Most of my business travel writing is pretty practical; I don’t “wax eloquent” very often, but on this most historic day, I must share a few words with you.

I’ve been privileged to travel to 32 countries so far, and I think the thing that startles me most about interacting with people from other cultures is how closely they watch the USA. Never was this more evident than tonight when the new president-elect was named. That news was front page on nearly every newspaper across the globe. Here are headlines just from Europe:

London – Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk
Paris – Le Monde: http://www.lemonde.fr
Deutche – Die Welt: http://www.welt.de
Italian – Il Sole 24 Ore: http://www.ilsole24ore.com

We learned so dramatically in September how intertwined we are as a global community, and the days following have been dark and uncertain. The restoration of hope and re-establishment of business success will be a person-to-person effort. Business travelers are de facto ambassadors of this effort — the front-line troops, if you will, building relationships face-to-face across town and across the globe in the everyday activities of commerce.

I, for one, choose to take the optimistic view, to draw inspiration from the example of our “most unlikely candidate” turned “president-elect.” Fellow travelers, I invite you to recognize and participate in the opportunity to rebuild our global economic community; to endure the airport delays, marginal food, and tired feet, knowing that what you do every day contributes to a greater whole. We have challenging days ahead, but we also have each other.

Be kind. Share a smile. Have a good trip, and come home safely.

Blessings,

Toolie®

As you can see, my blog has some new clothes! I found a Wordpress Theme I liked and I tweaked it over the last few days to match my business colors. The photographs in the header and footer are some that I’ve taken on my travels.

It’s truly a joy to be a travel writer and photographer. In fact, when I’m on an open-top, double-decker tour bus shooting photos of landmarks and architecture, I’m almost giddy. I waited a long time to own a professional camera, and because it shoots 8 frames a second, if I can get something into the viewfinder, it’s mine!

Business travelers rarely have time or make time to get out and see the city they’re visiting (which is the point of my previous blog post and video), yet most can spare 2 hours to go to dinner. As silly as it may feel to ride around on one of those tour busses, they turn out to be one of the most efficient ways to get a feel for the place. Most of those hop-on, hop-off busses last about 2 hours, and will return you to the point of origin. Even if you don’t get off the bus, you can at least get a look around and snap some photos to bring home.

Next time you’re headed to a new city, tuck that small point-and-shoot camera you own into your pocket, jump on the tour bus, and “take your best shot!” It’s fun and relaxing.