‘Every place has sunshine on its best days’

Name: Mikaela Attard
Age: 18
Occupation: Singer/musician/songwriter

My best holiday ever…

That would definitely be my trip to Boston and New York in the US. To top it all off, I met some of the world’s greatest musicians at the well-respected Berklee College of Music, performed at several venues, found enough inspiration to pen and compose fresh tunes, went to numerous concerts and attended an endless list of recitals and performances at the college.

My dress dropped off while I was performing in South Africa

As for New York – if you’re a non-stop fun and live entertainment seeker like I am, then I found your red spot on the map.

I would never return to…

Every place has got bugs in its stomach or sunshine on its best days so I can’t really think of somewhere that was so bad that the great moments were cancelled out. Every trip is an adventure for me.

The most dangerous place I’ve visited…

Although your own home might be dangerous nowadays, I’d go for South Africa. I was there to perform at a music festival; everything was taken care of and I even had bodyguards walking me everywhere I wanted to go.

But when they picked us up from the airport, there seemed to be someone following us in a vehicle. I didn’t panic since we’re not really used to such crimes in Malta and I can be pretty passive at times; my attention was more focused on the scenery while listening to music through my headphones.

I only realised an attempted crime was about to occur when the van we were in started ‘flying’ at a break-neck speed. We were swerving into alternate side roadsand overtaking dozens of cars – that’s when I realised ‘dude, we’re in trouble’.

My favourite city…

New York, a place as dynamic as sound and as interesting as a limited edition LP. There are so many things to see and do, it is kind of crazy.

If New York is the place I’d choose to visit, Amsterdam would be the place I’d live – it’s the capital city of a free country in every way.

My most memorable experience on an aircraft…

Grab your Jack Daniels or your pint for this one… On our way back from London, feeling hassled and exhausted after a long stay and hectic school life, we had to spend an hour-and-a-half at check-in while a foreign ground hostess not only demanded an extortionate amount of money for our excess baggage, but also spouted an unnecessary amount of nonsense while mocking me with her colleague.

She allowed us to proceed to the waiting plane, but not without insisting I remove every single piece of metal I had on me, which seemed such a daunting task at the time.

Moments later we were on board with fastened seatbelts, ready to leave the nightmare behind. Suddenly we realised we didn’t have my mum’s handbag containing iPods, cameras, purses with credit cards, and tonnes of other pricey stuff.

Thankfully, I still had my mobile phone and a week later I received a text saying the bag had been found at Heathrow Airport, at a spot we had never been to!

My most treasured holiday souvenir…

The Hard Rock Café clothing collection that I have purchased from every country I have visited, and the wristbands from all the festivals I have been to.

My biggest gaffe abroad…

When my dress dropped off while I was performing in South Africa. I had lost a drastic amount of weight partly due to gastric flu and little did I realise that strapless dresses were no longer for me.

Suddenly the room shook for four seconds, bringing about a moment of astonished silence

The friendliest people…

Surely in America; people were saying to me all the time, “Oh hey lady, how are you feeling today?” It seemed moronicat first but then I got used to their ways and found it pretty sweet.

I never travel without...

My iPod, a classic rock magazine, chewing gum, make-up stuff and hair dye.

The taxi ride I will never forget…

The New York cab ride! I could only see quick glimpses of lights and other cabs, nothing else.

My all-time favourite holiday photo...

A shot at the Amsterdam Sex Museum. Please don’t see this as pornographic, but after a really boring boat trip (probably because we all took a nap) we needed something to spice up the day.

Well, it had to be me fooling around with those very well-sculptured figures…

An unforgettable hotel...

I’d go for the hotel we stayed at in New York’s China Town. It was on one hell of a smelly road just opposite the market, which I sprinted past every morning on an hour-and-a-half run.

One day we were in our room on the fourth floor, almost touching Manhattan bridge; me sending some e-mails, my sister on her laptop, mum doing her make-up and dad roaming about within the miniscule space we had, panicking as usual due to us being late.

Suddenly the room shook for four seconds, bringing about a moment of astonished silence.

The room then shook again for seven seconds, my dad panicking even more while the rest ofus continued to go about ourbusiness.

“Earthquake! We’re going to die!” my dad shouted. Mum: “Oh well, at least we’ll die together.” Dad: ‘But I don’t want to die!”

The tiny Chinese cleaner knocks and my dad opens the door: “Did you feel that?!” She bluntly replied: “Ya Clean? Wash?” My dad was making all kinds of body gestures in an attempt to explain. It was so funny.

I return most often to...

London. I’ve been there for recording sessions, singing lessons, shopping in Camden Town, visiting my uncle and friends, hanging out, gigging and attending concerts and gigs.

My ideal travel companion...

Ashton Kutcher wouldn’t be bad, would he? Mmm…

Country with the best cuisine...

That’s kind of a hard question for me to answer because all I look for is vegetables and fruit nowadays. I do try other food more frequently on holiday, however, so I think Italy ticks all the right boxes.

The restaurants on La Boulvard des Chanselise in Paris were also to my taste. And the US has every kind of restaurant you can imagine.

My next holiday plans…

Watching Black Sabbath. I can’t wait to shout my lungs out at their live concert in the coming months. I will then shred my throat apart launching my new music overseas later this year.

My dream trip…

Going around the world in 80 days with my best friends.

I partied hardest in…

I don’t really party… we mosh or head bang or rock whenever our splints are ignited. That happened at Sonisphere Festival a few years back. I remember my sister Yorika and I were in this mosh pit during the Anthrax gig and I could see myself being grabbed as Yorika faded away into the other ring. It was crazy and I’m glad to have came out alive!

My travel tip…

Never take a lot of stuff with you, you’re always going to buy something new. But save up and take a lot of cash, you’ll need it.