Dr Eva Orsmond
What’s your earliest holiday memory?
A holiday to Italy with my mother when I was five. It’s where my love for Italy started. I was a little blonde girl, so they would all call “Ciao bella” to me. But when I’d come back to Finland nobody would say anything. So I started to love Italy! I studied there, have very good friends there, and I hope one day to retire there.
What was your worst holiday?
I had a bad experience on a Nile cruise in Egypt with my mother. We had taken our best outfits with us and hung them up in our cabin. But suddenly the air conditioning started to push out a black ash (not just smoke). So there was black oily stuff all over our clothes and quite a few were destroyed. It was very scary and since we were from Finland we did not have trust in this Egyptian boat. My mother refused to sleep, so we had to stay up all night. The next day we changed boat. But overall it was a great holiday!
What was your best holiday?
When I went to Mauritius for a month. One of the highlights was getting my scuba diving certificate. I’ll never forget my first time under water, which I found scary initially but it was worth it. Seeing all the fish was an amazing experience.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?
Definitely a trip to the Seychelles. I’ve heard so much about it – the vegetation, the animals and I’d like to go scuba diving there.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?
I’d have to say my husband – I’m not wussy but we are good friends and have a great relationship.
What’s your favourite place in Ireland?
Djouce Woods in Co Wicklow near my home. I go there to walk my dogs and go mountain biking. It’s quite a lovely place and is near Powerscourt Waterfall, which you can see from it.
Your recommended holiday reading?
I always buy a huge amount of women’s magazines at the airport, much to my husband’s annoyance. I like to strip pages of recipes from them and have piles of papers around the house – and have to tell him not to touch them. I like to catch up on the latest gossip as I don’t have time when I am at home and working. I might also bring a medical book on weight loss research or an obesity journal.
Where will you go to next?
I’m going back to Finland. My boys are there at the moment. They are having the warmest weather in more than 70 years. Unusually, the lake temperature is 27 degrees and the sea is 22 degrees, so I’m looking forward to it. The crayfish season is also starting in Finnish lakes – it’s a gourmet food there and one of the highlights for tourists.
- Dr Eva Orsmond is a medical doctor who runs the Orsmond Clinics treating those who are overweight. She features in Take on the Takeaway,on at 8.30pm on Wednesdays on RTÉ1.
In conversation with
GENEVIEVE CARBERY