Travels from my TV

Visiting locales made familiar by TV shows can be a thrilling experience

 

Rarely have I waited so impatiently for a TV series to drop than I did for the second season of White Lotus (Disney Hotstar). Not because I had loved the first season – though I did – but because season two was shot in a location in which I had celebrated my birthday barely a month ago. The Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina Sicily was where the action was this season and I could hardly wait to see those familiar sights on my TV screen.

 

And there they were: the mesmerizing view of Mount Etna, standing majestically in the distance; the formal gardens of the hotel laid out in symmetrical harmony; the dazzling blue of the infinity swimming pool which merged seamlessly into the shimmering waters of the Ionian Sea. There was a special thrill in seeing all the places that I had made mine not so long ago transformed into the set of a TV show.

 

It was also a strange feeling because until now, I had experienced this process only in reverse. This was the first time I was seeing a location I was familiar with brought to life on the screen. Until now, I had always got my first glimpse of beautiful locales on TV shows and movies and then gone on to see them in real life. 

 

My first experience of this phenomenon was in Udaipur nearly three decades ago when I visited the Lake Palace hotel for the first time – except for me, it was less a hotel than the set of the movie, Octopussy, where it had served as the lair of the eponymous Bond villain. There was a special thrill to wandering the terraces and courtyards and recognizing them from scenes in the movie, following in the footsteps of James Bond (or Roger Moore) himself. The high point of my visit was taking a turn in the lake in the Gangaur boat, though sadly, it didn’t come with the bevy of beauties featured in the movie.

 

More recently, I found myself retracing the movements of Game of Thrones characters on a trip to Spain. I hadn’t actively set out to visit GOT locales but as it turned out my destination, Seville, was bang in the middle of Thrones territory. Right beside my hotel was the Royal Alcazar, which had featured in the series. So, how could I possibly resist a visit to the fictional water gardens of Sunspear, the ancestral home of the Prince of Dorne? 

 

Once I had taken that bait, there was no stopping me. Next up was the Osuna bullring, which serves the fighting pit in Meereen. Then it was time for an excursion to the ruins of Italica just outside Seville, a giant amphitheater which was the location of the Dragonpit in the series. And my final stop was in neighbouring Cordoba, whose Roman bridge did duty as the Long Bridge of Volantis in the TV series.

 

My appetite thus whetted I was ready to visit some historical locations made famous in popular entertainment on a trip to London as well. Having failed to persuade my husband to accompany me, I set off on a solo trip to the Tower of London, the place where Anne Boleyn was famously beheaded on the green. Next on my list was Hampton Court, where Queen Elizabeth I – daughter of the unfortunate Anne – spent so much of her youth. 

 

It was the Netflix series, Versailles, that sent me on a tour of the real-life palace, to be dazzled by the hall of mirrors and captivated by the beauty of its formal gardens. And now that I am re-watching The Crown, in anticipation of the new season dropping, I am suddenly seized by the desire to travel to Balmoral Castle, which rumor has that King Charles will soon turn into a memorial to his mother. 

 

But until that happens, I plan to pencil in a visit to Westminster Abbey, the scene of both the coronation and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and where the new King will be crowned next summer. I can’t wait to shout ‘I was there’ as I watch the coronation on television!