travellingnic0la
Nov 2018
We booked this tour from the UK and met our fabulous guide Marc, along with the rest of the group, in mid-town. Before the bus arrived, Marc told us the actor who payed Vito (Joe) was round the corner parked in his SUV. He’s clearly got a little side business going on as his boot was full of ‘memorabilia’ - self printed T shirts, photos and stuff. I know it’s got to be worth his while turning up but prices were a bit steep - we paid 60USD for a T shirt and 3 selfies - and Joe doesn’t tell you the selfies cost you 20USD until they’re taken, we assumed if we bought something, we’d get a free pic, which a sneaky.
Anyway, you’re on vacation, right, and you’re all buzzy after meeting an actual
famous person .... so whatever...
It turns out our guide Marc is also an actor and appeared on the show a few times, as well as in lots of other stuff. He’s incredibly well informed about the show and his knowledge, passion and genuine desire for everyone to have a good time shines right through. He did a cool little quiz for silly prizes on the way and it was really fun. I genuinely felt I learnt loads about the show and Marc was great at explaining some possible interpretations and critical theories which added another (unconsidered by me) dimension to the show.
To be honest the only two sites I really loved seeing were Satin Dolls (aka The Bing) and the diner, scene of the famous ending. Sadly, Satriale’s has been demolished. The rest is more backgroundy kind of stuff, although worth a look.
The four hours went quite fast on the trip, and this is in no small part to Marc, who is a phenomenal guide.
We really enjoyed this as a one off experience and if you love the show, you’ll get a lot out of it.
Thanks Marc for a great day out.