cardbucfan Posted July 6, 2015 #1 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I'm going to post this in a couple of places to hit all the countries our Grand Med cruise is going to next May. One thing I like to do prior to visiting a new place is read books and watch movies based in those places so I'm looking for suggestions for movies based in Barcelona or books based there-preferably fiction! (I'm reading all the guide/travel books and websites I can find lol!) I've got Mamma Mia (even though it wasn't filmed in Athens or Mykonos!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitbat Posted July 6, 2015 #2 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I love Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books set in Barcelona. I'm reading Angel's Game right now and also loved Shadow of the Wind. For Greece, Corelli's Mandolin evokes place very well, though I didn't love the book. Here's a list I made for our roll call with my itinerary: ATHENS Connolly, Peter. The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome. History Davidson, James. Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. History Renault, Mary. The Last of the Wine. Historical fiction BARCELONA Hughes, Robert. Barcelona: The Great Enchantress. History Zafon, Carlos Ruiz. The Angel’s Game. Fiction CRETE Cottrell, Leonard. The Bull of Minos. History Renault, Mary. The King Must Die. Historical fiction FLORENCE/LIVORNO Brown, Dan. Inferno. Thriller Dunant, Sarah. The Birth of Venus. Historical fiction Brunelleschi's Dome. Art history Both of these fiction titles are excellent for sense of place. IZMIR/EPHESUS Koester, Helmut. Ephesos, Metropolis of Asia. History Mansel, Philip. The Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean. History MALTA Ball, David. The Sword and the Scimitar. Fiction Crowley, Roger. Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World. History Nicholson, Helen. The Knights Hospitaller. History MARSEILLE/PROVENCE Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Historical fiction Mayle, Peter. A Year in Provence. Memoir/travel NAPLES Beard, Mary. Fires of Vesuvius. History Montefiore, Santa. Last Voyage of the Valentina. Fiction RHODES Durrell, Lawrence. Reflections on a marine Venus. Travel/memoir ROME Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. Thriller McCullough, Colleen. The First Man in Rome. Historical fiction Graves, Robert. I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Historical fiction SICILY Maggio, Theresa. The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily. Memoir/Travel Phelps, Daphne. A House in Sicily. Memoir/Travel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardbucfan Posted July 6, 2015 Author #3 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I love Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books set in Barcelona. I'm reading Angel's Game right now and also loved Shadow of the Wind. For Greece, Corelli's Mandolin evokes place very well, though I didn't love the book. Here's a list I made for our roll call with my itinerary: ATHENS Connolly, Peter. The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome. History Davidson, James. Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. History Renault, Mary. The Last of the Wine. Historical fiction BARCELONA Hughes, Robert. Barcelona: The Great Enchantress. History Zafon, Carlos Ruiz. The Angel’s Game. Fiction CRETE Cottrell, Leonard. The Bull of Minos. History Renault, Mary. The King Must Die. Historical fiction FLORENCE/LIVORNO Brown, Dan. Inferno. Thriller Dunant, Sarah. The Birth of Venus. Historical fiction Brunelleschi's Dome. Art history Both of these fiction titles are excellent for sense of place. IZMIR/EPHESUS Koester, Helmut. Ephesos, Metropolis of Asia. History Mansel, Philip. The Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean. History MALTA Ball, David. The Sword and the Scimitar. Fiction Crowley, Roger. Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World. History Nicholson, Helen. The Knights Hospitaller. History MARSEILLE/PROVENCE Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Historical fiction Mayle, Peter. A Year in Provence. Memoir/travel NAPLES Beard, Mary. Fires of Vesuvius. History Montefiore, Santa. Last Voyage of the Valentina. Fiction RHODES Durrell, Lawrence. Reflections on a marine Venus. Travel/memoir ROME Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. Thriller McCullough, Colleen. The First Man in Rome. Historical fiction Graves, Robert. I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Historical fiction SICILY Maggio, Theresa. The Stone Boudoir: Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily. Memoir/Travel Phelps, Daphne. A House in Sicily. Memoir/Travel Wow! