Jill Paris realized at a young age that if she waited for "someone special" to take her away to far-off destinations, she'd have never left the sofa. In this volume of travel essays she reveals her curious sense of adventure and shows us that an unexpected encounter is often the best souvenir. From attending a couple of strangers' wedding reception in Belfast, shopping for dirndls in Vienna, miracle-seeking at Lourdes, or discovering the legend of the Black Bitch in Scotland, her penchant for people and a cold pint makes a tasty cocktail mixed with tearful truths and laugh out loud moments that will shock and inspire you to whisk yourself away (if nobody else will).
Collection includes stories published in the Travelers' Tales anthologies The Best Travel Writing 2009, "Leave the Lipstick, Take the Iguana" and the forthcoming edition of The Best Women's Travel Writing Volume 9.