ahiddenbird

I know a lot of the posts made here are pretty practical, dealing with travel tips and advice, but I was in the mood for a good story, so I thought I'd ask: what have been your favorite, most memorable moments during any given European holiday that you've been on? What experience sticks out in your mind as definitive of a certain place and time? What travel memories do you revisit with the most relish?

What is it about Europe in general that you love?

Pegontheroad

The time during the 60's when I traveled to Delphi with a Volkswagen full of other young women. It was a beautiful day, and the ruins were captivating. So full of history and myth.

biztravfod

When I read the first post, I thought: "Wow. There have been so many, how could I pick one?" I still can't pick one, but after reading the second post, I remembered taking the ferry to Delphi at twillght, sharing the top of the deck with sheep and Greek shepherds and drinking retsina. That was really a moment where you feel like you're traveling into a whole other dimension of time and space, a little rip in the universe.

ahiddenbird

You don't have to pick just one! I'd love to hear about as many as you're willing to share

bamafam

Great topic! I have so many wonderful memories, and I'm sure that more have slipped from my mind over the years. But here are the ones that stand out - the truly transcendental moments that made me think "Wow...I'm in EUROPE." Some are major, some are minor, but all are just as magical in retrospect as they were when they happened.

• Coming upon the double-helix staircase in Chateau Chambord in the Loire Valley. It was a cloudy, unusually quiet day and the light was coming in at just the right angle, and the entire scene felt otherworldly.

• Cocktails on a rooftop terrace at a hotel in Lucerne, when the sunset turned the city an ethereal lavender color and the lights below glimmered like tiny firefly.

• Sharing a simple yet exquisite pizza with friends at a sidewalk cafe in Paris at twilight.

• Cruising across Lake Lucerne on the upper deck of a steamer en route to Mt. Rigi.

• An early morning stroll around Lucerne, watching and listening to the old town wake up.

• Staring across the Alps from the Jungfraujoch, then sipping champagne at a makeshift bar in the Ice Palace below

• My first glimpses of Hampstead Heath and of Hyde Park.

• A solo walk through the hedge maze at Hampton Court on a perfectly warm, clear September day.

• Spending a slow, sunny afternoon in the biergarten at the Chinese Tower in Munich's English Garden...amazing beer and plenty of gemütlichkeit.

• Dancing all night at a discotheque in Madrid. I was 14 at the time and it was my first taste of true nightlife. Fortunately, it was not my last.

bamafam

Ugh, I wish there were a way to edit typos...obviously that should have been fireflies, not firefly.

kelsey22

So many but a most recent one was standing on the moor that Emily did - I wish I could go back.

Ok one more....rounding the corner in Venice onto the Piazza San Marco at dusk and bursting into tears. I had never come across such a magnificent scene. I don't know if I hadn't had any expections or if I just was mesmorized by the sights and sounds and happiness of the dancers and musicians. It was one of those magical moments.

Thanks for asking the question...

denisea

This is the kind of topic that is always fun for me.

-Sharing some Berthillon ice cream with my husband in the park behind Notre Dame in the snow...pure magic (his idea)

- Walking into the hall of mirrors at Versailles, followed by a glass of champagne over looking the fountains behind the palace...total "pinch me" moment!

- Finally seeing the Sistine Chapel

-Strolling Villa d'Este (Tivoli) at night, the fountains are amazing and getting to hear the one with the organ play...so beautiful and tranquil

-Being awed by the Cathedral in Reims (followed by a glass of rose champagne)...imagine all the coronations that took place there

-Chilling with a glass of Cotes de Provence in Barbizon on a hot day

-Seeing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London...huge gems, spectacular to see

HappyTrvlr

Walking out onto the roof top of our Athens Hotel and not realizing that we'd have a view of the lighted Acropolis. A real WOW..
Leaving our cottage in Crete each morning at the same time as our neighbor who carried his shepherd's crook, no different than those seen in illustrated Bibilcal stories.
Standing in the Plaza de Obrdoooiro in Santiago de Compostela watching the pilgrims arrive from thier long journies.
Watching vendors set up their steamers on the sidewalks every morning in Beijing.
Sitting on our balcony having our evening cocktails in Bellagio looking over rooftops to the lake and Alps beyond.

biztravfod

Okay, you asked:

The first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I felt dizzy. I thought maybe I was dreaming.

