Celebrity Travel: Go Away With BeBe Winans

A. Italy! When it comes to Italian food, I'm just crazy about it. I find that eating it in Italy is a little more heavenly. I sometimes act like I was born in Italy.

Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?

A. Both South Africa and Israel, which I know doesn't seem to make sense. But I'll tell you, both were magical, and I don't use that word a lot. I'll tell you why they both made me think of home. I was raised in a Christian home to love God and honor people. That, to me, really sums it up for my family. There was something about when I first landed in South Africa and Israel that caused me to think of my upbringing and history in general. The scriptures leaped off the pages when I walked into Jerusalem, which made me think of home. It was an incredible place. I had that same feeling in South Africa.

Q. In what city were you surprised to be recognized?

A. Honestly, it always catches me off-guard when people know who I am; when people say, "Bebe?" I'm always wondering how they know who I am. But I remember being in downtown Warsaw in Poland and a man called out, "Bebe!" He couldn't say anything else in English, but he was telling me in Polish that he loved our music. Music can really travel places like nothing else can.

Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A. The number one place I'd like to visit is Australia. I've had so many invitations to go there, but with my scheduling, it's difficult. The last time I had a few days off, the choice was to go to Australia or Hawaii and it was tempting to pick Australia. But you know how I feel about Hawaii, so I was like, "Oh, let's go to Hawaii!" I've been to Indonesia and New Zealand, so I should've hopped over to Australia then. Someday, though, I'll get there. I'm also curious about seeing Alaska. I want to go when they have those white nights.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. The first thing I pack is my gym clothes. Years ago I was getting out of the shower in L.A. and I looked in the mirror and said, "Who are those people?!" I made up my mind then to get to the nearest gym and take better care of myself. That's 17 years now. So I work out wherever I am. I wasn't going to allow excuses to stop me from my destination. The truth of the matter is it's fine to keep weight off, but I've found that exercise is therapeutic for this crazy business that I'm in. If they came out with a pill tomorrow that was safe and made you healthy, I'd take it. But until then, I'll exercise and eat right.

Q. How disciplined are you about what you eat when you're touring?

A. If I get hit by a bus, then all my friends know not to cry too much because they can honestly say, "He enjoyed life." I don't diet at all, because I don't believe in them. I believe in food control. Oprah Winfrey was cracking up about my motto: "I might be fat, but I ain't REAL fat." And I've lived by that for a long time. Then it changed to, "If I declare war on my middle, then the rest of me will be little." I live by my quotes. If it's worthy of the calories, then I'll eat it. If I want to eat chocolate cake, it has to really taste like good chocolate cake.

========

Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.