Idyllwild’s trees feel like home, Elliot says
“Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jaicy Elliot has a few trips she’d like to take in the near future. “I am so looking forward to visiting Hawaii soon,” said Elliot, who plays Dr. Taryn Helm on the medical series. “I have a visit planned and I’m pulling out all the stops to make it the ultimate trip. Something tells me it won’t disappoint.” Elliot, 29, added that having a flexible itinerary always makes her trips more enjoyable. “I like to look up everything worth exploring and then go day by day on what we feel like doing,” she said. “Keeping it loose makes it feel more like a vacation to me.” Elliot can also be seen in the holiday film “My Southern Family Christmas” on the Hallmark Channel.
Q: What are some of the places you were going to travel to during the pandemic that you had to cancel? A:
Before the pandemic, I had made a plan to go live in Mexico City for a while and take a Spanish class. I speak a little already, but I really wanted to be in an immersive experience to fully give myself the chance to hopefully become fluent. I’m disappointed that I had to miss it, but I know I will go for it in the future as soon as I can.
Q: Do you speak any other foreign languages? A:
Yes! I speak French, it’s actually my first language, so English is the foreign language for me. We were also required to learn a third language in school so I speak decent Italian. I am
trying to learn Spanish. It’s crucial to me to know how to communicate properly with people around me and Spanish is everywhere in LA, so I might as well learn while I’m here.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure when traveling? A:
Airplane food. I know most people hate it, but I eat healthy all year long, so when I travel I enjoy some heavily-processed airplane food with a twist.
Q: Where are your favorite weekend getaways? A:
These days I don’t get much time to go on a proper getaway, so I try to stay local. Lately we’ve been going to Idyllwild a lot. It’s close to Los Angeles, about an hour and a half drive, and it feels like a million miles away from the city. Being surrounded by trees feels like home. I grew up in the French Alps and sometimes I need to return to the mountains to reconnect to who I am at the core.
Q: Where have you visited for work that you went back to for a vacation? A:
Recently I have traveled to Canada and Louisiana for work, but I haven’t
gotten the chance to go back yet. New Orleans is definitely on my list. In a way, you could say that I came to Los Angeles for work but never left. There are so many things I love and hate about Los Angeles. It has a very specific subculture of its own that everyone taps into, yet a lot of people are not actually from here. It really feels like LA is what you make of it. I love all the different cultures you can find here. It’s a beautiful melting pot. It can be sunny or overwhelmingly blue-skymonotone. It can be a party or hard-core hustling. It can be lonely or full of community. I have been fortunate enough to work here for the most part.
Q: What are some of your must-have travel items? A:
I always bring a portable charger, ChapStick, sanitizer and nuts. You never know when you’re going to be in dire need of a snack. The idea is to be prepared for anything. I like to be able to keep going and explore as much as I can without needing to backtrack home.