PRIYANKA PERIERA

MUMBAI, MAY 5 : News of this foreign tourist’s visit to Goa should bring some cheer to authorities in the beach paradise: Hollywood star Meg Ryan, famous for her roles in such superhits as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, spent about a week enjoying the summer sun in March even as the state was struggling to cope with the battering it got after the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling.

In fact, so low profile and uneventful was her visit that it almost went unnoticed until she presented her credit card after splurging on Indian designer wear at Wendell Rodricks’s boutique in Panaji.

Ryan came to Goa with her three-year-old adopted daughter, her nanny and an unidentified male friend. After staying at another hotel, she checked into the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa in Cansaulim in South Goa on March 24.

“She came to the hotel along with her daughter and two other women and asked for a room at the front desk. But nobody at the front desk recognised her until somebody in the lobby identified her as Meg Ryan,” a Hyatt spokesperson told The Indian Express.

During her five-day stay, the 46-year-old star visited Panaji and the churches of Old Goa. “She also wanted to visit temples but her daughter fell a little ill. She also shopped at Wendell Rodricks’s boutique and at Souzas,” the spokesperson added.

Ryan, who has made a mark in romantic comedies, spent most of her time at the hotel, visiting the spa a couple of times. But she seems to have loved the food, trying out all the restaurants and cuisines at the hotel and especially appreciating the Italian and Goan fare.

Her love for Indian designer wear took her to Rodricks’ store in Panaji on March 25. She became the latest Hollywood celebrity to step in there after Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Dressed in a simple mul tee, white trousers and slippers, she looked rather simple, according to Rodricks’ salesgirls.

“My salesgirls couldn’t even recognise her, thanks to the way she was dressed in a pretty ordinary manner. Only when she handed over her credit card did they realise that it was Meg Ryan,” said Rodricks, sighing at the thought that he missed meeting her as he was not around.

She picked up eight pieces, mostly whites, which included long dresses with a bit of beadwork and some smart tunics. She also picked up a couple of satin numbers and printed scarves. “It was basically resort wear which she could wear in her hometown LA as well,” said Rodricks.

Once they realised who their customer was, so enamoured were Rodricks’s staff that they even forgot to get her autograph on the change room wall, which is some kind of a graffiti board. Sheryl Pinto, one of the salesgirls, said she found Ryan to be extremely friendly and down to earth.

editor@expressindia.com