Rick Steves: Europe - 11 New Shows 2013 - 2014

Once again, Rick Steves sets the bar when it comes to European travel. He gives practical advice about a country and he interacts with local residents, giving you a taste of the culture (I just wish he did some episodes in the Far East). I had the misfortune of being stuck in the hospital for 3 days, but Rick made those days fly by. In London Historic and Dynamic, he visited the iconic Changing of the Guards ceremony, Big Ben, the Cabinet War Room, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street (a trendy shopping district), Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown, Westminster Abbey, and the British Library, which has the Magna Carta and works from Shakespeare, Beethoven, and the Beatles. He also stopped by the sleek new downtown area called the Docklands. He stayed at the Aster House. In Rome Ancient Glory, he visited the Coliseum, Pantheon, National Museum, and Roman Aqueducts, He had dinner at the Piazza. He talked about Julius Caesar. Rome Baroque Brilliance began at the Spanish Steps. After lunch at the Trattora Enoteca, he headed to Borghese Gardens, a sprawling park. Within the park was Borghese Gallery with marble sculptures and paintings donated by a rich Italian family. He later stopped by Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica. Later, he had dinner with an attractive older Italian woman. Rome Back Street Riches was another fun episode. It began at the Tigre River and it focused on the excellent Roman engineering of brick bridges. Back in downtown Rome, Rick met up with the same woman from Rome Baroque Brilliance. After a meal at Ristorante Gabriel, Rick took the popular Bus 64 to a Jewish section of Rome where he met another tour guide. Rick later took a side trip on the Rome Metro to an abandoned Roman theatre. This DVD contained other episodes, but London and Rome were my favorites (I summarized Paris in Rick Steves France).

My husband and I have traveled all over the world with Rich Steve's right in our living room. Since we both have kind of a fear of flying over all that water, we're okay letting him show us a lot of what there is to see in Europe. We enjoy all the touristy sights and their history which Rick is so familiar with. We have the entire set of DVD's from 2000 - 2007 which includes the same cities and countries on these two DVD's and we have noticed how, in these 14 years, politics and the world economies in general have left their mark on many countries, ancient cities and generational customs that, at one time not so long ago, helped bring in money to the families, such as, raising sheep for wool. Rick tells us that the family he stays with in England fell on hard times in the recent past due to more demand for easy care fabrics and textiles.The price of wool dropped considerably. He told us they have since been able to regenerate their livelihood somewhat but one wonders for how long. Seems the old school style in clothing and other goods and the materials used for it is going the way of the dinosaur which is regrettable but one must change with the times to stay afloat I suppose. Unless maybe the younger ones can apply the old in a new way. One can hope.The DVD's of 2013-2014 show subtle differences from the earlier shows which goes to prove that time, alas, does not stand still, even for the ancient cities.We are told the young are leaving Venice at alarming rates. What tourists find to be fascinating, romantic and historical, it would seem those born and raised there find it otherwise. Then again, doesn't youth always find the world to be much more interesting than the familiar? But still, we enjoy bringing out the bottle of wine to have with our evening's choice of finger food while imagining ourselves cruising Venice in a gondola or gazing out to sea from the ancient cliff villages of the Amalfi Coast or wandering through ancient cathedrals or visiting all the endless sights and listening to their histories. We always seem to find some little nugget of information we might have missed before so these shows are timeless. Anyway, I recommend this set to anyone who loves to travel whether by trains, planes and automobiles or via television.

A very good and interesting DVD. I enjoy watching these programs.

You can't go wrong with Rick Steves as your travel guide. He takes you to all the interesting places and gives you wonderful tips and the best part is, I can imagine being there without leaving my couch until I really am visiting there.

You'll see (and remember) more of Europe by "going" with Rick than by actually visiting there yourself! He gets to the best of the best destinations and explains their cultural and historical significance. I could gawk at a Renaissance painting and not have a clue about its artist or time frame. But Rick fills in the details that makes the history come alive! Thanks Rick for all you do!

Italy Paris London covered. Some shows are revisits of cities covered in previous seasons. PBS doesn't come in great over the air so the DVDs allow me to see the programs.

Good update to shows from 10-plus year ago. A good primer before going to Europe yourself. I've been watching Rick Steves' videos for 15-plus years and he never disappoints.

did not tell me an nuff

You can't get better European travel advice than Rick Steves'. We have all of his shows now and enjoy watching them again & again. These are his latest - even though he has covered these cities in the past, it's not the same old information. The filming style and Rick have updated looks. His shows are a great place to start planning a big trip or to enjoy just dreaming of one.

this feedback takes much to much time especially whan I have a tone of purchase. do the star system and one comment!!!!!!. This response requires a free gift certificate...

I like travel shows. This is a good series for me to have if I want to watch something but don't have a lot of time to watch a move or a 50 minute show.