AFAR – September 2019

22 AFAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 PHOTOGRAPH BY EMMA HARDY

from the editor

The Joy of Travel

writers to Bhutan (page 94) and Norway

(page 108 and pictured above), two countries

known for national happiness, and talked to

experts about how you can make your travels

more joyful (page 40). And on page 42, we

look at how different cultures define the

good life.

At AFAR we’ve always believed that when

you travel and experience the world, you’re

more grateful for what you have, you’re more

likely to live in the moment, and your sense

of wonder and possibility about your own life

expands exponentially. And take it from me:

It’s also the perfect antidote for a bad mood.

—JULIA COSGROVE

Editor in Chief

O

N A RECENT FLIGHT to

Philadelphia, I was feeling

glum: It was my third business

trip in as many weeks, and I’d

been missing my family since

the minute I left my house. I was also sick.

But when I landed in Philadelphia, I made a

conscious decision to try to enjoy myself.

On a whim I went for dinner at Zahav, rec-

ently deemed the best restaurant in the United

States by the James Beard Foundation. What

followed was a spectacular meal of Israeli small

plates: fried cauliflower with labneh and mint,

fresh hummus served with wood-fired laffa

bread, and a beef kebab that I’m still thinking

about today. As my food arrived, I started talking

to the woman next to me, who, it turned out, was

also in Philadelphia on business and who lived

near me in California. For the next two hours,

we shared our dishes and talked about travel

and the meandering path of life.

I went to my conference the next day, and

afterwards snuck in a visit with my best friend

from college. I continued my good eating tour

with a fiery arrabiata pizza at Pizzeria Beddia,

and enjoyed an uninterrupted hour wandering

around the Barnes Foundation, where I was

transfixed by paintings by Degas, Renoir, and

Modigliani. Had my mood improved? Decid-

edly so. Was I happy? I was.

We’ve devoted this issue—our 10th anni-

versary!—to happiness, because, well, we know

travel makes us feel good. And if you’re read-

ing this, I suspect you feel the same. We sent