Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Derek Luke
Q. Have you traveled to a place that stood out so much that you felt compelled to incorporate it into your work?
A. Traveling is like using seasoning in your cooking. Your taste buds never are the same. The place that most stands out is London. I love the way Europeans follow fashion, where the gents are well groomed and understand good taste. I'm incorporating that into the movie I'm doing, "Jack Johnson," because Jack Jackson had the passport of imagination.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. Eugene, Oregon, with my family! It's a great getaway -- green, fresh air and beautiful mountains. The locals are so friendly and there's clean tap water! My brothers-in-law harvest their own meat. And it's also got the best beef jerky in the world!
Q. What are your favorite hotels?
A. I define a hotel by the bed and its service. The Four Seasons (http://www.fourseasons.com/) is on my top tier, a home away from home. My family and I loved the five-star accommodations and services at the Four Seasons Maui. We were left wanting for nothing. We also stayed at the Atlantis in Dubai (https://www.atlantisthepalm.com/). The city skyline and architecture were majestic!
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. When I think of home, I think about family, food and friends. There are a couple of vacation spots that have embraced this culture. One is Italy. Food is such a part of their love language. Being hungry is something they're not willing to let you be. While filming "Miracle at St. Anna" with Spike Lee, I was sitting in a village in Florence between takes. A sweet elderly woman started raising her voice at me as I ate lunch. I thought I was trespassing. I asked someone to translate what she was saying. He said she wanted to know if I wanted bread with the food I was eating.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. Egypt has always been a place that I have wanted to go to. The mysteries of the pyramids and early civilization intrigue me. I'm so fascinated with the intelligence the people used to create those pyramids and also one of the earlier birthplaces of mathematics. They also mastered how to embalm a body.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. Dental floss and my Spotify!
Q. What are your favorite restaurants?
A. One of my favorite restaurants is Houston's (http://www.hillstone.com/houstons/). And Acqua AL2 (http://acquaal2dc.com/dinner/
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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)
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