FILMS THAT GIVE ME SERIOUS WANDERLUST

I'm a huge wanderluster so you can understand why I love films about travel, they give me that big desire to want to drop everything, jump on a plane and travel the world. So here are my top 10 wanderlust films that inspire me to travel..


10. And While We Were Here

This movie is set in Naples, Italy which I would love to visit, I've been to Italy but Naples looks so lovely and this film really captures the beauty of Naples. Kate Bosworth plays a lonely wife lost in a dull relationship as she travels to Naples with her husband for his work. As he leaves her during the days to go to work, she explores Naples and ends up meeting a handsome, young American who totally changes her outlook on life. I love this movie as not only does it show beautiful Naples, but that travelling and meeting new people can totally change you for the better.

9. Hector and the Search for Happiness

Simon Pegg drew me to this film because I love him and also the fact its about travelling. Simon Pegg plays a psychiatrist who is tired of his boring life and decides to travel the world and search for what makes people happy (aka searching for his own happiness). In doing so he travels to so many amazing places including China, The Himalayas and Africa. I love that this film is a comedy with some serious parts of the movie making you want to cry. I just love that this film teaches you that there is more to life then working 9-5 and happiness is only achieved when you go through unhappy times.



8. 127 hours

How can this film not give you wanderlust? The amazing shots of the Grand Canyon are insanely beautiful, especially the sunset ones. The Grand Canyon is definitely on my bucket list and watching this movie makes me desperately want to go. This film is so inspiring as James Franco brings to life the true ordeal Aron Ralston went through and at the end when he frees himself it shows you how he still follows his dreams climbing Mount Everest and living life to the full, that's so inspiring!


7. Lord of the Rings

New Zealand. The backdrop on Lord of the Rings is so amazing you just wish you could be on a journey too exploring the mountains and rivers of New Zealand. I can watch all three films in a day, and then I'll feel totally inspired to travel.


6. Tracks

This is about the true story of Robyn Davidson, a young woman who in 1977 undertook a perilous solo trek across the stunning Australian outback. Her family and friends think she's crazy when she tells them her plan and some even think she'll give up but this only makes her more determined and she does it with only four camels and her dog for company. It's so inspiring that she went through this tough journey and made it to the Indian Ocean rewarded with life changing self-discovery.


5. The Way

The way is about a doctor played by Martin Sheen who travels to France after his son dies during a storm while climbing the Pyrenees to walk The Camino de Santiago. Martin Sheen's character decides to retrieve his son's body but ends up making the journey in homage to his son. While walking The Camino de Santiago he meets other people from around the world who have became broken in some way too and are travelling the route to find meaning in their lives. I loved this movie it made me cry, made me laugh and inspired me so much.


4. Wild

This is the true story of Cheryl Strayed who hiked more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail all by herself. Cheryl starts the journey with no hope in her life anymore, but the determination to leave behind her broken marriage and destructive behaviour. It's so inspiring to see her going through tough times and terrifying moments and just keep going and ending the journey stronger and healed.



3. Lost in Translation

Bill Murray + Scarlett Johansson + Japan.. makes the best film ever! The film is set in Tokyo, Japan one of the places on my bucket list! Bill Murray plays an actor working in Japan but can't speak a word of Japanese, Scarlett Johansson is also there to support her husband who is also in Japan for work. Both are feeling lonely in Japan but when they meet they create a bond with each other and explore Japan together. I just love how this movie shows travelling can form unlikely bonds with people you would never think you'd be friends with if you were back home, it shows you can meet all kinds of people while travelling to another place.



2. Eat Pray Love

This is one of my all time favourite films! It's a true story about Elizabeth Gilbert who has a serious case of wanderlust but feels trapped in her broken marriage and job. She decides to leave it behind and go on a journey. She starts off in Italy to eat, then India to practice meditation and find her spiritual side and then Bali to love! She makes new friends along the way, rediscovers herself and becomes a stronger person. This film inspired me so much and i would love to take the same journey too one day! Also if you love the film i definitely recommend the book, it's even better!


