The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Travelling life
How often do you travel?
I was away from my home in Vancouver for most of last year, filming the Riviera television series in France for seven months and before that in Tenerife for the latest Jason Bourne movie. This year, because I’m pregnant, I’ll thankfully have some nesting time at home.
Any good tips for beating jet-lag?
I frequently fly to Europe from Vancouver and jet-lag still hits me hard going from west to east. I try not to get stressed-out if I wake up in the middle of the night, and I accept that resting is better than not sleeping at all. Exercise and sunshine help your body clock adapt, as does adjusting your eat/ sleep schedule to that of your destination in advance. Drinking Coca-Cola also helps; it’s hydrating, and the sugar and the caffeine pep you up after a long flight.
What do you need for a perfect holiday?
I prefer beaches and warm weather, sunshine and saltwater. I don’t tend to over-plan my holidays. I like to wing it more than having a strict schedule.
Favourite filming location for
We were based in Nice and filmed all over the area, from Antibes and Cannes to Villefranche and just over the border in Italy. I really enjoyed exploring away from the coast when we weren’t filming. I also went to the Camargue, where the Rhône meets the Mediterranean, and it’s real cowboy country. I saw the amazing wild horses and there’s a Spanish influence too – we found a little bar with gipsy guitarists playing flamenco. The landscape is unique and there’s a strong artistic community.
Most unusual places you’ve filmed?
I lived in Iceland for four months while filming A Little Trip to Heaven with Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner, which was written and directed by the Icelander Baltasar Kormakur. The great thing about my job is that, when you stay in a place for so long, you start to get to know it properly – which isn’t the case when you just go on holiday. One time, during a night shoot, the Northern Lights appeared at four in the morning, which was remarkable. And we rode Icelandic ponies.
Earliest memory of travelling abroad?
When I was growing up, my parents used to take me to Puerto Rico; I loved the beaches. The first time I travelled outside the US was when my aunt took me to Rome at the age of 17. It was summer, so very hot. The days were filled with visiting the extended Italian family and eating meals with multiple courses. As an angsty teenager, I probably didn’t appreciate the food as much as I should have done.
Most adventurous travel experience?
Going to Cuba and, when I
Worst travel experience?
In college, I didn’t do the whole spring break thing but a few of my friends and I went to the Dominican Republic. We didn’t research it properly because we ended up in a crazy resort that catered to older German tourists. We arrived late at night but awoke to really bad European techno music for an open-air aerobics class. The resort was walled off and surrounded by guards with machine guns. It was just so odd.
Julia Stiles Actress
Favourite hotel?
Ham Yard – I stay there every time I’m in London. I feel at home and know the people working there.
Favourite restaurant?
I’m a real foodie and find good food is always enjoyed most with friends and family. There’s a quaint French town called Mougins, close to where we were shooting Riviera in Grasse. It has a restaurant called Place de Mougins which serves beautifully prepared, fresh and simple food. I loved eating there.
Your travel essential?
My blankie. I may be 36, but I still carry my security blanket from when I was a child. I never leave home without my face cream from May Lindstrom (£174; cultbeauty.co.uk), which is really good for reducing puffiness, dryness and irritation due to travelling.
What do you hate about travelling?
Being herded – what the late American writer David Foster Wallace coined as being made to feel bovine. You’re barked at, told what to do and when – and no one smiles. You feel inhuman.
Where next?
Prague is really special architecturally, so I’d love to return; and Paris, because it holds special memories of filming there with my fiancé and spending Christmas there with close friends. Riviera, starring Julia Stiles, is on Sky Atlantic now.