Quotes from Thomas Swick

The thrill of walking comes not so much from movement—except for the initial turning of a step out the door into a journey—but from its gifts of freedom and nonconformity. In a world built on speed, walking somewhere is an act of rebellion. You reject every type of contraption that your forebears have invented to get you there faster—including the bicycle—for your own two legs. You head out into the world while turning your back on its ways.

All writers begin as readers, and the ones worth reading continue life as more prolific readers than writers.

If travel expands our experience and broadens our minds, the anticipation of travel helpfully narrows our reading list.

No family ever put an airport under its Christmas tree.

I always tell travel writing students to use these early hours to explore, because one's surroundings—the colorful drinks, the melodic sirens, the sweet-and-foul smells—will not be as clear or as sharp in a few days. At the start, everything stands out as if in high definition, especially, strangely, if you're groggy from jet lag or insomnia.

After half a day in a place—especially a foreign country—you've learned more than from all the books and articles you've read.