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Hi guys, and welcome to DAY THREE of the week-long SASS super-special release party! Today's installment is brought to you by Michelle Jellen, author of Spain or Shine. 



But first, here's a snapshot of a hot-off-the-press finished copy of Up Over Down Under! The package of shiny, shiny books arrived on my doorstep just a few minutes ago. Perfect timing, huh?

Well hello, pretty book! How are you today? 

But we can't linger -- we have a party to attend, after all! So, let's hear what Michelle has to say about the perils and perks of travel: 

I’m a creature of habit. I like my routine. I start every day with an English muffin smothered in peanut butter and a sliced orange. And I end every evening by reading a chapter of a novel in the bathtub. It may sound predictable. Boring, even? But, to steal a line from Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, I like it how I like it.

This is why I love and also why I sometimes hate to travel. It shakes up my routine, gets me out of my comfort zone. Which can be, well, uncomfortable. But, it’s also a good reminder of how much there is in the world that I have left to experience. I love my English muffin breakfast. But, a lifetime of that could drive even the most routine-entrenched person a little Cuckoo.

The thing I love about travel is the same thing I love about reading and writing. You have the chance to get out of your life and into another life. A sort of parallel, almost-life. You get the chance to imagine who you might have been, or might be, in another place. What kind of person would I be if I lived in Paris or London? Would I eat the same exact breakfast every morning? Probably. But, it might be a croissant or that traditional English breakfast that has beans, boiled tomatoes, sausage and all kinds of other other strange, non-breakfasty things. Okay, I probably wouldn’t have an English breakfast every morning. But, maybe I’d have tea instead of coffee.

Because I’m such a creature of habit, I have some rules for getting the most out of my trips. Well, they’re really more like guidelines. Guidelines for finding these alternate selves, these people I might have been or might secretly be somewhere deep down inside.

Eat something unusual. Not just weird. Although, weird is good. Weird will shake things up. Something kind of out there may open you up to a love you never knew. Some pretty ugly things can taste pretty good. That’s how I found out—in Santa Cruz—that I absolutely love oysters, and also how I found out—in Boston—that I absolutely hate sea urchin. But, it’s more than just being adventurous. It’s also about letting yourself indulge a little, throw all your everyday food rules away. You cannot fully experience Florence without a cup of pistachio gelato. And, a trip to New Orleans just wouldn’t be complete without sampling the powdered sugar-dusted beignets at Café du Monde. Forget about fat and calories. Forget about how bad a chocolate croissant might be for your heart, your skin, your thighs. It’s good for your soul.

Lose the map. I hate getting lost. I really hate coming to a fork in the road and not knowing which