1. Channel your inner Nicolas Cage in the spirit of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
This scenario is suitable for those who were seriously burned out a couple of years ago and still have not recovered. In this film, Nicolas Cage as Nicolas Cage has fallen into a creative crisis: there are no roles, and the agent insistently recommends visiting the corporate party of a wealthy fan for a million dollars. After hesitating, the hero agrees. As a result, a seemingly unpromising journey turns into a rethinking of one’s own talent.
First, you will have to enlist the support of a friend: without your own Javi Gutierrez, it will be difficult to regain good spirits. If you want to spend your vacation without departing from the original script, go to Dubrovnik, Croatia – most of the popular scenes were filmed there. For example, the same Villa Xavi is the five-star hotel Grand Villa Argentina, and the “chase” is in a retro convertible played right on the local streets. If you want to go on a trip tomorrow, but don’t have a visa, you can fly to Kabardino-Balkaria. Travelers note there is some natural similarity between the Russian region and the Balkans; moreover, both have their own Blue Lakes.
The main thing on such a trip is more emotional conversations and memories. After all, in the end, Cage was brought back to life not by picturesque landscapes, but by the support of a friend and faith in his own talent.
2. Go on a search for yourself as in “Eat, Pray, Love”
It is not for nothing that avid travelers say that a person comes away from any trip changed. This happened with the heroine of Julia Roberts in the cult drama, which was loved by many viewers. One fine day, the girl realized that she was not living the life she wanted. In an attempt to fix everything, she first goes to Italy to live in a gastronomic paradise, then flies to India to heal her soul, and then moves to Bali in search of harmony.
Elizabeth Gilbert spent almost a year on the original route. If you only have a couple of weeks for your dream vacation, it makes sense to divide the locations and visit the iconic places in each of them. For example, visit the National Pasta Museum, enjoy ice cream from the San Crispino gelateria at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, or order a real Margherita at the L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele restaurant in Naples. If the Indian part of the trip is more attractive, take a look at the Hari Mandir temple in the province of Pataudi, which is 60 kilometers from Delhi – Roberts’s heroine spent a lot of time there. And for a trip to Bali, book an apartment in the town of Ubud, visit the local souvenir market and be sure to go to Patang Patang Beach in the south of the island.
You can organize a trip based on “Eat, Pray, Love” without taking out your travel bag. For example, for gastro tours recommend Primorsky Krai with its seafood delicacies, Tatarstan and its national cuisine, Astrakhan region, rich in black caviar. And for a more spiritual and secluded trip, places like Valaam Island or the Solovetsky Archipelago are suitable.
3. Go on excursions to dark places like the Haunted Mansion.
It seems that you don’t even need to catch discounts on tickets to Transylvania to do this – interesting and mysterious things can be found in almost any city. However, something like this happened with Gabby, the heroine of the mystical comedy from Disney. At the beginning of the film, she moved from New York to a mansion in Louisiana and discovered that it was simply infested with ghosts.
If you also want to tickle your nerves, catch a couple of ideas. Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg famous the highest ranking ghost. According to legend, in its corridors you can still meet the shadow of Emperor Paul the First. The Izhevsk Opera and Ballet Theater hosts its own ghost of the opera. Local workers have not seen it, but regularly complain about inexplicable breakdowns of equipment and decorations. And dark rumors about an estate in the village of Ramon, in the Voronezh region, went Even during the lifetime of its owners: it was rumored that the mistress fed the guilty servants to the bear. Today, guests of the estate every now and then hear someone’s steps and voices.
Collections of mystical places closer to home can be easily found using a search engine. If you don’t really believe in ghosts, you can take a closer look to mysterious natural places like the Hollow of Seven Gullies in the Tambov region or the Devil’s Finger in Altai.
4. Live someone else’s life like in “Exchange Vacation”
The premise of the film, of course, is not the most optimistic. The heroines Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz become disillusioned with their relationship and decide to take a desperate step – switch houses and live with each other for two weeks. If you skip the part with unrequited love and go straight to the housing exchange, then in real life the result may not be a melodrama at all, but quite an adventure comedy.
Here, in fact, it doesn’t really matter where you go: to sunny California, a snow-covered English countryside, or to the vineyards in the Krasnodar region. The whole joy is to immerse yourself as much as possible in the life of the locals, experience their way of life and traditions, and make new friends.
To exchange houses with other travelers, you can use large international services such as homeexchange.com. This is convenient because you don’t have to look for people ready for a temporary move on your own, and technical support will help if something in your agreement goes wrong. However, you will have to pay a fixed annual fee. Another option is to look for groups on social networks. For example, one of the liveliest on VKontakte is called almost like a movie: “Exchange leave. House exchange. Couchsurfing“
5. Start the engine and introduce a little adventure into your everyday life, Elizabethtown style.
We don’t promise the love of your life at the end of the journey, but you will definitely receive a sea of memories. Just imagine that you are a little Orlando Bloom as Drew Baylor. But not the one who ruined his career and fled to his native provincial town, but the one who had already met the eccentric stewardess Claire. It was she who healed the hero’s soul by organizing his independent journey through the American countryside. The girl has developed a guidebook with places that she likes. By the way, you can repeat this path: now in Russia collect teams of people who have something to tell about their region. If you know cool routes or attractions that every traveler should visit, then you can also try yourself as a tour guide.
When planning a trip like this, take some time to prepare your route. Own transport makes it possible to cover places that are rarely included in ready-made tourist programs. For example, you can go to Altai along the Chuysky tract, stop by the village of Srostki, where director and actor Vasily Shukshin was born, visit Lake Teletskoye, Taldinsky caves and the island of Patmos. Another interesting direction is the Caucasus. For example, on the way to Elbrus it will be interesting to drop into the Kislovodsk National Park, plunge into the thermal springs in Nalchik and see the stalactite caves on the Lago-Naki plateau.
6. Find peace, as in the last “Great Equalizer”
The most therapeutic scenario for those who are a little depressed from an overly busy everyday life. Denzel Washington’s hero in the last part of the trilogy finds himself in Southern Italy for work – he needs to deal with local crime bosses. As a result, he realizes that the calm and measured life of a small town, where everyone knows and loves each other, is much nicer to him than the usual harsh action of American everyday life.
Filming were carried out on the Amalfi Coast. The most beautiful cities and villages are scattered along the coastline: Sorrento, Positano, Ravello. You can go anywhere and not regret it! But perhaps the most charming place is Atrani. This is the smallest Italian settlement, and they live there almost 800 people. Narrow streets, authentic cafes, churches and chapels from the 10th and 12th centuries, gardens and a cozy beach are an ideal place for those who want a quiet, respectable vacation.
The film, although focused on action-packed shootouts with bandits, shows one simple thing: the end of an eternal race and a change of scenery sometimes work wonders. So tired travelers should take a closer look at the small towns of Russia: Torzhok, Plyos, Tobolsk, Sortavala – a place of power can be found literally nearby.
