By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
July 27, 2010
While “Twilight” fans may refer to themselves as Team Edward or Team Jacob, “True Blood” aficionados are all about the new werewolf in town: Alcide Herveaux. Joe Manganiello plays the sexy lycanthrope in the third season of the vampire series, which airs on HBO. (The first two seasons of the drama are available on DVD on HBO Home Video.) Born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, the 33-year-old actor who once earned a living as a roadie for the rock band Goldfinger now calls Los Angeles home. As for his next destination, Europe, where he has never visited, is calling him.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. I love Australia. (There are) big metropolitan cities pressed up against beautiful beaches, a relaxed European style, music, cuisine, there’s no language barrier and no one honks their car horns. It’s the best of all worlds.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. I’ve been getting away to Las Vegas quite a bit recently for the HBO boxing events, which are a blast! It has also given me the chance to see the Cirque du Soleil shows, which completely blow my mind, by the way, and eat at some amazing restaurants. San Diego is a town I really love. If I didn’t need to live in L.A. right now for work, I could definitely see myself living there. Julian (Calif.) is a charming and historically preserved gold mining town up in the mountains about an hour outside of San Diego that I love. There is a line of pie shops there that all serve fresh baked hot apple pie. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon. Make sure you stop to check out the views on your way out of town.
Q. What are your favorite hotels and restaurants?
A. The London NYC hotel (www.thelondonnyc.com) in New York really impressed me when I stayed there last year. I also really loved staying at the Four Seasons (www.fourseasons.com) in Las Vegas on one of my most recent trips. You really can’t beat their amenities. The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas (www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas) was also extremely impressive, especially their restaurant Twist. Dinner was like being a judge on “Iron Chef.” It was amazing! Also I wholeheartedly recommend La Concha Resort (www.laconcharesort.com) in Puerto Rico. Gorgeous! My favorite restaurants are generally old school steakhouses like The Palm Restaurant (www.thepalm.com), Mastro’s (www.mastrosrestaurants.com) and Delmonico’s (www.delmonicositaliansteakhouse.com) — places with career waiters and menus you just can’t go wrong with.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. I always bring two suits for dinners and events, plenty of extra contact lenses and my workout gear.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. San Juan, Puerto Rico; Sydney, Australia; Melbourne, Australia; Charleston, S.C., and New York City.
Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A. I always look into the art scene wherever I go, whether it’s plays, music shows, museums, exhibits, Cirque du Soleil shows, etc.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. I’d love to see the pyramids in Egypt and stay in a hut above the water in Bora Bora. I’ve also never made time to go to Europe, which I’m slightly embarrassed by… so Sicily, Rome, Venice and London are all at the top of my list.
Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A. Best? I had a magical experience the last time I was in Julian. My worst was getting sick from some bad chicken in Sayulita, Mexico.
Q. How do you try to fit in when you’re a tourist?
A. It’s kind of tough. I’m 6-foot, 5-inches tall and pretty big with long hair and a beard so I really can’t hide, unless I was visiting like a lumberjack camp in Norway or something.
© 2010 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
