“Oh, you get to see so many places during your work travels!” they say, then sigh and smile. Yes, I reply, I get to see many air-conditioned hotels and airline lounges. But I rarely get to feel the spring breeze in Vienna, or the buzz of downtown Chicago, or the sun on my skin in Barcelona.

Sometimes I dive under the radar and stay a day or two longer. Other times the only way out is to slip past the chattering cocktail-sipping guests, through the door, down the steps, and out on the beach. No better deal than trading a mojito refill for the wind in my hair and the salty scent of the Mediterranean in May.

(Barcelona, Spain; May 2014)