Eat, Pray, Love - now try the holiday
- Rex
Italy: Eat
If the gorgeous destination backdrops in the upcoming film of Eat, Pray, Love give you wanderlust, follow in soul-searcher Elizabeth Gilbert's (played by Julia Roberts) footsteps and find delicious food, magical culture and romance in Italy, India and Bali
ITALY: EAT
Food. Italy. Where do you even begin? Well, like Gilbert, start in Rome, where you should head to the city's only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, La Pergola - which has a commanding perch with views of the Vatican at the top of the Rome Cavalieri (where Roberts camped out for five weeks in the Penthouse Suite while filming Eat, Pray, Love) - for some of the best food in the city. Just don't mention to the Italians that star chef Heinz Beck is actually German. (For other restaurant suggestions in the Italian capital check out our guide.)
You can't go to Italy and not try some gelato. Gilbert's favourite tip is Il Gelato di San Crispino - which a bus driver tells her has the best ice-cream in Rome. Unfortunately, she doesn't tell us which branch, so you'll just have to work your way through all of them - and all the flavours...
Still hungry? The rest of the country is your larder - will you try 'the best pizza in the world' at Pizzeria da Michele in Naples? Head to Lucca for its celebrated butcher shops, Bologna for spaghetti Bolognese, Parma for the ham, Montepulciano for its wine? The only limit is your appetite.
- Rex
Italy: Pray
ITALY: PRAY
You don't have to amble far to worship at the door of culture in Rome. Base yourself in history and ultra-luxury at the two-suite Residenza Napoleone III on fashionable Via Condotti or in artistic modernity at Hotel Art on Via Margutta - famous for its boutique art galleries and craftsmen (from marble carvings to leather bags), not to mention for providing the setting for Gregory Peck's apartment in the film Roman Holiday.
Gilbert may only have managed to make it to one museum - appropriately enough for her 'Eat' leg, it was the Museum of Pasta in Rome - but the entire city is like an open-air museum. The classic sights - the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Forum and St Peter's - should be top of any visitor's check-list of must-sees.
If you are visiting in spring, don't miss Rome's Settimana della Cultura (Culture Festival) when state-owned museums and monuments throw open their doors to the public free of charge for a week. Or, for a more holy experience, attend holy mass as presided over by the Pope at the Vatican, pictured.
- Rex
Italy: Love
ITALY: LOVE
Fall in love with Rome's fountains, which are some of the city's most iconic sights. The most famous, of course, is the huge, theatrical Fontana di Trevi, where you can battle through the crowds to throw a coin over your left shoulder with your right hand with your back to the fountain to ensure you return to Rome. Less iconic but equally dramatic is the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. Designed by Italian sculptor Bernini, it depicts the gods of the four great rivers in the four continents - as then recognised by the Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Río de la Plata in America.
But the most romantic, and Gilbert's favourite, spot is the Villa Borghese gardens*, pictured*. Walk up the Spanish Steps to enter these classically landscaped gardens above the city, which have some of the best views and from where you can watch the sunset over St Peter's Basilica with that special someone.
Alternatively, what's more romantic that a dozen red roses? Perhaps about a thousand of them? Take a romantic stroll through Rome's rose gardens (Roseto Comunale) at Via di Valle Murcia, a short distance from Circo Massimo and the Aventine hill (open April-June and October).
- Rex
India: Eat
INDIA: EAT
India is packed full of flavours and foodie experiences. For a hands-on stay, try Mahindra Homestays, where friendly hosts open up their homes to guests. In Kerala, book Vembanad House - the home of Mr and Mrs Balakrishnan, it is set in 10 acres in Kerala's backwaters. Head out with your local hosts in the early hours of the morning to scour local markets and shops to discover new ingredients and spices, then spend the afternoon learning local recipes - and some family secrets. Alternatively, a boat trip with local fishermen can be arranged, to catch lobsters at night or fish during the day, before you cook and eat your haul.
Or travel to Darjeeling to sample the region's famous tea. Stay in the luxurious Glenburn Tea Estate - a working tea estate that was established in 1860. As well as an essential half-day 'Tea Experience' (where you learn how the tea is made, followed by a tea tasting), you can also tuck into special tea-leaf pakoras and be served 'bed tea' every morning before coming down for breakfast.
- Rex
India: Pray
INDIA: PRAY
If an ashram sounds too hardcore (Gilbert is widely rumoured to have stayed at Gurudev Siddha Peeth in Maharashtra, while Roberts filmed at Ashram Hari Mandir, about 50km from Delhi), try a more luxury approach at destination wellness retreat Ananda in the Himalayas, which has a range of wellness packages to restore and rebalance the soul with yoga, meditation and traditional Ayurvedic treatments. Or head to Sheyras Retreat - an 'ashram-meets-boutique-hotel' outside Bangalore - where you'll have twice daily yoga sessions and meditation 'allowing you to re-connect with your inner core'.
India is renowned for its spirituality and wide range of religions. Enchanting Travel offers a 'Delhi - A Spiritual Melting Pot' tour of the capital and its four main religions - Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam and Jainism - meeting priests and local elders, discovering the majestic places of worship and maybe even finding religious enlightenment.
