Tara Hitchcock, the Emmy Award-winning host of Harkins Theatres’ Behind the Screens and Tara’s Travels on 3TV, has made a living out of shooting the breeze with A-list actors. “I love talking about movies and I love talking to celebrities about travel, whether it’s Harrison Ford and I bonding over our recent scuba trips to the island of Bonaire or Tom Cruise talking about filming in Norway,” she says. “It’s always a fun icebreaker.” The adventurous TV personality has traveled to 51 countries – and counting. “Travel has always been my passion,” she says. She gives us the lowdown on her recent trip to the far-flung Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago between Iceland and Norway.
Guide to Faroe Islands
“A lot of the hikes are unmarked and they’re on private land, so you may need to pay to have a guide go with you,” Hitchcock says. She went with this local adventure company to explore the waterfalls, islets and fjords of Vágar, the third-largest of the region’s 18 islands. guidetofaroeislands.fo
Fiskastykkid
The Faroes are known for their fish, lamb and fermented foods. Hitchcock enjoyed “the best salmon salad I’ve ever had in my life” at this cozy café in the coastal city of Sandavágur on Vágar island. fiskastykkid.fo
Faer Isles Distillery
Hitchcock took a tour of this “really neat” distillery specializing in whiskey, gin, vodka and akvavit (an herbal Scandinavian spirit) fermented with seaweed and saltwater sourced directly from the North Atlantic Ocean on the island of Streymoy. “I loved their story of, ‘What makes us different and why would people want to come from all over the world to see us… What do we have that will separate us from everyone else?’” she says. “What they have is seawater and seaweed.” faer.io
Hanusarstova
This homestead overlooking the ocean on the island of Eysturoy was originally built in 1898. Ten years ago, Harriet Olafsdóttir and John av Gørðum renovated the farmhouse, planted potatoes, herbs and rhubarb on the property, accumulated a flock of sheep, horses and chickens, and began hosting tours, farm-to-table feasts and overnight guests via Airbnb. “There’s a word in Faroese that basically means ‘home hospitality,’” Hitchcock says. “It’s this whole concept of, ‘Since we’re so remote and can’t really see much of the world, we want to bring the world to us.’” hanusarstova.com
