Stifling her sobs and dabbing her eyes, this week’s Best Women’s Travel Writing 2010 contributor 
boarded a plane to Greece in 2003 and hasn’t returned home to the United States since: Diane Caldwell. The 2009 Solas Awards gold medalist for Best Travel Memoir, Diane has also been featured in the anthology Tales of the Expat Harem. She currently teaches in Istanbul.
When did you first hit the road? How did it go?
I was 16 years old. I had read On the Road and Howl. With a crazed and deluded 21-year-old poet named JC, I left my home in Northeast Philly and headed for New York City in search of “truth and beauty.” The truth is, I ended up among the forgotten misfits of the world. Bill Quinn, an alcoholic panhandler, taught me the art of begging. “Be bold. Don’t let them intimidate you.” Bill gave me pointers as he told the story of how he was supposed to play the lead role in the film “Broken Arrow,” but got tossed aside at the last minute. ”Sir, Madame,” he bowed low, obstructing the path of a well-dressed couple, “Would you be so kind as to contribute a sliver of your wealth in my pursuit of inebriation?”