Don't miss one of India's many colourful festivals (it's difficult, as India celebrates 1,095 in 365 days). Two of the highlights include Diwali (the Hindu Festival of Lights, falling somewhere between October 15 and November 15) and Holi*, pictured* (the Festival of Colours held on the full moon day in March).
- Rex
India: Love
INDIA: LOVE
It might be obvious, but the Taj Mahal is still one of India's most iconic and romantic sights. Poignantly built by the grief-stricken Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife who died during childbirth, it took 22 years of painstaking work by 20,000 workers to complete this monument to love, and on his death the emperor was reunited with his wife in the tomb inside the monument.
From Agra and the Taj Mahal, head to Udaipur in Rajasthan - possibly India's most romantic city. Known as the City of Lakes, its bodies of water provide a picturesque backdrop to the city's palaces. Stay at the magical Oberoi Udaivilas, which sits in regal style on the banks of Lake Pichola, or at the magical kingdom-esque Taj Lake Palace located in the middle of Lake Pichola. Pair Udiapur with Rajasthan's love-hued pink city, Jaipur, where you can marvel at the cities magnificent forts: Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, Nahargarh Fort. Make sure you check into the stupendously beautiful Devi Ratn (from the same people who own Devi Gahr), which opens in October.
Bali: Eat
BALI: EAT
Like Gilbert, set up base in Ubud in the centre of the island and follow in the author's exact footsteps by staying at Ubud Inn, where her friend Mario now is a guide. For something a bit more luxurious, try the Four Season Resort Sayan (where Roberts stayed while filming), nestled in the jungle overlooking treetops in a haven of tranquillity just outside Ubud.
A bit closer to the action, but equally tranquil, Uma Ubud, pictured (where Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were spotted during filming) is just across the road from the famous Naughty Nuri's warung (roadside food stall-cum-restaurant). With a corrugated iron roof with 'Nuri's' daubed on it in white paint and a barbeque billowing smoke out front, this isn't fine dining (you'll get that down the road at Mozaic) but it's always packed with locals and expats looking for their legendary barbequed ribs, lethal margaritas and local nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice with vegetables and 'goodies'). There's even a tongue-in-cheek mock-up of the book's cover telling customers to 'Eat, Pay, Leave' on the wall.
Further into town, don't miss trying babi guling (roasted suckling pig) at potentially the best place for this delicacy in Bali: Ibu Oka's Warung. Spot the crowd queuing at lunchtime across from Ubud Palace. Or visit Gilbert's healer friend Wayan for a vitamin lunch at her shop - an unassuming place just along from Ubud Post Office.
- iStock
Bali: Pray
BALI: PRAY
Spirituality and religion is the life-blood of Bali - a uniquely Hindu enclave amid the largest Muslim nation in the world, Indonesia. Offerings of flowers, rice and even sweets are part of daily life (so watch your step, as they dot pavements and entrances), while religious festivals are a near weekly event.
One of the oldest temple complexes in Bali and just north of Ubud, Gunung Kawi will take your breath away. Its 10 rock cut shrines each stand eight metres tall in sheltered coves, with an 11th further down the valley, and all date back to the 11th century.
Being the cultural heart of Bali, there are plenty of other enriching activities in Ubud. A haven for artists from around the world, you could spend days ambling from boutique studio-cum-galleries (try the vivid Simon's Art Zoo where a sign out front declares 'Danger Art!') to museums (don't miss the Neka Art Museum, ARMA and Museum Puri Lukisan). And, if you fancy yourself the next Elizabeth Gilbert, visit the annual Ubud Literary and Writers' Festival, or find out what your future holds with a palm reading from old Ketut Liyer, Gilbert's medicine man (anyone in town can point the way).
- iStock
Bali: Love
BALI: LOVE
So you might not find the love of your life in the shape of an attractive Brazilian expat, but Bali has plenty of scope for romance.
Don't miss sunset at Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple*, pictured,* on the southern tip of the island - perched precariously atop a sheer cliff face, it's one of the most dramatic temples on the island. Nightly at sunset there is a hypnotic performance of traditional Kecak dance, which tells the Indian story of Ramayana. Rama, a warrior and rightful heir to the throne of Ayodya, is exiled with his wife Sita to a faraway desert. There, an evil king spies Sita, falls in love with her, and sends a golden deer to lure Rama away. Sita is captured, and Rama rounds up his armies to defeat those of the evil king and rescue her.
You should also head to the tiny Gili Meno, where Gilbert ends her book. The Gili Islands are three little droplets of sandy paradise off the northwest coast of Lombok. The biggest, Gili Trawangen, is a backpackers favourite, but Gili Air and Gili Meno, the smallest, offer a peaceful romantic escape. Villas dot Gili Meno's sandy rim and are usually easily checked into on arrival. The emphasis is on low-key living so many are basic, but the plushest is Villa Nautilus. While away days together on the beautiful beaches, diving and snorkelling and dining on fresh barbequed fish. It's bliss…
By Fiona Kerr: published in September 2010