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe1500 Posted July 7, 2015 #4 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Here's a movie featuring Mykonos, "Shirley Valentine", that will make you want to head for the beach there. Offbeat and sweet comedy probably on DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbess Posted July 8, 2015 #5 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I loved Whit Stilman's movie, Barcelona. Its one of those wordy 90s indie movies that's set in Barcelona in the 80s. If you want to understand the Greek debt crisis, here's a must read longform article about it: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/10/greeks-bearing-bonds-201010 It was Michael Lewis' best article about the economic troubles in 2010, and his other articles were a bit of a letdown because his Greek story was great. And, then there's the memoir, Naples 44: A World War II Diary of Occupied Italy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillsjottings Posted July 8, 2015 #6 Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) I have a couple of movie nights planned before our cruise next year, I know these don't all apply to places you are visiting, but in case someone else is interested I have put them all here: Rome - "Gladiator" Barcelona - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Athens - "My life in Ruins" Naples and Rome - "Eat Pray Love" Santorini - "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" Athens & Istanbul - "A Touch of Spice" Amalfi Coast - "A Good Woman" Greece in general - "Mamma Mia" Edited July 8, 2015 by gillsjottings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardbucfan Posted July 8, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozscotart Posted July 8, 2015 #8 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sicily : "The leopard" Lampedusa Istanbul : "The bastard of Istanbul" Shafak Greek Islands : "My family and other animals" Durrell, set on Corfu but gives an insight into both the Greeks and the Durrells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted July 8, 2015 #9 Share Posted July 8, 2015 While it is non fiction Eleni is a great read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aramis Posted July 10, 2015 #10 Share Posted July 10, 2015 For me, every trip to Florence ends up with me reading A room with a view, also adore the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdooley Posted July 12, 2015 #11 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I love to watch any movies filmed in Europe! A few of my favorites were mentioned above, here are some more: 'Only You' staring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey JR covers most of Italy - Venice, Rome, Positano The last 30 seconds of 'Bourne Identity' was filmed in Mykonos - won't spoil anything! I believe part of the movie 'My Life in Ruins' was filmed in Valencia Spain. And some original Love Boat episodes! They did the Grand Med cruise and have been replaying recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searoses Posted July 31, 2015 #12 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Shirley valentine is the reason I am going to mykonos and i've waited over 20 yrs!.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scapel Posted August 1, 2015 #13 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I'm going to post this in a couple of places to hit all the countries our Grand Med cruise is going to next May. One thing I like to do prior to visiting a new place is read books and watch movies based in those places so I'm looking for suggestions for movies based in Barcelona or books based there-preferably fiction! (I'm reading all the guide/travel books and websites I can find lol!) I've got Mamma Mia (even though it wasn't filmed in Athens or Mykonos!). In 1999 on a cruise that stopped in Barcelona, we met up with a couple that had a Fodor's Guide book and we walked around finding all the quaint little Tapas bars following her book. It was great fun, While walking around on a side street from the Ramblas we had this interesting experience. http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=1149 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scapel Posted August 1, 2015 #14 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I love to watch any movies filmed in Europe! A few of my favorites were mentioned above, here are some more: 'Only You' staring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey JR covers most of Italy - Venice, Rome, Positano The last 30 seconds of 'Bourne Identity' was filmed in Mykonos - won't spoil anything! I believe part of the movie 'My Life in Ruins' was filmed in Valencia Spain. And some original Love Boat episodes! They did the Grand Med cruise and have been replaying recently. Interesting. Had my picture taken with Gavin Macleod years ago when he was promoting a Princess cruise out of Vancouver. I had to admit to him that unfortunately we were sailing on the Infinity. He was very gracious in allowing me to take a picture with him. Looking below it must have been 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scapel Posted August 1, 2015 #15 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I think I might have found and posted the picture. Very nice man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdooley Posted August 1, 2015 #16 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponstad Posted March 21, 2017 #17 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Found this thread from 2015 - just wondering if there are any other recommendations for books on Greece. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2+3Cruisers Posted April 11, 2017 #18 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I need to get reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5waldos Posted April 18, 2017 #19 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Oldies but goodies for Greece- Zorba the Greek and Never on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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