August 12, 2009

Antonio Sabato Jr., a model and actor blessed with the washboard abs (that all women wanted to touch and all men wanted to have) got his big break as a Calvin Klein model back in the early 90’s. All the women (and I’m sure some men) totally fell in love this with Italian born star. He then made his transition into acting as a star on General Hospital and the hit primetime TV show, Melrose Place.

Antonio will be on the screen again in a new reality dating show, My Antonio which airs on Sundays at 10pm on VH1. AOL Travel had a chance to catch up with this busy Italian to talk about his favorite travel destination, what really gets under his skin when on vacation and what he does as soon as he gets into his hotel room.

Is there a destination or travel moment that inspired you, or even changed your life? If so, where and why?

Yes. When I visited Rome four years ago for the World Cup, I was amazed to see the whole country come together as one as Italy won their 4th World Cup. All that excitement, all that energy, all that passion... It was incredibly inspiring.

What's your biggest pet peeve when you travel?

When someone sitting near you sneezes or coughs and doesn't try to cover it with their hands or a tissue.

Where is your favorite place to get it away from it all?

The Gold Coast, Australia

When traveling, what's the very first thing you do when you enter your hotel room?

Strip and take a shower.

As a celebrity, you travel a lot for your job. What are some tips and tricks that you've found to make the journey more comfortable?

Wear comfortable clothing like sweats. I also like to check as much of my luggage as possible so that I have very little to carry onto the plane and keep track of.

You have to wonder, in as great a shape as he’s in, is stripping what always comes to mind first with anything he does?

For more info on his upcoming reality show, visit the My Antonio website at http://www.vh1.com/shows/my_antonio/series.jhtml.