Eugene Levy

0:00Today's episode is supported by Citalia, the UK's leading Italian holiday specialist. Eugene Levy, our guest today, chooses Italy as his all-time favourite destination. He loves everything from the rolling hills of Tuscany to the charm of Siena and Rome, the food, the people, the way of life, and honestly, I couldn't agree more. There's just something about Italy that feels timeless, where every corner looks like a postcard and every meal feels like a celebration. That's where Cattaglia comes in. With over 95 years of expertise, they know Italy inside out. From hand-picked hotels in the best locations to bespoke itineraries that go beyond the guidebook, their team of experts will help you discover the real Italy.

0:51And with their Travel with Confidence promise, you'll have 24-7 support, plus free amendments and a refund guarantee so you can just relax and enjoy La Dolce Vita. So if, like Eugene, you're dreaming of your own Italian adventure, visit Citalia.com to start planning today. That's C-I-T-A-L-I-A dot com. Thank you to Citalia.

1:19Hello and welcome back to the Travel Diaries podcast. I'm your host Holly Rubenstein and And here each week, I'll be speaking to a very special guest about the seven chapters in their life's travel diaries. From the first place that they fell in love with to their all-time favorite destination, their worst travel experience to what's at the top of their travel bucket list. We'll be uncovering their adventures around the world and the travel experiences and destinations that have shaped their lives. So this week, I'm back with a brand new episode. I am so thrilled to be joined by Eugene Levy, the Emmy-winning actor, writer and total comedy icon.

2:01For many of us, he'll forever be known as the bewildered dad from American Pie, or of course as the impeccably dressed Johnny Rose in Schitt's Creek, the multi-award winning show he co-created with his son Dan that became a lockdown lifeline for so many of us. And more recently, he's found himself in a rather unexpected new role, that of travel presenter as the host of The Reluctant Traveller, which is now in its third season on Apple TV+. I'm sure you've seen it everywhere over the last couple of weeks because on one of the episodes, he interviews British royalty, interviewing Prince William, quite the coup, and a really fantastic episode to tune into.

2:44I spoke to Eugene last week while he was here in London in Soho in one of those kind of classic hotel junket setups, a bit like the Notting Hill horse and hound moment, if you know what I mean. So we had less time than usual. Back in the day, this would have been what I'd call a short haul episode. We cover the six travel chapters today Rather than the seven But I still, as you can imagine Jumped at the chance to sit down with him And hear the destinations that have made a lasting impression on him Particularly while filming this new show And of course to ask him about the prospect of a Schitt's Creek reunion Which I have to say I think he was pretty positive about So let me know what you think Let me know if you agree Watch this space Okay, right so from the Maldives to Korea, Utah to Italy, here are the short but sweet travel diaries of Eugene Levy.

3:49Hello Eugene, it is great to meet you. Hi Holly, how are you? I'm very well, thank you. How's the day going? Day is going really, really well. Really, really well. But, you know, it's only 10.30. So talk to me at four. It's gorgeous out here. You've got great weather. The sun's out. It's just beautiful. So you're famously the reluctant traveler, Eugene. But now three seasons in, do you not think we should be renaming the show maybe the enthusiastic traveler? No, because that wouldn't necessarily be true. And, you know, I'm trying to keep truth as one of the key points in this entire experience.

4:32There's no question I'm getting a lot better at it. You know, there was a time I just didn't get the travel experience in terms of setting up things to see, the sightseeing thing. You know, there was always too many things on a list that I didn't come up with of things to see. And you're walking and you're tired and you're hot and you're miserable. And then, you know, where's the joy? But over the years, I'm actually gaining some great travel experience out of this. And I'm finding that mostly it's coming from the people, right? The people that I'm meeting and the people that I'm experiencing, and I'm learning a lot more through them, a lot more about their culture and their city and their country.

5:24Like they say, it's always the people that make the place. Well, that's the one key thing I'm learning. It is the people that make the place. And I have the great privilege of encountering some really fantastic people in these countries. And that's how I'm really absorbing what I am. So we're going to go on a journey today, Eugene, through the six chapters of your life's travel diaries in the context of the fantastic Reluctant Traveller. And we start with chapter one. And that is the first destination that you fell in love with while filming and why. The first destination I fell in love with while filming, it could have been the Maldives.

