When Olivia Ruiz began to feel fed up with the French capital, she decided to take her family to a city very different from Paris. And the 46-year-old singer felt particularly good there…
Olivia Ruiz, who published her third novel Vamoswas inspired by several places to set the scene for her book, including a city where she recently settled for a few months to escape Paris…
Olivia Ruiz, this place where she took refuge with her family: “I couldn’t take Paris anymore”
The singer, now 46, imagined the character of Lola for her novel, who makes six trips to six different places, including Madrid. The Spanish capital is a place that is particularly dear to the heart of the former Star Academy semi-finalist, since she took up residence there for a few months with her family in order to recharge her batteries.
“I couldn’t stand Paris anymore, so when I finished the book, I moved the family to Madrid for three months.“, she told West Francespecifying that this experience had been “fantastic for everyone“. Olivia Ruiz had offered her partner Nicolas Preschey and their son Nino, 10 years old, several choices of destination such as Barcelona or Seville, and they opted for the Spanish capital.
The interpreter of The chocolate woman had particularly enjoyed this period away from Parisian life… and the hardest part was leaving Spain! “I feel light here, I don’t know why (…) Perhaps these details: the familiarity, the warmth, the ‘my darling’, ‘my treasure'”she detailed in La Tribune Sunday. And added: “I would have stayed longer“.
Where does Olivia Ruiz live? “When you come from the provinces, it’s the perfect neighborhood”
When she is not traveling with her family, Olivia Ruiz lives in Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. A place that thrills her, especially when she thinks of the rich history of this neighborhood. “I think of the cobblestones, of the ghosts of the singers of the 1940s or 1950s, we see their faces when we pass by the cafes and brasseries“, she explained to Parisian.
In addition, the native of Carcassonne, who could see herself coaching The Voicefeels reassured in the little winding and colorful streets of Montmartre: “I think that when you come from the provinces, especially from the south of France, it’s the ideal neighborhood. The buildings are on a human scale“. She couldn’t see herself living in any other place in Paris: “There is a neighborhood life that does not exist everywhere, a very particular authenticity. You have to wait, show your credentials for a certain time, and then you are definitely adopted.“.
