My Favourite Holiday: Alice Faye
Singer-songwriter Alice Faye, BBC Introducing’s 2026 Scottish Act Of The Year winner, recalls a trip to Spain that proved both healing and hilarious
A holiday that meant a lot to me would probably be the one I spent four years ago in Madrid with my friend Flora. I’d gone through my first proper heartbreak that year and felt very deeply that I had lost myself. The weather in Madrid was over 40 degrees the entire time. For some reason, we didn’t bother trying to go for siestas and instead opted for heat-induced walks and swims at the outdoor community pool, creating a shared madness that meant we spent most of our days laughing silently to ourselves.
As the week progressed, I spoke properly to Flora about what had happened to me that year. Her decisive opinions made me feel assured. Even more, I was reminded that I was still Flora’s funny and self-possessed friend. We shopped, had picnics and went to a very immersive Gustav Klimt exhibit. I slowly started to remember who Alice was: how she dressed, how she joked, how she smoked, loved food, loved laughing and loved psychoanalysing.
A particular highlight would be the evening we spent on the balcony with ice packs in various unseemly positions. There was something so hilariously tragic about our attempts to cool ourselves down, so uninhibited and silly. My trip reminded me that life is about you and what you want to do, and not what others want for you. I’m so glad me and Flora did what we wanted to do for that week in Madrid in 2022.
Alice Faye tours the UK until Friday 18 September.
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