![\"Louise](\"https:\/\/www.elainespires.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/image4.jpg\")
<\/a>Louise Douglas<\/p><\/div>\n
ES: Welcome to Hot Holidays, Louise and thanks for taking the time to join us at such an exciting, busy, happy time! Can we start off with you telling us where you spent your last holiday and why you chose to go there?<\/p>\n
LD: We went to Sicily for a week. I\u2019m mad about Inspector Montalbano and
\nwanted to see all the places that inspired the books and that are used
\nas locations in the television series. We visited Montalbano\u2019s house in
\nPunta Secca and the beautiful Baroque cities of Modica, Ragusa and
\nScicli. We also swam in the sea every day even though it was mid-October
\nand had plenty of wine and lying about on the beach too. It was one of
\nthe best holidays ever.<\/p>\n
ES: That sounds wonderful. Is being on a beach your favourite type of holiday?<\/p>\n
LD: Not necessarily. My favourite holiday would be somewhere I haven\u2019t been before, somewhere warm and beautiful and not crowded or polluted.<\/p>\n
ES: And your least favourite?<\/p>\n
LD: Least favourite is hard but I don\u2019t like flying long-haul, don\u2019t like being organised, don\u2019t like big,
\nswanky hotels. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d like Las Vegas, but I could be wrong.<\/p>\n
ES: Yes, you might be pleasantly surprised! Where did you spend your best ever holiday and what made it so memorable?<\/p>\n
LD: Every summer for about seven years when the children were small we used to catch the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen and drive to Brittany and stay in a caravan. They were the wildest, most carefree holidays. My favourite place is probably Carnac; just outside the campsite are thousands of standing stones, and the beaches are fabulous. Writing this has brought back so many memories. I want to go back!<\/p>\n
ES: Have you had any holiday or travel disasters?<\/p>\n
LD: We were due to go to France, Kevin was working away so the plan was I would drive over with the children and he\u2019d fly out to join us. I wrote the car off the day before we were due to leave. I was treated for shock, but otherwise unhurt and didn\u2019t want to ruin everyone\u2019s holiday so I arranged to pick up a hire car in Caen. When we arrived at the car hire place, me and four children, the car we\u2019d booked had been \u2018upgraded\u2019 to a minibus. And of course it was right-hand drive and I\u2019d never driven one of those before, plus I hadn\u2019t realised how shaky I was after the accident. It took us ten hours to drive 100 miles because I kept having to stop to cry.<\/p>\n
ES: Aww, Louise! How awful! Now, cheer yourself up by telling us about a place you long to visit and the reasons why.<\/p>\n
LD: I would love to go Canada in the autumn. The scenery looks so beautiful and I\u2019ve always wanted to go whale-watching. I\u2019d also enjoy hiking in the mountains and looking out for other wildlife.<\/p>\n
ES: Who’s your favourite travelling companion(s) or do you prefer your own company?
\nLD: I couldn\u2019t travel alone. I know that\u2019s pathetic, but I couldn\u2019t. My favourite travelling companion is my husband, Kevin. Luckily we mostly enjoy the same things. He gives me confidence. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without him.<\/p>\n
ES: Can I be indiscreet and ask if you’ve ever had a holiday romance? And if you have, may we have the details, please?<\/p>\n
LD: When I was 17 I went to Corfu \u2013 my first time abroad, and I fell in love with the island and the Greek way of life and I also fell in love with a boy. He took me out on the back of his scooter, we walked along the beach, we drank Bacardi and coke by the pool. We wrote to one another for almost two years after that but eventually lost touch. It gives me goosebumps now to think of him.<\/p>\n
ES: How would you spend your dream twenty-four hours, Louise, if you could
\ntravel to multiple, worldwide destinations with no travel restrictions?<\/p>\n
LD: What a brilliant question! OK I\u2019d start in Iceland at midnight because I\u2019d love to see the Northern Lights and swim in the hot springs and enjoy the amazing scenery. Then I\u2019d travel South, having breakfast on a boat in the middle of a Norwegian Fjord. On down to Croatia and Turkey, then a swim in the sea and lunch in a little restaurant on the beach in Positano, Italy. I\u2019ve never been to Africa so I\u2019d spend the afternoon there, visiting an elephant sanctuary. After that, onto New Zealand to sit on a mountain and watch the stars of the Southern Hemisphere until
\nwe fell asleep after finishing off the wine we picked up in Italy.<\/p>\n
ES: Wow! That’s some trip! And finally, what tip or piece of advice would you give to holidaymakers and\/or travellers?<\/p>\n
LD: Insect repellent and sunscreen are all you really need.<\/p>\n
Thank you so much for sharing your Hot Holidays! with us, Louise. You have been a great guest. All the very best for your new book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s a very busy time for Louise Douglas following the recent launch of her latest book, The Secret by the Lake. How exciting! What’s even more exciting is that she’s joining us to tell us all about her Hot Holidays! … Continue reading