Travel Style: Lauren DeSantis

Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with  frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and  what they never leave home without.

Name: Lauren DeSantis

Occupation: Attorney-by-day, Host, Producer, Editor of Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis on nights and weekends

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Residence: Washington, DC

Website: CapitalCookingShow.com

Twitter:   Twitter.com/CapitalCooking

Facebook: Facebook.com/CapitalCooking

Pinterest: Pinterest.com/CapitalCooking/

YouTube:  youtube.com/CapitalCooking

Short Bio: Lauren DeSantis combines her passions for food and television in Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis, a television travel and food series highlighting the culinary and cultural riches of cities around the globe. She is a lawyer by day and host/producer of her television show on the weekends. Lauren grew up in an Italian family in St. Louis, Missouri, where eating well was the key to every family gathering. She studied political science at Truman State University and later received a J.D. from Duke University School of Law. She expanded her culinary knowledge by attending L’Academie de Cuisine. In addition to filming her show, she teaches cooking classes. She is also the author of Capital Cooking Cookbook. Not only is Lauren the editor of the Capital Cooking Show blog, but she also writes for DC Culinary Travel Examiner, WashingtonEats.com and W-USA 9.

How often do you fly:  At least 4 times/month

How many countries have you been to:  31

How many continents have you been to: 4

Favorite American city:  San Francisco, CA

Favorite international city:  Cape Town, SA

Least favorite country:  Cambodia

Favorite World Heritage Site: Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls

Favorite airline: Was TWA. (For US flights, US Airways. For International:  Air France.)

Favorite aircraft type: Boeing 747

Aisle or window:  Window

Favorite airport lounge: Don’t usually go to the lounges

Favorite U.S. airport:  Charlotte, NC

Favorite international airport: Copenhagen

Favorite hotel: The Steenberg in Cape Town

Do you unpack into the dresser/closet? Or live out of your suitcase? Live out of a suitcase

Favorite cruise line: Only been on one cruise, Carnival

Favorite island: Santorini

Favorite fancy restaurant: CityZen, Washington, DC

Favorite hole in the wall: Fast Eddie’s Bon Air

Favorite fruit: Blueberries

Favorite food: Bacon

Least favorite food: Sardines

Drink of choice (In the air and on the ground): Blue Moon

Favorite travel movie(s):   Lost in Translation

Favorite travel show(s):  No Reservations

Favorite travel book(s):  Any book is a good travel book. Fun to read on the road.

Right now I am reading:  To Have and Have Not, Ernest Hemingway

Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs:  Travel Bite, Honey Trek Legal Nomads

Five things you bring on a plane:  Neck pillow

What do you always seem to forget: Head phones

What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport duty free store? Daisy by Marc Jacobs

Favorite travel iPhone app(s): Instagram

Most embarrassing travel moment: When the security in Bermuda decided to do a full search of my luggage, pulling out intimate apparel, on my anniversary trip. He wasn’t discrete.

Worst travel moment:  Getting thrown off of a boat in the middle of the ocean at night by a guy pointing a spear gun at you

What’s your dream destination: Sicily (where my family is originally from)

Favorite travel charity:  Tongabezi Trust School

Best travel tip: Be flexible. If things don’t go as planned, embrace it and enjoy the roller coaster ride of life!