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How do I holiday? Well, I have a husband who loves to be in the sun so often we’re chasing the rays.
However, while Bob turns brown very quickly, with my delicate English skin, I just go red, so I stay out of it. You’ll find me reading a book, wearing a large hat, dark glasses and sitting under an umbrella.
And I never write when I go on holiday…a break almost always follows a book deadline.
Shun the summer crowds, Venice is much more beautiful off season when it’s quieter, says Barbara
I grew up in Yorkshire – hence the delicate complexion – and I like returning to places where I spent a lot of time during my childhood…Harrogate, Ripon, Middleham…and the countryside of course, which hasn’t changed at all. The Dales are beautiful and I love the moors too. Much of my latest book is set in Yorkshire, it’s called Cavendon Hall and is based around the lives of three families in a fictional village on the eve of the First World War.
Sand castles to San Francisco…but the novelist still looks upon her childhood breaks in England’s north with fond memories
I do have rather fond memories of holidays on the east and west coasts of northern England. My Mother would take me to places like Cleethorpes, Morecambe, Blackpool, Scarborough and Whitby. We’d stay in local bed and breakfasts and spend our time making sandcastles on the beach.
My holidays have become a little more exotic since. I’ve been going to Venice for years and I always love going back. We stay at the beautiful Bauer Il Palazzo hotel on the Grand Canal in Spring before it gets too full of tourists. There is something rather lovely about Venice at that time of year, even when it rains. There’s a sense of tranquillity, which must come from the lagoon and the canals. It’s a city that evokes the past like few others can.
Venice’s most famous restaurant, Harry’s Bar, is our favourite place for lunch or dinner. If you want a peaceful meal away from the sightseers then simply ask for a table upstairs; not a lot of people go up there and you still get a wonderful view. Of course, Harry’s Bar is where the Bellini, a cocktail of peach juice and prosecco, was invented and I must admit, I’m rather partial to one.
I always try to write a little about local food in my books because I know my readers enjoy it. Venice never disappoints. I enjoy the city’s culinary specialities including Fegato alla Venziana, which is calf’s liver served in strips with a sauce – we might call it gravy – and sliced onions. Traditionally, it comes with polenta but I ask for mashed potatoes, which must be my British heritage coming through.
Cruises are a favourite too because I’m totally anonymous. I wear my shades, a sunhat with a brim and nobody knows it’s me. Occasionally, if I’m in the hairdressers, I might hear someone say: ‘Oh, that’s Barbara Taylor Bradford’. Most people, if they do come up to me, say: ‘Oh, we love your books’ and they’re very polite and move on quickly. After a few minutes, I usually say: ‘I’m meeting someone in the coffee shop’ and I escape! You’ve got to have fans though so I always try to be nice.
Beau-tiful! The seaside Cote D’Azur village of Beaulieu-sur-Mer is still a regular haunt for Barbara and Bob
Bob has a passion for sailing too because he feels that you only have to unpack your clothes once (even though it’s me that ends up doing most of the unpacking) and he loves the isolation of the ocean, which we both need at times. We’ve had some wonderful holidays at sea. A particularly memorable trip was a friend’s birthday a few years ago. She chartered one of the luxury Seabourn liners and invited 200 friends along for a five-day cruise, which was fabulous.
Perfect match: The Golden Gate city is one of Barbara’s favourites in the US and right, with husband Bob on board a cruise break, they love the anonymity a holiday at sea affords them
Our long-standing love affair with France shows no signs of abating. Bob loves Paris because he grew up there and ran a film company in the French capital. We know it inside out. Now, when we visit, we either stay at the Hotel Plaza Athénée on Avenue Montaigne or Le Meurice on Rue de Rivoli.
Cavendon Hall, the new book by Barbara Taylor Bradford
We like to go to the South of France too and always have. One of our favourite spots is a hotel called La Reserve in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, a little village between Nice and Monaco. In my twenties, before I met Bob, I rather courageously rented an apartment there because I wanted to be a writer. I lived opposite the railway station for three months…but not many trains came through then and not many come through now.
When I first started out as a novelist, I used to travel a lot in the US on book tours but I don’t have to do those so much anymore. I love parts of California; San Francisco is beautiful and very civilised. My favourite Los Angeles hotel is the Bel Air in Beverly Hills, which is gorgeous and actually rather countrified set in beautiful grounds, with the famous swans on the lake.
Bob and I have just celebrated our golden wedding anniversary – we still get on like a house on fire – and I think we’ll celebrate in style with a holiday. I’d love to explore the Far East more, especially China and Vietnam. We’ve tried to take cruises to Asia before and we haven’t managed it because the dates have never been quite right with our work schedules. Maybe this is the year that we’ll finally make it.
Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Cavendon Hall (HarperCollins) is out now, priced £16.99. www.barbarataylorbradford.co.uk. Barbara was talking to Joanna Tweedy.
Travel Facts
Kirker Holidays (kirkerholidays.com) offers three nights’ B&B at Venice’s Bauer Il Palazzo hotel from £869pp. The price includes flights, transfers, Kirker guide notes and concierge service, and entrance to the Doge’s Palace, Guggenheim or Accademia. It is valid for stays before February 19.
