Exploring New Places – The Scorch Trials
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Maze Runner The Scorch Trials opens in theaters next Friday, September 18th. To say our family is excited is an understatement. Each of us loved the first movie in our own way. It brings suspense, adventure, excitement and action all wrapped together in one film. The characters display courage, loyalty, strength and a sense of belonging in their ‘family‘ unit.
Have you ever wanted to explore a new place so much that you took on challenges outside of your comfort zone? In October 2012 I took my daughter to Europe for two weeks. We ventured through several parts of Greece and Italy. Since I knew our vacation would have us visiting Florence for a couple of days I arranged to take my teenage daughter, the avid Twilight Saga fan, to visit Montepulciano and Volterra. I knew that we could not be so close to a town that is the destination to a such a famous film saga without visiting since we live so far away. Volterra is the home of the elder vampires in the Twilight Saga and the filming for the movies was taken place in Montepulciano. Therefore, we knew we had to visit both locations.
Although the towns were a car ride from Florence, they were off the beaten path and not filled with tourists. Which means, not a lot of English speaking locals to help guide us. The only foreign language I took in school was French and I can barely speak five words of it to this day. I had never studied Italian. Traveling across seas to visit Italy for the first time was out of my comfort zone. To then leave my well planned vacation path to travel deeper into the country was both scary and thrilling at the same time…and so well worth it.
The drive was breathtakingly beautiful. By venturing off the tourist path we were able to see some amazing parts of Italy that we may never had seen otherwise.
Since the movies were so well known, both towns had maps in English to show us where to walk. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon these without getting too lost. In Volterra it took us a few stores to find the maps. The best part was when we needed to find a restroom, that wasn’t easy. When ordering food at a restaurant we just matched the words we had come to learn and basically ate the same thing most of the time – or ordered pizza from a sidewalk cafe.
Then, of course, we had to pose for silly photos when we saw signs that we believed we understood the meaning. Like this ‘secret passage’ sign we found. “Shhhh, it’s a secret!” What fun is a vacation without acting like a total tourist?
Sometimes exploring a new place and going outside of your comfort zone will provide you with some of the best memories. The most cherished moments.
This weekend we look forward to seeing our favorite characters explore the new areas of the Scorch. This movie really takes exploring and adventure to a whole new level.
The Maze was just the beginning!
In this next chapter of the epic “Maze Runner” saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.
Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Ki Hong Lee, Barry Pepper, Lili Taylor, and Patricia Clarkson
Rated PG-13.
Have you ever explored a foreign place? Do you plan to see The Scorch Trials in theaters?