1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is my favourite travel film ever! Whenever I want to feel inspired I watch this movie. It stars Ben Stiller who's my absolute fave and he plays Walter Mitty who is a bit of a daydreamer which I can totally relate to and deep down he wishes for a more exciting life rather than his daily job at Life magazine. In desperation to keep his job he needs to retrieve the picture for the cover of the final issue, in order to do this Walter travels to Greenland to find the photographer to get the photo. During his journey he leaves his comfort zone and jumps out of a helicopter into the ocean and fights off a shark, skateboards around Iceland, runs away from a volcanic eruption and climbs the Himalayas. After his journey Walter comes back a changed man, feeling more alive and happy. I love this movie so much, it inspired me to travel to Iceland one day and also to do more exciting things in life and really live it to the full.

PARIS

When deciding where to go for my birthday I chose Paris, I haven't been since I was so young so I thought what better way to celebrate my birthday than Paris??

We firstly got the train to London and as we love London so much we decided to stay over for one night and then get the train from St Pancras to Paris the next day. In London we had a night out in Leicester Square and got food at the restaurant Bills, I've always wanted to try there, it was really nice and affordable.

The next day we made our way to St Pancras station to get the train to Paris, the train was so comfortable and it didn't feel that long until we arrived in Paris. As soon as we arrived I was in love, there are so many cute and quirky restaurants and I love how everyone drives scooters everywhere.

Before we checked into our hotel we grabbed some lunch from a modern looking restaurant, that spoke really good English and had free Wifi, bonus!!

We then arrived at our hotel, which was really posh, it had a 1950's feel to it with gorgeous décor. I loved the double windows in Paris. I was constantly looking out of them in our hotel room at the busy streets below.

Once we dropped off our bags we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. The Arc de Triomphe was cool to see as it's so iconic, there were so many tourists taking pictures and standing in the middle of the road to take the best picture.

We then made our way to the Eiffel Tower, as soon as I saw it when we came round a corner I got emotional, it was so pretty and felt so surreal as I've seen it in so many pictures and films it didn't feel real to be looking at it. We stood for a while taking pictures of it and managed to catch the light show, it looked so lovely, i'm glad we went when it was dark to see the lights!

We found a lovely restaurant near the Eiffel Tower so got some food before we went up the Eiffel Tower as we were starving, we had some pasta which was really nice and the waiters are so friendly. We then made our way back to the Eiffel Tower and waited in line for our ticket, it wasn't that much of a wait, maybe half an hour? But for us it was worth it for the experience.

We decided to take the lift up to all three floors, as the weather was quite windy I think they closed the stairs that day. It cost 17 euros each which wasn't too bad. We made our way to the first floor and admired the view and then made our way up to the second floor and then the third floor. I'm not scared of heights but when the lift was going up to the third floor it made creaky noises and when you look out the windows you can see how high you are going which made me a little anxious. Once we got to the top floor it really is crazy how high it is and it's so cold up there and windy but the view is incredible, the lights of the city looked so amazing at night. You could also get champagne at the top but it looked a little pricey so we didn't, it was so windy up there anyway i'd probably have spilled half of my champagne.

After the Eiffel Tower, we walked around the shops like the Galeries Lafayette and Print Temps which reminded me a lot of Harrods in London. They had all the Christmas decorations too and a Star Wars window display which was cool!

While walking through the streets we kept getting asked for directions and if we spoke English as people kept thinking we were French. We also got asked by a Fashion blogger if we could talk about Paris fashion for her video blog! If only I spoke French..

The next day we went to the Louvre museum, I love love loveeee museums so I couldn't wait. The queue wasn't that long so we got inside quite quickly. It's free for under 25's so I had to show my passport for each section. I didn't realise how big the museum was going to be, it is huge! We got so lost in there and I really wanted to see the Mona Lisa and Aphrodite but it takes so long trying to find them.

We finally found the Mona Lisa as we followed the crowds, when you step in front of it though you kind of wonder what all the fuss is about. I admire the fact it was created by the genius Leonardo da Vinci but it's smaller than I imagined and it's also nothing special, there are so many other more amazing paintings in the museum which deserve recognition.

