In this Celebrity Travel Addicts Q&A we chat with TV Host, Producer, EMMY-Nominated Camera Operator, and Writer Rachel Rudwall from Rachel Roams. Check out how her wanderlust lifestyle began, her favorite cities and where she’s headed next!
Ever since I was a baby, I was curious about the world around me. According to my parents, I spent my youth as a filth-covered nudist, shirking clothing in favor of playing outdoors in the buff. While I haven’t retained the nudist streak, I do still count curiosity as one of my favorite traits.
My work projects vary widely in terms of content goals, duration, and location, so it’s really variable from year to year. Some years, I’m gone 75% of the time, while others, I host and produce projects in my home base of LA. Regardless of whether I’m in Los Angeles or overseas, I love exploring places that provide ample opportunity to be outdoors.
I want people to feel inspired and connected… to learn about people that are “different” from themselves and recognize that we’re all the same deep down.
Impossible question! I’ll break it down in sections. Top 3 for Outdoors: Patagonia (both the Chilean and Argentinian sides), Iceland, and East Africa. Top 3 for Food: Japan, India, and Shaanxi Province, China. Top 3 Cities: Mexico City, Copenhagen, and Edinburgh.
Mexico City Must-Do’s:
1) Stay in Roma Norte for its brilliant cafe culture, bookstores, and walkable boulevards. Grab a coffee at Panaderia Rosetta, tacos and micheladas at Tacos Alvaro Obregon, and dinner and cocktails at Romita Comedor.
2) Immerse yourself in Coyoacan’s leafy avenues marked by giant, colonial homes. Stop at one of the restaurants near La Plaza for mezcal tasting, and if you’re feeling hungry, stop by the nearby food halls for a meal.
3) Explore Chapultepec Park for some time outdoors. It’s the largest green space in Mexico City.
4) Stroll the world-famous Anthropology Museum. Behind each individual room/exhibit is an outdoor garden, and each garden has a different design, so make sure you don’t skip those. Either before or after the museum, make sure to watch “El Baile del Palo”, a.k.a. the “Pole Dance”, a show in which men climb a 30 foot pole, tie themselves to it by a rope, and then slowly unravel from the top, swinging in circles above you as the pole rotates.
5) Take a day trip to the pyramids at Teotihuacan. They’re giant ancient Mesoamerican ruins, and will transport you to days long gone.
Somewhere between 60-65
Indian, Japanese, and Californian
n/naka in Los Angeles
Motorcycle Diaries
AMS (Amsterdam)
Lusaka, Zambia
My husband, whom I met overseas 10 years ago!
Currently: reading Harry Potter. Usually: people watching.
Remote stretches of the Alaskan Arctic where I shot shows for History Channel, Discovery Channel, and Nat Geo
Recognize that fear is healthy, but it’s important you don’t become beholden to it. What you do with your fear (move through it? become paralyzed by it?) will determine the course of your life.
A camera, granola bars, good walking/hiking shoes, and ear plugs
The Annapurna Circuit in Nepal
This isn’t travel specific, but it’s my favorite quote of all time:
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Either Antarctica or Israel!
If you want to know what it’s like to climb Kilimanjaro, paraglide with a hawk (a.k.a. “parahawk”), ice climb while simultaneously shooting a PBS show, or SCUBA dive cage-free with bull sharks, Rachel Rudwall’s your gal. She likes the stuff that makes palms sweaty, and brains explode with inspiration. As TV Host, Producer, EMMY-Nominated Camera Operator, and Writer, Rachel has traveled six continents, lived in three countries and journeyed through over 60 nations. She hosts for networks like ABC, HLN, and Travel Channel, crafts custom content for brands like Mashable, BMW and Chase Bank, and has produced such balls-to-the-wall shows as Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men. You can also catch Rachel giving TEDx Talks and Keynote Speeches, writing for publications like AFAR, and going off-grid on backpacking expeditions every time she has a spare moment. Follow Rachel on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and RachelRoams.com.
Counter
101 Countries • 1432 Cities
