Traveling through cinema

Many years ago, in preparation for my first trip to Western Europe, I read a lot of travel books and searched the Web like any eager tourist.  But nothing excited me more than travelling and learning through cinema.

I didn’t turn to jetsetting James Bond because explosions in piazzas and gunfights in museums were least inspiring and appetizing.  The movies I researched on were mostly guilty pleasures.  A lot of romance and chocolate box-photography.  There had to be magical moments that were worth recreating, like eating gelato on the Spanish Steps a la Audrey in Roman Holiday. 

Cruising through the Seine like Goldie and Woody in Everybody Says I Love You.  

Riding the gondola through Venetian canals like those lovestruck kids in A Little Romance.

Booking a room that has a view of the Duomo in Firenze like Bonham-Carter’s in A Room With A View.

Reading a book in a London park like Hugh and Julia in Notting Hill (actually there was nothing there).

I dream of going to that part of the world again, soon!  Must save up and take a break from the worrying world of advertising.  While I love my new place, it’s only a few blocks from my place of work, and that’s claustrophobia 24/7.

The most I could do now is to take that trip without getting off the couch.  From my bedroom in Makati, the best way to see the Paris that I love most is through Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Paris, Je T'Aime (2006).

I want to see Prague, too.  But I can only think of a James Bond movie - Casino Royale - that had Prague as a backdrop.  Oh, well.  Bond also does romance; so that will do.