After the museum we headed to Notre Dame, grabbing an egg and tuna crepe on the way which I'd never had before, I always see crepes as a sweet thing not savoury but it was delish! We finally made it to Notre Dame, it's such a beautiful building I love the gothic feel it has.

I loved the area around Notre Dame it had lots of cute shops and you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We had a little walk around and searched for a macaroon shop as I LOVE macaroons so had to try actual French ones. I got some from a shop called Les Marquis de Laduree near the Eiffel Tower, it was so posh, surrounded by designer shops. The macaroons were expensive, I got a box of 6 for 17 euros but they were the most amazing macaroons I've ever had and you have a choice of so many flavours.

Paris is now one of my favourite cities, I can't wait to go back. Au Revoir for now Paris...

ITALY PART FOUR - Venice

Venice is one of my absolute dream places to go so I just couldn't contain my excitement on the bus from Lake Garda to Venice which was about a 2 hour journey, I slept the whole way there as it was so early in the morning. It was also the hottest day since we'd been in Italy.

Once we arrived in Venice we then had to get a water taxi to get to the actually city. As the water taxi was getting closer to the city I got so excited seeing all the old buildings, the taxi was quite quick and we finally arrived. It felt so surreal to be in Venice, it is absolutely gorgeous, the buildings are so amazing and it helped that the weather was so nice too.

We got something to eat, some places can be quiet expensive so make sure to look at the menu's before you go in, after we ate we then began exploring, Venice is quite old fashioned, it has a 1950's feel to it as it has a lot of jazz/blues bars. I loved it, I felt like I was on a movie set, it was too surreal it didn't feel like a real place.

Every street is filled with music, people playing the violin, people singing opera, people playing guitar, a band were playing their music inside a clothes shop. There were lots of artists painting in the streets too, selling their art and the buildings looked like works of art, there was so much detail in the buildings. I loved how Venice is filled with music and art around every corner.

You can easily get lost in Venice, there are so many alley ways and turns and even though you try to remember the bridges you went across, they all near enough look the same. We got lost for quite a while trying to make our way back to St Marks Square.

We then decided to take a ride on a gondola to explore more of the city. The drivers were so lovely and have a great sense of humour, our driver even entertained us with some lovely singing! You see a lot more of Venice on a gondola, we noticed a lot of hotels entrances were on the canals so people had to get water taxis or gondolas to get to there hotels. I definitely recommend it even though it's a little pricey its worth it as you see a lot more and you will have the experience of going on one, I will always remember it.

People always complain about the smell in Venice, but I honestly didn't find it that bad, some parts smelled a little like sewage but it wasn't anything you couldn't handle, you hardly noticed it really.

Venice really comes alive at night, everywhere has something going on. Every bar has entertainment and a great atmosphere I really didn't want to leave but our taxi back was leaving at 11pm so we couldn't fully enjoy Venice's night life, maybe next time.

ITALY PART THREE - Verona

So one of the places I was really excited to see in Italy was Verona. Have you seen the film Letters to Juliet? Well it's set in Verona and it's one of my favourites so this was another reason i was looking forward to going, especially to see Juliet's balcony.

We got the bus to Verona from Lake Garda which was about an hour away. When we arrived we didn't know where to get off or where the city centre was so we got off anywhere. We ended up getting lost so had to buy a map from a little shop which helped us find where we needed to go.

We made it to Juliet's balcony which was packed with people, it was so busy! There were queues to get a picture taken on Juliet's balcony and queues to get a picture taken with the Juliet statue. It was such a pretty place though, it felt so romantic with the wall of love letters and love locks. Me and Michael bought a lock, wrote our names and the date and locked it onto the wall.

We then made our way to the Colosseum which was so amazing, I was so fascinated with how old it is and how big! I kept imagining how it was used by the romans so many years ago.

Read my next Italy blog: Italy Part Four - Venice 

Read Part One and Part Two of my trip.