakers, and a T-shirt (but definitely one I feel sexy in).
Comfort item you always bring on a flight? My own crappy headphones…so I don’t have to pay for new crappy headphones.
You’re flying with your companion in a 3-3 seating configuration. Do you request the middle seat? Aisle + aisle across? Aisle + window with a stranger in between? With my wife, I take the middle, and then complain about it for the entirety of the trip.
A sand dune in Namibia. 
David’s wife and son on vacation in Maine. 
A photo shoot for Ritz-Carlton magazine on Tenerife’s Mount Teide. 
2009: Getting a tattoo in Moorea in French Polynesia while on assignment for Budget Travel. 
Gluten-free zucchini-flower pizza in Rome. 
2007: David with his friend/photo assistant in Venice. Airport where you wouldn’t mind an hours-long layover? Schiphol, Amsterdam, for its proximity to the city — just a 20-minute car ride to the Rijksmuseum. (Also good weed, if that wasn’t obvious.)
Most memorable encounter with a person from your travels? I once got off a train in Nové Zámky, a village in the Slovakian countryside, and realized that the train had left the station with my luggage, my passport, and my girlfriend aboard. This was 1996. No credit cards accepted, no ATM that would take my American debit card, no mobile phones or SIM cards, no luck making calls from pay phones, no English spoken in all of Nové Zámky…except for one elderly Slovakian man who was from there, but had lived in Australia. Alas, there wasn’t much he could do for me. But he was sympathetic and kind and comforting, all of which I needed at that moment. Eventually my girlfriend realized I wasn’t on the train (thanks!) and after hours of frustration we reunited. But I’ll remember that man’s kindness.
Any particular person whose travel style you strive to emulate? In my bachelor years, it was Hemingway. Now, I’m just excited at the chance to travel with my family.
What was your first vivid place memory? My father’s cousin has lived in Paris since the 1960s. We stayed with her and her husband on my first trip ever outside North America, back in 1987. Their apartment in the 7th was like a movie set, perched above one of the most beautiful intersections in one of the loveliest arrondissements in Paris. It blew my mind when I was 12, and it continues to do so every time I go back.
What souvenir do you most regret not buying on a trip? Same trip: 1987 in Paris. My father and I went into a store that had GI Joe action figures that were no longer available in the States: Snake Eyes and Stormshadow. My father would only let me get one, even though I pleaded and tried to explain the rarity of this cache of characters. He refused, so I chose only one, and for some reason I chose Stormshadow, even though deep down I really wanted Snake Eyes. I still can’t reconcile that. Can’t understand my reasoning at the time. Weeks later the Stormshadow figure broke. It’s my greatest travel regret to this day. I’m totally serious.
What was the last place you visited that took your proverbial breath away? Namibia, where I saw landscapes that I didn’t fully know existed on Earth.
Last memorable meal on the road? Florence: white beans with bottarga, fried zucchini flowers, pasta, Pecorino brûlée, and a pear tart with mascarpone gelato…all gluten-free by the way.
