Ghana to Tahiti, Hollywood spent the holidays in far-flung locales

The town’s intrepid travelers ventured beyond the usual industry hotspots, as Brian Grazer hit San Miguel Allende, ‘Empire’s’ Nicole Ari Parker journeyed to Africa and Dexter Fletcher tried to “find” his youth in the South Pacific.

Africa

Married actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker and Endeavor CMO Bozoma Saint John traveled to Accra, Ghana, for the Essence Full Circle Festival, which they co-founded. The fest this year was part of the country’s Year of Return initiative, marking the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved people from Africa arriving in Virginia. … AMC’s Kristin Jones and her fiance, Comcast Ventures investor Chris Hill, visited Namibia, where they had lunch on the beach, and Zambia, where they swam a few feet from Victoria Falls in the Devil’s Pool, “hanging on to the edge of the waterfall,” she says, adding that “seeing a 2- or 3-day-old baby elephant still learning to walk was adorable. Even our guide was excited!” … ICM’s Taryn Ariel also visited the Devil’s Pool, plus she went cage diving with sharks, visited the Cape of Good Hope, toured Zanzibar and “saw the big five in the Serengeti.” … Idris Elba journeyed to Sierra Leone, his late father’s native country, for the first time, where he was given honorary citizenship.

Europe

Gersh’s David DeCamillo and his husband enjoyed Rome. “We go every Christmas and it’s typically less crowded,” says DeCamillo. “Below the apartment we rent are the ruins of four temples from the Republican period, dating from the fourth to the first centuries BC. The layers of history are incredible.” His favorite restaurant? La Tavernaccia da Bruno. “They’ve been in the same location in Trastevere since 1968. Their menu reflects the best traditions of Cucina Romana,” he says. … Roadside Attractions’ Howard Cohen, his husband and their son visited Spain. “Our son, who is 15, planned the trip. All Airbnbs and intense sightseeing, since I’ve never been. The highlight was all the Gaudi architecture, especially La Sagrada Familia. I didn’t really know that architecture really well and it’s stunningly beautiful.” … Warner Bros.’ Ann Sarnoff went skiing with family in Arosa, Switzerland. “It’s a couple hours outside Zurich. We just thought we’d try European skiing for a change.”

Mexico

Brian Grazer, his wife, Veronica, and his nephew Jack were in San Miguel de Allende, where Veronica snapped her husband “perfecting his corn grinding technique to make our lunch.” Veronica later posted that they travelled on to a working ranch and hotel near Colima called Hacienda de San Antonio, a former estate of Sir James Goldsmith. “No one we knew had heard of it so we took that as a good sign that we should check it out,” she wrote.

Tahiti

Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher traveled with his wife to Tahiti, where he shot The Bounty 37 years ago with Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins and Daniel Day-Lewis. “I was just 17 years old, an actor. I went back looking for my youth. I couldn’t find it, but I got a good sun tan and got really relaxed.” … NBCUniversal’s Jeff Shell went to Bora Bora. “First time ever. It’s not that far and it’s pretty good!” he says.

India

WarnerMedia’s Robert Greenblatt was in Northern India. “It was a whole new experience,” he says. “It’s an incredible country filled with many contradictions but it was beautiful — [especially] the Taj Mahal and all that goes with that.”

Washington State

Kyle MacLachlan, his wife, Full Picture CEO Desiree Gruber, and their son hit an original filming location of Twin Peaks and visited Mount Rainier National Park for the first time. Says MacLachlan: “We’re big national park supporters, and being from the Northwest, this was a special one!”

Source: HollywoodReporter