Ah! Am extremely agitated. Or, as you can now set your status on Facebook, #FeelingAgitated. I had been reading the Inferno (by Dan Brown) all day, and I realise, with much pain, that we didn’t see even a fraction of the Florence that the guy has mentioned in his book!!! We had been to Florence in the summer of 2011 and had stayed there two days, consoling ourselves that the 48 hours were enough for the famed Academia with it’s prized David, Uffizi Gallery, Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, the Cathedrals and the Cafes. Well, no. Or so it seems. For, when you read all that Dan Brown has written about Firenze, you are awe-struck and also struck by the ardent wish to visit the city of Renaissance once again. And promise yourself that instead of Rick Steves’, you will have Dan Brown to guide you through the spectacular history of the place next time round.
Come to think of it, there is already a ‘Da Vinci’ tour of the Vatican. Imagine what a best-seller can do to a place of tourist interest. Will not be surprised if they already have a packed tour for Florence and Venice post the release of Inferno. I say, such mentions (and as elaborate and accurate as Dan Brown’s) do so much good to a place’s/city’s/country’s tourism. Well don’t you agree with me? Here are a few examples of movies that went a long way in promoting a place:
• Look at how Yash Chopra made Switzerland the honeymoon destination for those Indian who can afford it. So much so that the Swiss government has honoured him time and again for his ‘invaluable’ service.
• When we went to Jaiselmer some 9 years ago, our guide there told us that Satyajit Ray’s movie, Sonar Kella, had played a big role in bringing the distant Rajasthani town to the visitor’s itinerary.
• And then of course is James Bond’s not-so-great Octopussy. We are planning to go to Udaipur for an extended weekend, and upon studying the must-sees and must-dos, I have come across many references to the 007 movie of the eighties that had been extensively shot in Udaipur.
• Kashmir, Darjeeling were the favourite haunts of Indian film-makers in the 50s-60s era.
Time to get back to my book as it now starts traversing Venice. Am sure I will again feel that ‘we had seen nothing of Venice’. What dilemma!! Or as the Italians would put it, essere di fronte a un dilemma !!!
WheelsOnOurFeet 