“Our most rewarding travel experiences are ones in which we find a personal connection with our route or destination,” says author Gary Lee Kraut.

He has written five travel guides to France and Paris as well as many articles and short stories on travel, culture and expatriate life. Two years ago he expanded the idea behind his most recent book, Paris Revisited: The Guide for the Return Traveler, by creating the website ParisRevisited.com

The response has been such that he is now revamping the site to create FranceRevisited.com, offering essays, insights and reviews from himself and others.

When not off on adventures or recording his impressions, Mr Kraut likes to introduce small groups of travelers to France, encouraging a sense of curiosity.

“I prefer solitary explorations for my own travel research because odd and enriching encounters are more likely when you travel alone.

“But at the same time I love to accompany or advise travelers on their adventures. I try to get a sense of what a traveler is really looking for and to help him or her get there. It also helps with my writing.

“When you live abroad it’s easy to forget what it's like to be unfamiliar with France.”

His psychology major in college was good training for his Travel Therapy Tour, tailored to families. Since they rarely see eye to eye when traveling, Mr Kraut shows them Paris through his eyes instead.
He also runs Wild Women Escapades.
“I’ve gotten reeled into some very amusing escapades with women that I’ve had the pleasure to more or less lead,” he said. “One of them actually ended up in Rome.”

He added: “In front of The Thinker at the Rodin Museum, when one woman asked why she never meets men like that.’

I asked her if she meant men with muscles or men who think. They walked away laughing before I told them anything about the statue.”

Originally from New Jersey, Mr Kraut worked in a state institution for two years after university, then spent two years bartending and traveling. “Months of magical nonsense in Europe,” he said.
“I didn’t have a career, but I understood that I liked to travel and write.”

After studying for a Master of Fine Arts degree he worked as a journalist for New York weekly the The Scarsdale Inquirer.

He “lucked into travel writing” when he overstayed his last trip to Paris, he said.

“Many strange and telling events take place in transit, not at home or abroad, but in-between. The ex-pat theme is a familiar one in my writings.

“We’re people who are ‘in-between.’ I live here, but like many Americans abroad, I remain attached to home.”