6:14Good choice. Yes, it could have been the Maldives because I'd never been to that part of the world ever. And flying in to the location, to the island, and this island was as big as a postage stamp. and all you all you see is beautiful green ocean and and all these you know Maldivian islands uh that you're flying over until you until you you know get get to yours that could have been that could have been the the first place that I that I fell in love with and then you have Venice that I've never been to before but you know I'd put that a close second so what was it about the Maldives that like really captured your heart was it the the landscape how tropical it was yeah it was that's exactly what it is because that was always my ideal vacation just put me on a beach and give me a comfortable beach chair you know and a lovely uh pina colada and you know that was my idea of heaven what more do you need to do when you're on vacation have you gone back there since No, and not because I don't want to go back, because it's so hard to get to.

7:27It takes so long to get there. From the States especially, yeah, I guess. You know? That's longer. And again, it's that part of travel that's the toughest thing to get over is the getting there. Yeah. If there was a way to get to Kududu, which was our island, that was the resort. if there was a way to get there in a nanosecond, you know, I'd be there seven, eight times a year. Oh my God, I so agree. I always say that, you know, in Harry Potter, they apparate where they kind of just like click their fingers and they appear somewhere else. And I always say, I wish that we could just apparate there.

8:02Well, that would be the great thing to discover and come up with in terms of travel. Wouldn't it just? How do you get there in a finger snap? Moving on to chapter two. This is the place where you learned the most about yourself on your travels. Where or what really left an impression with you? Uh, I, where I learned most about myself, I think it, it may have been, uh, Utah in our, in our first season because it was the first time I'm in a location dealing with a, with a culture and not, not only learning about that culture, but, you know, feeling a great deal. of empathy for that culture, the people I was meeting on that particular trip, that was kind of a first time experience for me, learning from the inside out what, you know, what was necessarily going on and what their lifestyle, you know, has been like, and how optimistic and outlook they, you know, they all have on life generally.

9:23For people who haven't seen that episode, what culture are we chatting about here? It was the Navajo people, the indigenous people that were living in that area in Utah. The Navajo population and, you know, an incredible history involved there that is not necessarily that pleasant. and yet you know they're they have an incredibly positive outlook on life today and living among the most beautiful landscape some of the most beautiful landscape in america as well in addition down there before i'd never seen the grand canyon i mean it's there's a landscape there that i always said you're it's like you're looking at the history of of the planet um you know you You can see every thousand years etched on the kind of windswept rocks that were in that desert.

10:21It's absolutely astounding. Yeah, you're just steeped in geological history, essentially. That's it, yeah. Yeah. How about, for Chapter 3, the big one, Eugene, your all-time favourite destination? If you had to pick one place, where stood out above everywhere else? one time favorite destination favorite destination you know i've always had a i've always had a soft spot for italy always even you know before the show i mean traveling there was there were certain locations that were always a comfort factor to me in terms of traveling this city london being being one yeah but italy was just such a beautiful no matter where you went especially, you know, further north.

11:11I like Rome. I love Rome, just the history that is right there in the city. Surrounds you, doesn't it? Traveling north, you know, up towards Siena. The landscape is so beautiful. Everywhere you look is like a postcard. It's just so beautiful. And I love the, you know, the food. I love the people. that you know the priorities there are family friends food and then work that's i totally get that you know so i feel kind of right at home when i'm when i'm there and uh yeah that still holds i i agree with you i think it's probably the most popular all-time favorite destination on the podcast actually because it is just such a diverse country and it it has as you say i mean it's the food in particular that people just fall in love with what do you always order when you're in italy do you have a go-to dish oh it's just it's you know pasta you know different pasta dishes i can't i just can't not order pasta i've got a i've got a soft spot for it and it is the best food in the world is you know i think i think in italy 100 100 agree with you how about chapter four which is your hidden gem so a place that you discovered while filming in all these incredible destinations that my listeners might not know much about oh boy that's a tough one that could that could be that could be that could be Vienna or that could be Seoul I might have to go with with Seoul because there is with that episode you know came the you know the kind of discovery and experiencing the K-wave.

