I've noted there are a few writing stories about journeys around the world and I wondered if you considered your own travel essential to this. I got quite annoyed with the number of times I heard someone say back to me 'But you've never been anywhere!' when I said I was writing about backpacking. Yes, it could be perceived as the Bronté approach, but I genuinely felt that if I had been to any of the places I was writing about, my experiences would seep through and colour the otherwise pure fictional tale. I fear I am alone! Have your travels made it in to your work?
I'd like to add that when I did finally visit Barcelona, I visited all the places I had written about and didn't change a word afterwards. My fiction doesn't centre around location and is very much character lead, so I suppose that helps.