Rick Steves Best of Travels in Europe - British Isles
Join popular PBS personality Rick Steves on a grand tour of the British Isles, and get a real feel for the people he meets. Find a true understanding of treasured local customs in North Wales; Edinburgh, Scotland; Dublin and Belfast; Western Ireland; London; Cotswold Villages; and legendary Bath. Extra Features: London Day Trips; Blenheim Palace; and Rick’s Back Door Travel Tips
Customer Review: A great “intro” CD
Please, note that this is an intro CD.
There is no way Steves could have crammed everything from three easy-to-navigate English-speaking countries into one DVD. So, expectations should be lowered a bit.
Besides, at the bargain price of $9.99 or less NEW, can you really complain that much?
If you’re wanting a more “professional” souvenir video, there are plenty available for $29.99 or whatever. Otherwise, I personally happen to like Steves’ “man on the street” approach.
For people who don’t “get it” when seeing one of his TV shows, or a DVD or DVD compilation, for Steves, foreign vacations are about seeing **people** and not just seeing **sights.** Would-be American tourists who don’t appreciate this would be advised to yes, indeed, consider another video.
Likewise, for people who expect a travel video to somehow **substitute** for a book.
Trust me, especially for the price, every one of Steves’ multi-country DVD compilations deserves a five-star rating.
Customer Review: British Isles in 3 hours and 30 minutes
The most intriguing bookstore is the world’s largest secondhand bookstore in Hay-on-Wye in Wales. ~Rick Steves
Rick Steves explores the British Isles in order to experience local customs and to mingle with the locals in pubs and at festivals. The London & Edinburgh show is perhaps the funniest Rick Steves’ travel diary yet. These are very personal journeys, not unlike a travel diary that tells of who you met and where you ate, not to mention which museum you discovered.
Rick Steves has an amazing talent for making the unknown seem like something you may want to discover. He also has a great appreciation for beauty and likes to have fun traveling with his family. He takes his family on a day trip to Blackpool where they enjoy Amusement Park rides. His wife is all smiles as Rick Steves explains the historical significance of monuments to his children. She seems to be having the best time of her life and seems to share Rick Steves’ sense of adventure.
The three main sections of this DVD include:
London & Edinburgh
Wales, Cotswold & Bath
Ireland, Dublin & Belfast
Then there are three special sections for Blenheim Palace, Blackpool and Stratford. You get to see where Shakespeare’s wife lived (Anne Hathaway’s Cottage), where they now put on Shakespeare’s plays in a replica of the original theatre, the Globe. The gardens are refreshing and somewhat untamed in all their beauty. If you love gardening, you may enjoy the brief moments when you can guess the names of the flowers as the camera sweeps through the garden.
There are also scenes of gorgeous outdoor settings with rushing streams amidst romantic settings, crumbling stonewalls that run for miles through the countryside (Hadrian’s Wall), mansions you could get lost in and little tea shops hidden in bed and breakfast locations in quaint towns. The food looks especially delicious and if you stay in a quaint B&B, the owners can give recommendations, not to mention giving you directions for how to find your way around the Cotswold Villages.
Rick Steves freely gives his advice and explains why he enjoys Cambridge over Oxford and gives tips on how to pack for your vacation. He also shows how to preserve your memories by taking great pictures.
Of all the travel shows on the British Isles, this completely explains the main events in history, highlights the places you want to visit or lets you vicariously enjoy memories of your trip to London, Ireland or Wales. You may also start dreaming of again visiting Medieval castles or have a desire to learn how to make an Irish cable knit sweater or start looking for a cardigan.
As someone who has been to London as a teenager, this DVD made me wish I could instantly return for a long vacation! Especially to see the castles. Until I can travel again, I’ll live vicariously through Rick Steves’ magnificent and fun adventures. He has a great sense of humor and his love for travel will awaken your own sense of discovery.
Highly Recommended.
~The Rebecca Review
P.S. If you enjoy the Best of Travels in Europe adventure, look for Rick Steves’ Great Britain 2005, a book that is a nice companion to the DVD.