13:01So you're definitely getting the culture of the country right there in your face. That's really part and parcel with what is going on in South Korea. And it was an amazing discovery to see how much that is enveloping the culture and the people, especially the young people, really kind of taking over. It's becoming that's what you have to do, you know, to become a success at whatever you want to do. It's fascinating, isn't it? Yeah. Such an interesting cultural shift. Yeah. And could I have said that three years ago? I couldn't have said that three years ago. I wouldn't have had a clue. I also thought the Louisiana episode was another good hidden gem because I think for British travelers, you know, seeing those incredible roads, the motorways that go over the swamps.

13:52that's just so dramatic and such an unusual, you know, landscape. Yeah. Well, it was an eye-opener for me because it was a great trip and a really amazing episode. My RV mate, Will, was, you know, just such an incredible young man, had a lot of fun with him, and again, absorbing what's going on around me through him made it kind of intriguing. But, you know, Swampland is not necessarily something you necessarily want to go back to. I did it once. Lovely episode. Had a lot of fun. People, unbelievably friendly and beautiful. But, you know, if it's the swamp or, let's say, Naples, might have to go with Naples.

14:44It's something to experience. It's something to see at least once, I think. No, no, absolutely. And that's what I'm getting. Yeah, this is truly what I'm getting out of the show. Yeah, it's a taster. Getting these experiences that I never would have had because I never would have agreed to it. I wouldn't have wanted to go. But, you know, I do have a kind of that dearth of knowledge about that. The southern United States I never had before. Well, Chapter 5 actually is your worst travel experience. So whilst you've been out and about, is there anything that has kind of gone wrong or a place that you'd never go back to?

15:22Well, maybe not the swamps. Well, there we go. We have the swamps. I wouldn't go by, you know, I'm not a big jungle person either, you know. Costa Rica, there was a lot of jungle stuff going on, you know, kind of intriguing. But, you know, not your vibe. The one location actually that was a bit of a shock was South Africa at the Kruger National Park, a location I thought I would absolutely detest because I had no interest in going. And yet I actually did love it down there. You know, that was a bit of a shocker for me. I loved, you know, seeing just what I thought I wouldn't find exciting, seeing animals in the wild.

16:08Why do you have to take the trip? Go to the zoo. You can, you know, there they are and you can see them much closer. But I got the experience of it, of what it was down there. And I thought the landscape and the countryside was absolutely beautiful. Something I wouldn't want to do again. It might be kind of an RV experience. And chapter six is the destination that is at the top of your bucket list. Well, obviously, this new season is all about ticking off things on your bucket list. But where is left that you haven't yet been to that you would love to visit? Well, I don't I can't honestly say there's a place on the planet that I would love to visit.

16:55Still a bit of a reluctant traveler. I either love it after I've experienced it and then I can say, boy, I love this location. but I don't think there's a place I'm you know I'd love to get to you know in the world whether it's uh Antarctica or where it's South Pacific I don't know I I am I dying to get to a place no um but take you know take me there and I'll let you know how much I love it yeah okay well that will be next season and we can't wait can't wait to watch that one listen before we wrap up i have to give a mention to schitt's creek because like so many people that kept me company during the pandemic it brought you know light to our day when it was otherwise you know pretty dark time and we all want a reunion uh so what would it take for you you do creatively to feel excited about revisiting the roses well you know i i you know my son uh daniel and i have said that we you know we would like nothing more than to get together with this group again we had the greatest six years doing the show we absolutely loved it he is uh my son is extremely busy right now with a kind of a new show that he's putting together shooting right now but you know we have said if an idea, you know, comes up that begins where we left off.

18:23In other words, the starting point has to be a little bit higher than, you know, than the quality of the storyline where we kind of left off. If we can hit that point as a starting point, it's the germ of an idea that we could build something around, you know? No question we would love, we would love to do something again with these people, no matter what the project would be. But I can't say anything is in the wind, you know, right at the moment. Have you ever sat around at like Thanksgiving or Christmas as a family and talked about the prospect of it yet? We don't go on at length about it, but it's really about whether that idea, you know, where we start from and what kind of commitment you know we want to put in in terms of you know what it is what it is exactly um but you know we're still very you know really close with with everybody that was in the cast made some incredible friendships and and obviously would would love to do something again we don't know exactly when that is going to happen you know i wish i had a better answer for you but but that's quite a good answer because it feels positive and i love the fact that you that you love the show so much we we absolutely loved it to death doing the show and got such great response from uh from people in terms of how much it you know it helped them and how much they enjoyed it as you said going through you know the the uh the toughest time with covid that's actually where the show really got discovered was during COVID, right?

