I've been a fan of The Sopranos since day 1. And ever since the show ended, I've been watching it at least once every year.
My love for the show runs incredibly deep and it means alot to me.
I can honestly say, the main reason I came to New York from Belgium, was for this tour.
And it did not dissapoint.
Arriving on the scene we were greeted by our awesome tour guide Marc Baron! He told us to go up the the front of the bus where a car was parked and where we could actually meet one of the stars of The Sopranos!
Now I'm not gonna say who it was, but it was awesome!! In true Sopranos style you could even buy merchandise right out of the trunk of the actors car. T-Shirts, license pates, photos, dvds etc...And ofcourse, you had the opportunity of getting a picture with the actor and an autograph for a fee.
And off we went! The drive really hit all the notes!! You'll drive by a whole lot of recognisable places from the opening credits like the NJ turnpike, Muffler Man and Pizzaland.
Other places include AJs school, the place Chrissy got shot and the intersection where Satriale's used to be.
But there's more, but i'll let that be a surprise.
In case you don't wanna see spoilers, don't read any further so you can be as surprised as I was!
The absolute highlights are without a doubt the next and last 2 stops.
First up was Holsten's. Yeah, that very last place we see Tony and his family dine in.
They have the booth set up where Tony was sitting in including the lil' jukebox prop.
Have a seat in the booth and have a picture taken of you being all Tony-like in his last scenes.
Holsten's also provides you with a bag of complimentary onion rings like we see the Soprano family eating at Holsten's.
Other then that, you can also buy some merchandise like a shirt or a cap from the sopranos.
But hey, Holsten's isn't only Sopranos, it's an amazing place and they sell delicious candy and we had some hot dogs there aswell which were awesome!!
The final stop before returning was none other then the Bada Bing! In real life called Satin Dolls. And yes....you'll get the chance to enter the Bada Bing, have a drink at the bar, buy merchandise and...ofcourse....see some lovely ladies who should always be treated with the respect they deserve. That means, no touching or snapping pictures, that's an absolute no no! Don't be a Ralphie....don't disrespect the Bing!!!
And so yes, you can fetch some merch there aswell. i've gotten a shirt, a glass and a mug myself.
And that was that.
But let's talk a bit about our guide Marc.
This man does an amazing job, with so much passion. During the ride he'll tell you all kinds of things you won't find on the internet regarding the production and crew. I've learned a ton, and I thought I knew everything!!!
Also, during the ride, Marc will fire off some questions for you to answer where you can actually win some funny lil' prices!!!
And when the tour ends? You'll get the chance to get even more merchandise in the official HBO store!!
So yeah....honestly....this tour was the absolute highlight of my time in New York....funny to hear, right? But that's simply how much the show means to me.
Like i've said, it's for the die-hard Soprano fans.