My life in travel Katherine Ryan
The comedian on childhood trips to Ireland, bar crawling in Paris and avoiding sheep’s brains in Mexico
RECENTLY I HAVE TRAVELLED NOWHERE – though we did go to Dubai for the first time when restrictions lifted in December last year. I’m not big on taking too many holidays; I like working holidays, because as a freelancer I worry that, if I was on a remote island, maybe a comedy emergency would come up and I wouldn’t be able to get there. Actual holidays are something I’ve only started doing in the past four years, and Dubai was really special. The Palm had all these imported little bunnies. It is very decadent just to pick up a rabbit and stroke it in Dubai, because they are not native there.
I HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO THE MALDIVES, and I did that in 2019. Fair-skinned people can enjoy the islands, but you have to wear factor 50 sun cream and a giant sun hat, so I looked like a beekeeper. But it was lovely to sit under an umbrella and watch the children play. I did go snorkelling, and the food was delicious. In a shock win, the Maldives has taken the top spot as my favourite destination.
I WOULD RATHER GO SOMEWHERE AMAZING EVERY FIVE YEARS than take three holidays a year. I have friends who take three small holidays a year, and I don’t have time to do that. There is definitely a difference between work and leisure travel. On Travelling Man, with Richard Ayoade, we had so many scheduled activities, I didn’t get to relax, indulge in cocktails, visit anywhere or even sunbathe.
WHEN I TOUR, I MOSTLY DO IT IN THE UK AND EUROPE. People will say, “Have you been to Cardiff ? Have you been to Aberdeen? Have you been to Scunthorpe?” I’ve been everywhere, but not seen anything. I arrive, I check in, I get glam, I go to the venue, and I go home. Comedians know only service stations and venues. We’re always happy to do gigs in the north, because people in places like Hull and Leeds are so friendly. And Scotland is one of my favourite places; the people are really funny, and seem more Canadian the further north you get.
MY FAVOURITE PLACE TO HAVE A DRINK IS TAVERN ON THE GREEN, in New York City. It’s inside Central Park and it has a delicious menu and beautiful cocktails – or you can have a nice glass of white wine. If you go there in the evening, there are little twinkling fairy lights, and you can eat outside on the patio. I went there for brunch with my mother, and there are lovely little paddle boats and a pond.
AS CHILDREN, WE OFTEN WENT TO IRELAND BECAUSE MY DAD WAS HOMESICK. He only moved to Canada aged 30, but he grew up in Cork when it was a bit rougher – he didn’t have shoes! My dad loved sailing and would take us to Cobh and Kinsale. I can now see how lucky I was, but back then I took for granted that scenery, those pubs and those people. I just wasn’t the right age to be there. My daughter was christened in Ireland – and now that we have a new baby, Frederick, we want to get to Ireland as soon
as possible.
I LOVE SPICE, CORIANDER, FRESH GUACAMOLE, LIME AND MARGARITAS. I would love to have experienced the street food in
Punta
Mita, Mexico – but I didn’t. My stepfather, who is vegan, went to a market there where the menu board was all in Spanish. He asked for a taco with beans, but there was a language barrier and he ended up eating a taco with sheep’s brains. When he recounted that mistake, I got a little scared and would only eat at the Four Seasons.
THERE’S A MEXICAN TACO TRUCK IN LOS ANGELES called Tacos y Birria La Unica, on Olympic Boulevard. Its tacos are to die for. They make their own and they are really affordable.
WHEN I WAS A STUDENT, I LOVED TORONTO NIGHTLIFE. We would go to big clubs and I would dance with my girlfriends. Now, my nightlife wraps up at 7pm and my favourite time to eat, drink and experience a city is lunch.
MY HUSBAND, BOBBY, DIDN’T BELIEVE ME when I told him you can go by train from London to Paris at the drop of a hat. So we went to St Pancras at 9am and spent the day and evening in the French capital. We went on a little
bar crawl, had wine, and that was really fun nightlife. I love walking around the streets late at night in a place where you can carry a cocktail, look at things and meet people. There are 24-hour cities, such as Paris and New York, where you can walk and feel safe and inspired.
TORONTO IS LIKE A TIDY NEW YORK, and is underrated. It’s a great walking city that divides into quarters, such as Little Italy and Little Portugal. My mum lives in Little Italy. There’s lots of food, culture and nightlife. Toronto is great – but if you go in the dead of winter, you will regret it.
I HATED LAS VEGAS, WHERE THERE IS TOO MUCH WALKING without anything to look at. Even in the hotel you had to walk for 20 minutes to get to the lift. I don’t like gambling, being drunk or smoking; I don’t like sex work. So there’s very little for me there.
I WENT TO THE PLAYBOY MANSION ONCE, while Hugh Hefner was alive. It was the first and last girls’ trip I took. We all wore candyland-themed
costumes and experienced the grotto with Hefner and all the celebrities. I knew that being 21 was a rare, niche commodity and I should capitalise on that. I was impeccably behaved, though, and saw it more as a museum.
WHEN I WAS FILMING WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? IN CANADA, I bumped into my high-school boyfriend Bobby Kootstra; that’s what happens when you go home. I ended up getting married to him eight months later.
I DON’T HAVE A SPECIAL SARONG OR BRACELET FROM MY TRAVELS, and I never take sand, buy a keychain or indulge in consumerism. All I take home are memories and photographs.
I’LL NEVER CHECK IN A BAG, because I don’t want to be hanging around at the airport when it gets lost. I just like to disembark and be on my way.
As told to Susan Gray
Katherine Ryan is an ambassador for Gousto Recipe Boxes (gousto.co.uk)