20:17When people were just looking for something uplifting to kind of get them through it. And yeah, that was a big one. Yeah, it kept us all company. Thank you so much, Eugene. I'm so excited about the possible prospect there. We await eagerly. And thank you for sharing your travel diaries with us. It's been such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you. Thank you. It's been fun.

20:41oh a big thank you to eugene for joining me on the podcast what a lovely man and the new season of the reluctant traveler is out now on apple tv plus and now i am going to reintroduce my husband alex on the podcast he is here with me on parental leave we are with our seven week old baby and it's been a while since you joined me on here alex welcome back thank you for having me back well we're not with he's sleeping quietly over there but we're trying to record this quickly exactly before a quick recording between naps i thought it'd be great to chat to you here because over the years on the travel diaries i've released many destination specials all about the island of ireland and one place that comes up time and again is belfast there's just a lot of love for the city isn't it?

21:30It really is a great city, underrated city. It's got great food, awesome atmosphere, the people, the setting. It's got this buzz but also some really good history. In fact when I was studying history at university I did a whole course on the history of Belfast. And was there anything in particular that you wanted to visit when you were studying it? Well the course ended in the early 1900s so it was about the time of the Titanic so I think we'll get on to that now. Exactly, because Belfast is Titanic's birthplace. The ship was designed and built there at Heartland and Wolfe, which was the biggest shipyard in the world at the time.

22:07And their drawing offices, the very place where Titanic was designed, has been beautifully restored and converted into a boutique hotel. Did you know that? Do you see that when you visited? Well, you can see the shipyard everywhere you go, really. But I didn't know there was such a tourist attraction there, to be honest. Yeah, I mean, it opened back in March 2012. Titanic Belfast, exactly 100 years after the ship was completed. And it was created to celebrate the city's maritime heritage and its industrial past. But just as importantly, it recognises the hard work and ambition of those who built her.

22:41What's it? What's it kind of like? Talk me through what's inside. Well, it's a really immersive experience. The Titanic experience stretches across 10 interactive galleries. You start with Belfast in the early 1900s. then you follow Titanic through her construction and launch her famous maiden voyage and of course the tragic end and the whole thing is self-guided so you can move at your own pace and along the way you explore the shipyard you walk recreated decks and you even travel to the depths of the ocean wow yeah and the artifacts are extraordinary you've got Wallace Hartley's violin which the band played on as the ship went down an original life jacket and deck chair the loving cup and the last luncheon menu they're all such tangible emotive links to the ship and you know it doesn't stop inside outside you can walk the exact slipways where Titanic and her sister ships Olympic and Britannic were launched and then there's the SS Nomadic which is Titanic's tender which is the last remaining white star line vessel in the world and you can actually step on board and what's it done for for Northern Ireland like how is it boosted tourist numbers what's the impact being on the local the local city and beyond it's been huge i mean titanic belfast was a signature project that came out of the good friday agreement and since opening it's had a huge impact on tourism it's welcomed over 9 million visitors from more than 145 countries that are some serious numbers yeah yeah and it's really helped to position belfast and northern ireland on the global tourism stage i mean we've talked about on that uh we've talked about that on the destination specials as well.

24:19And what's lovely is that, you know, it really appeals across all generations, as you can imagine. So you'll see schoolchildren there who are learning about Titanic for the first time and grandparents who may have family connections to the shipyard. So it's really a multi-generational experience as is a visit to Northern Ireland. Wow, it's a huge draw. Yeah, such a huge draw. In fact, two in five people say that they come to Belfast specifically to visit Titanic Belfast. And then they get to discover everything else at Belfast and the kind of broader region has to offer because like you mentioned the city has a brilliant food scene it has a lively nightlife like you experienced yeah yeah and belfast is also the unesco music city of culture oh gosh the baby's waking up oh right and within an hour's drive you can be in the moor mountains the lakes of fermanagh or up on the dramatic coastal route where the 153rd open was recently held you watch a lot of that i did yeah and on the way you'll meet some of the friendliest locals anywhere so it really does have it all so bottom line next time you're in northern ireland or in belfast titanic belfast is a must see indeed it is it's where titanic story began and it's the best place in the world to experience it thank you to titanic belfast