My Holidays

Liz Nolan - broadcaster

What’s your earliest holiday memory?

A family holiday to Romania. My mum had a great interest in visiting countries behind the Iron Curtain. It was a magical fairytale place and my memory is of a night fairground where a woman called Lilo sold us orange ice-creams. The people were very friendly and were trying to get into photos with us.

What was your worst holiday?

When I was young I went with my parents to visit my brother in Yorkshire. Unfortunately my mother and I decided to eat scampi at a roadside cafe. We stopped at Harrogate, which I have been told is a beautiful town, but I associate it with being terribly sick.

What was your best holiday?

When I was a postgraduate student in my twenties I would teach extra hours and save so I could travel during the summer. I’d go by rail from city to city in France, Italy and Spain. I’d no money but would get off the train in Florence, Venice and Rome and just become part of city life.

One morning in Venice I got up at 5am to go to the fish markets. I remember the sea glistening as the sun rose. It was one of those moments when I was so ecstatic and so thrilled to be alive. I’m proud I did that travelling as I was shy growing up.

If budget or work were no restriction, what would be your dream holiday?

In the longer term, a one way ticket to the south of France. I always dreamed of living in a little Provençal village with a courtyard at the centre of the town where swallows came to and fro. I’d get a job as a singing teacher with my son playing on the cobblestones outside.

Who would you bring on holiday with you if you had your pick?

My first choice is my two boys, my fiancé Gerry and two-year-old son Seán. Apart from that I’d bring my favourite composer Francis Poulenc, whom I’ve studied extensively. He was high maintenance and a hypochondriac but had a wonderful sense of humour, an enjoyment of life, was a shocking gossip and a real gourmand.

What’s your favourite place in Ireland?

Ballyvaughan, Co Clare. My parents used to rent a lovely little cottage there. The tang of seaweed, the scent of the sea, the gorgeous food and wandering up the Burren is synonymous with my childhood.

Recommended holiday reading?

Parisians by Graham Robb is fictional stories of people at key moments in Paris history, the short stories are perfect for a mum as you can just dump the book. Easy on the brain is the Shardlake series of mysteries by CJ Sansom.

Where to next?

Last summer I stayed with my brother in The Netherlands and will go there again this year. He lives in Laren, which is enchanting and there are loads of cycle lanes for travelling.

Liz Nolan presents Lunchtime Classics with Liz Nolan, Monday to Friday, noon to 2pm on RTÉ Lyric FM