As the world is starting to slowly and cautiously open up again, Soap Hub started a new series where soap stars share their passion for travel, with helpful hints, thrifty recommendations, and spectacular memories of their time away. We continue this feature with General Hospital’s Kathleen Gati, who plays the always-entertaining Dr. Liesl Obrecht.
The Travels of Kathleen Gati
Soap Hub: Where is your dream place to visit?
Kathleen Gati: Singapore is somewhere at the top of my list. The architecture, food, sights, and sounds look so intriguing!
Soap Hub: What has been your favorite place you’ve visited so far and what inspired you to go there?
Kathleen Gati: Hungary, home to my parents and my roots, draws me back again and again.
Soap Hub: If someone else were to go there, what places/sites would you tell them they must be sure to see while there?
Kathleen Gati: There is so much to see and do in Budapest, as well as outside the city, both tourist areas and non-tourist areas. The Buda Castle, Heroes’ Square, the Baths, the Chain Bridge, the Parliament, the Central Market, the list is endless.
Soap Hub: What recommendations do you have for where to stay or where to go for food?
Kathleen Gati: Stay in an Airbnb or the K&K Opera Hotel. Centrally located. But there are many wonderful hotels. Depends on your budget. The Four Seasons is beautiful! Eat anywhere! Food is great everywhere!!
Soap Hub: Do you have any special travel tips for anyone planning on going there?
Kathleen Gati: Like anywhere, don’t flaunt your belongings. Always better to travel humbly. Be kind to everyone.
Soap Hub: How did traveling there make you feel?
Kathleen Gati: Like I was back at home with my family. Same language, same food, same behaviors I am used to from my childhood and family life.
Soap Hub: Did it change you at all?
Kathleen Gati: It always makes me nostalgic and feel like a little child again. Looking for my parents, (who have been gone a long time), looking for familiar things to bring me back to my childhood and my roots.
Soap Hub: When you travel, do you stick to a schedule and plan everything you want to see and do, in advance, or do you show up with little idea and just go with the flow?
Kathleen Gati: Go with the flow unless we have tickets to a concert or a show.
Soap Hub: Do you stick to tourist areas, or do you immerse yourself in the local traditions/cultures?
Kathleen Gati: Both, but really prefer local markets, the genuine culture of the people, their food, observing their way of life.
Soap Hub: How many suitcases do you bring? Are you a light packer or pack way more than necessary?
Kathleen Gati: [I am a] very light packer.
Soap Hub: Can you speak any languages fluently? Have you ever traveled somewhere where English wasn’t the primary language? If so, how did you navigate in the city and ask questions?
Kathleen Gati: I speak a few languages. And it has definitely proven to be extremely useful in many countries where English is not prevalent. But then there are places I’ve been to where I could not understand a single word! Could not read street signs, billboards, directions, or understand anything anyone said.
Soap Hub: Have you ever been on a solo vacation? If so, what is your biggest piece of advice?
Kathleen Gati: I’m not a solo traveler. Not my thing. I like to share an experience. But I admire people who enjoy their own company and prefer to be alone.
Soap Hub: The craziest food you have tried and where was it from?
Kathleen Gati: Back in Canada as a child, in Victoria, BC where I grew up, my family often went to a wonderful small Chinese restaurant we all loved. One time my mother asked for an “authentic” dish that the restaurant owner and his family would eat. The owner looked at my mother curiously. He asked her if she was sure, and she nodded enthusiastically! Shortly a large platter arrived, full of wonderful Chinese vegetables and…plenty of squid! Lots of little eyes staring up at us! We covered them with a napkin. And laughed our heads off! Never forgot that funny experience!! Careful what you wish for!
General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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