Peace in Bahamas, beauty in Rome

By Anne Stein, Special to the Tribune newspapers
04:01 PM PDT, May 04, 2009

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She has been competing internationally since age 14 and now, at 42, swimmer Dara Torres has 12 Olympic medals from five summer Olympics to her name. From Seoul to Barcelona to Sydney, the mother of 3-year-old Tessa continues to travel and flex her swim muscles. She's doing a mini-tour in support of her new book, "Age Is Just a Number," and is living and training in Florida, hoping to qualify for the swimming world championships in Rome this summer.

QWhat are your favorite travel spots in the world?

AI went to Great Exuma Island when I was 7 months pregnant, and it was so peaceful and serene. It's a beautiful, beautiful island in the Bahamas. Usually on vacations I always have to be doing something, but this time I went to chill. I didn't have a care in the world, and my phone didn't work there. We stayed at the Four Seasons [fourseasons.com/greatexuma]. You drive a little bit from the resort, and it's all little houses. Everything's just gorgeous. I played golf a little bit, and I basically relaxed, which was good because even when pregnant I didn't seem to relax a lot. Great Exuma's not a place where you do a lot of things; you can bike ride and golf or go to a spa.

I also love Rome. It's romantic, it's historic, and I'm going again there this summer, hopefully, to see even more of it. It's just a beautiful, beautiful city.

QWhat are your favorite hotels in the world?

AI like the Four Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton. They're very classy hotels. I don't spoil myself much with clothes or things, but when I travel I want to stay in a nice hotel and travel nicely. If you go to a chain hotel, they're very similar. Four Seasons and the Ritz always have the best of everything, and they're always different.

QWhat do you seek out wherever you travel?

ANice restaurants. I like good food. When I travel I try to indulge myself a little bit. Also, my dad loved eating in nice restaurants, so it trickled down to me. If I had to pick a favorite food, it would probably be Italian--I love Italian food. You can't ruin pasta.

QWhat do you never travel without?

AMy iPod--music. I always listen to music. And my HP computer. I have a Vivienne Tam computer; it looks like a clutch [purse]. It's a little computer I can travel with, and I like simplicity. I download my movies or episodes of "House." I flew from Florida to San Francisco last night, and it's so easy to travel with.

QDo you check voice mail and e-mail when you travel?

AYes! When I travel out of the country, it's deadly, because I love to text. But it's expensive, and the next thing you know your phone bill's ridiculous. That's my one bad habit. I had a very big phone bill when I got back from Beijing.