Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard. My name is Larry Kritcher, and I will be your captain for this evening’s flight. I recommend you keep your seat belts tightly fastened--we will be flying near high peaks and into low valleys of true travel tales and some bumpy air will be expected. This book is about my lifetime of travel. Sometimes my curiosity has taken me past normal boundaries. Although not a thrill seeker, some of the stories, as you will see, clearly have strayed beyond a normal life of work and play. I have always had a voracious desire for travel, coupled with a love of our world’s cuisine. Many photographs have been included with these stories, proving again, a picture is worth a thousand words. I suitably represent my slogan--“If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”