ANTHONY HOROWITZ'S SEVEN WONDERS
The writer of the bestselling Alex Rider series, and many episodes of "Midsomer Murders", "Foyle's War" and "Poirot", picks his favourite places
From INTELLIGENT LIFE magazine, January/February 2014
VIEW Over the River Alde from Orford, Suffolk (below)
This one is easy: it's the view from my study in a little house we have in Orford, where I often go to work. I have three windows in front of my desk and a 360° view, and what I see is the river, this shingle spit opposite—and a landscape full of mystery. In the distance there are Japanese pagodas, constructed in the second world war. To the far left we have Orford lighthouse, which has been blinking away for over 100 years but is about to fall into the sea; it makes me so sad to think that. It is a landscape where smugglers arrived, where a merman has been seen. It is said that UFOs have been regularly spotted in the vicinity. When I finally reach my last weeks on this planet, I will go and sit in bed in front of that window, and when I close my eyes for the last time, I won't be too sorry.
This one is easy: it's the view from my study in a little house we have in Orford, where I often go to work. I have three windows in front of my desk and a 360° view, and what I see is the river, this shingle spit opposite—and a landscape full of mystery. In the distance there are Japanese pagodas, constructed in the second world war. To the far left we have Orford lighthouse, which has been blinking away for over 100 years but is about to fall into the sea; it makes me so sad to think that. It is a landscape where smugglers arrived, where a merman has been seen. It is said that UFOs have been regularly spotted in the vicinity. When I finally reach my last weeks on this planet, I will go and sit in bed in front of that window, and when I close my eyes for the last time, I won't be too sorry.
JOURNEY Route 1 Waterbus from Venice Station to the LidoWhat you've got here is just a public bus. It's not a beautiful wooden taxi, it's not for rich people; anyone can take it. You pay €7 for a one-hour ticket, and if you're clever, you get the seat at the front. Over the next 40 minutes, you go down the greatest waterway in the world and see the most astonishing array of buildings and bridges and life. And once you get to the Lido, you can turn round and come straight back again, which is what I tend to do. It's the equivalent of sitting on the Circle Line, only prettier. I've done it with my boys and they were gobsmacked.
HOTEL Colombe d'Or, Saint-Paul-de-VenceI go to an awful lot of hotels on book tours and don't generally love them: those depressing corridors with 30 identical doors—it's the stuff of nightmares. My favourite hotel in the world couldn't be more different. The Colombe d'Or is unique, it's like a guesthouse. It's where I go with my family to hide from the South of France. Picasso stayed there, and Matisse and Miró, and they all left pictures behind that are hanging on the walls for all to see. Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a rather noisy, touristy place, but once you pass through the wall into this hotel, you are in this extraordinary little world that harks back to older times. To eat Sunday lunch on the terrace with fresh produce from the garden is one of life's great treats. There's only one problem: it's almost impossible to get in.
CITY Sydney (top)
Every time I go to Sydney I feel happy. It's a miracle of natural and man-made beauty: the confluence of the harbour, the bridge, the opera house and the botanical gardens. On top of that, it's a lovely city to walk in and whenever I've been there the climate has been perfect for sitting outside. I love the friendliness of Sydney; it doesn't feel like a stressful city, to a visitor, anyway. The food is excellent, the shopping varied, and there are lots of different areas that you can go to—some smart, some shabby. But the best thing is that it just gets on with its own life. I like sitting by the harbour, drinking coffee and watching the ferries come in and out. They crash into the quayside and people are shouting and commuters are getting off and it's all just happening under the sun, and I sit there thinking it's a very modern city, but it feels perfect.
Every time I go to Sydney I feel happy. It's a miracle of natural and man-made beauty: the confluence of the harbour, the bridge, the opera house and the botanical gardens. On top of that, it's a lovely city to walk in and whenever I've been there the climate has been perfect for sitting outside. I love the friendliness of Sydney; it doesn't feel like a stressful city, to a visitor, anyway. The food is excellent, the shopping varied, and there are lots of different areas that you can go to—some smart, some shabby. But the best thing is that it just gets on with its own life. I like sitting by the harbour, drinking coffee and watching the ferries come in and out. They crash into the quayside and people are shouting and commuters are getting off and it's all just happening under the sun, and I sit there thinking it's a very modern city, but it feels perfect.
BEACH Galleon Bay, Antigua
I've never really got the point of beaches; getting sandy and salty and being far away from a comfortable seat and a nice drink doesn't do it for me. But I do love Galleon Bay. It's got everything a beach should have: white sand, palm trees, of course, a broken-down jetty, the smell of rum and the sound of steel drums. And because it's opposite Monserrat, you get the most amazing cloud formations coming out of the volcano. Best of all, it has no pedalos, no water sports, no noise. I like to walk along it and think and sit on the jetty and look at the clouds.
I've never really got the point of beaches; getting sandy and salty and being far away from a comfortable seat and a nice drink doesn't do it for me. But I do love Galleon Bay. It's got everything a beach should have: white sand, palm trees, of course, a broken-down jetty, the smell of rum and the sound of steel drums. And because it's opposite Monserrat, you get the most amazing cloud formations coming out of the volcano. Best of all, it has no pedalos, no water sports, no noise. I like to walk along it and think and sit on the jetty and look at the clouds.
BUILDING The Industrial Promotion Hall, Hiroshima (above)There is no building I have ever seen that has affected me more. It tells of the worst and the best of humanity. The worst in that it is all that was left by the A-bomb that fell in 1945; the best because it now sits in a beautifully laid-out peace park. Hiroshima now—the museum, park and this building—is not about retribution, but about the desire for peace. Built in April 1915, to a design by the Czech architect Jan Letzel, the hall was used for cultural activities. Now it's surrounded by a wire fence, but is still enormously affecting. It resonates somehow: when you see it, you've seen it before; when you walk around it, you know you've been there. It is all that survived the bomb, yet is perfectly preserved—a twisted, broken, empty shell of a building that is still recognisable, and something everyone should see.
WORK OF ART Bernini's David, Villa Borghese, Rome
This is one of my favourite galleries and one of my favourite pieces. I first saw it when I was in my teens, on my first visit to Rome. The statue is extraordinary because I don't understand how it is possible to turn a great chunk of marble into something so alive and so involving. It's drama in stone. It's also a photograph of the moment before David releases his sling to kill Goliath. As you stand there, David looks past you, so you imagine Goliath behind you and you become part of what is happening. If I was given a lump of marble, after a few hours all you would have is a pile of pebbles; with Bernini, you get David.
This is one of my favourite galleries and one of my favourite pieces. I first saw it when I was in my teens, on my first visit to Rome. The statue is extraordinary because I don't understand how it is possible to turn a great chunk of marble into something so alive and so involving. It's drama in stone. It's also a photograph of the moment before David releases his sling to kill Goliath. As you stand there, David looks past you, so you imagine Goliath behind you and you become part of what is happening. If I was given a lump of marble, after a few hours all you would have is a pile of pebbles; with Bernini, you get David.
Anthony Horowitz was talking to Samantha Weinberg. "Russian Roulette", his latest novel, is published by Walker Books
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