On Tour in Italy and Greece

YouTube is a great resource for travel videos.  There are numerous promotional videos prepared by EF Tours that give you an overview of things to see and do on various tours.  The video above was done by a student from Winnipeg who traveled to Italy and Greece in April 2012 with EF tours. The video is not produced by EF but it does include some of the locations   which we will be visiting on our tour including Rome, Pompeii, Athens, Santorini and Kusadasi.  There are also photos of the  ferry crossing from Italy to Greece and we will  be taking a similar ferry from Greece to Italy.  Also included is the cruise ship (we will probably be traveling with the same cruise line or a similar cruise ship), a Greek Evening (which we have booked in Athens) and photos of hotels and restaurants that will be similar to what we can expect on our tour.

Movies You Might Want To Check Out

I have compiled a list of movies that are either filmed  or set in the three countries we will be visiting.  Some of them are available through Netflix but I would recommend also  checking at the Wheatland Library as well as online. There are also numerous travel videos available through the library and on youtube.  Some of my favourite movies are: Angels and Demons, Mama Mia, Troy, Gladiator and of course, European Vacation!!  I hope you will take the time to watch a couple of them or at least  check out some of the travel videos.

 Angels and Demons (PG-13): Angels and Demons, the movie based on the book by Dan Brown, is set in Rome and the Vatican.  Some of the locations in the movie that we may see on our tour are: Saint Peter's Square and Basilica, Castel Sant' Angelo, Piazza Navona and the Fountain of Four Rivers, the Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel. 

 Roman Holiday (PG): This is a 1953 film set in Rome, staring  Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.   

The Agony and the Ecstasy (PG): A 1965 biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.

 Pompeii: the Last Day: BBC Documentary is  a dramatized documentary that tells of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August 79 AD. available on YouTube.

My Life in Ruins (PG-13):  The film is about a tour guide whose life takes a personal detour, while her group gets entangled in comic situations among the ruins, with a series of unexpected stops along the way. (Set in Greece and filming locations include Delphi and Olympia) 

Gladiator (R rated): is a 2000 American-British epic historical drama film. (Language and Content warning)

Mama Mia (PG-13): a 2008 movie adapted from the Broadway Musical of the same name was filmed on an island in Greece.

To Rome With Love (R rated): is a magical realist,  romantic comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Woody Allen. The film is set in Rome, Italy.

Troy (R rated): is a 2004 epic war film loosely based on Homer's Iiad. Brad Pitt gave the Macquette Trojen Horse used in the film to  the Turkish town Canakkale. The city is the nearest major town to the site of ancient Troy. The "wooden horse" from the 2004 movie Troy is exhibited on the seafront.  We will be travelling through Canakkale.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (PG-13): is a 2001 action-packed movie which features many Greek locations, including the island of Santorini.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 1 (PG) and Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants  2 (PG-13): based on the novels by the same name were partially filmed in Santorini Greece.

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (PG): a 2003 comedy film based on Lizzy McGuire’s graduation trip to Rome.

European Vacation (PG-13): A  1985 comedy film about the Griswold  family’s misadventures while touring Europe.  Some of the movie involves scenes in Rome.

Argo (R rated): 2012 historical drama thriller won Best Picture of 2012. Some of the locations in the movie include the  Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

When in Rome (PG-13): a 2010 romantic comedy staring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel.  Movie takes place in Rome

When in Rome (G) : 2002 film with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen set in Rome.