The first time I heard Big Ben chime -- even still -- it's like it is happening inside me.

The first time I was in Berlin, and an elevated tram shot out between two building above my head, I almost cried. It was like I had stepped into the world I had seen in Fritz Lang movies, before WW2 ever happened.

When I walked across the Agora in Athens, I felt I could still feel that whole long arc of history, like I was walking with the ghosts of ancient Greeks up to the temples of the Acropolis -- and it wasn't weird. It was like I was joining friends.

My first taste of real Belgian chocolate on a dreary rainy day in Belgium -- and suddenly the whole world was brighter, like a psychedelic.

My first walk through Naples Italy, through streets that have never felt sunshine, jammed with kids playing, motorcycles, wedding shops, fix-it shops, old people, pizza, garbage, laundry overhead, books, immigrants, churches, kittens, lovers, fish stalls. I'd never seen anything like it.

I couldn't take my eyes off the Dolomiti.

I couldn't believe how bouyant the salty Mediterranean is the first time I jumped in it.

I love the taste of Greek thyme honey and Greek yoghurt.

I was shocked by the combination of Cabrales cheese and anchovies, stuffed into a brioche pintxo in San Sebastian.

Nights at the Alhambra, with the snown sierras in the distance, the tourists gone, the cats coming out from under bushes to teach their kittens to hunt, belong to another world I wish I could live in all the time.

ahiddenbird

For me, sitting on a train on our way to Cinque Terre from Florence, we had been in a tunnel for a couple of minutes and suddenly we burst out into the sunshine and there was the ocean, as far as I could see, bright turquoise and beautiful. I remember literally gasping out loud, my skin breaking into goosebumps and my eyes filling with tears. I think it was the way the moment caught me off guard that caused such a strong emotional reaction.

StCirq

The moment when my dad first walked down the driveway of my house in St-Cirq and stood by the wall and saw the view over the Vézere Valley. I said "am I lucky, or what?" And he said "you make your luck, luv," and hugged me close.

Surfergirl

Bamafam and StCirq, nice! Love all these stories!

I have a ton myself, but one that keeps resurfacing in discussions is the year I spent with my best friend (who is STILL my best friend!) in France going to University. Of the many amazing adventures we had that year, the "stranger than fiction" moment was the time we decided to hitch hike down to the south of France to go to the Carnival in Nice.

We spent the night in a seedy hotel in Marseille, that I'm pretty sure rented rooms by the hour, then hitching out of town got picked up by a '72 Camaro (an unusual sight in those parts in that era) and who should be sitting shot-gun was a guy I went to high school with! He was on his way to Menton to his dad's boat. Okay, it was a yacht and his dad was a director/producer. We got free room, board and transport the rest of the time we were there, and had a blast!

bamafam

Great stories all. These are lovely to read.

TPAYT

A birthday dinner on the terrace of "Al Veluu" overlooking Lake Como near Tremezzo,Italy---stunning!

Dancing at midnight on the bridge to Ile St. Louis while Tim from London played his sax. "I wish You Love" wafted over the water as we then strolled back to our apartment---memorable!

Being in Potofino, Italy looking through the window of a cafe at a TV, watching the Twin Towers come down on 9/11--unforgetable!

robertino

Hmmm... most of mine involve sitting on a hotel balcony or terrace with wine and a view. Amalfi, Hallstatt, Nice come to mind.

On top of the Zugspitze on Christmas Day.

Driving the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. Different trip of course.

Another one is walking out of the Santa Lucia station in Venice.

irishface

Waking up just outside Salzburg and from the bedroom window seeing the great castle standing up on its rock. (I had arrived during the night and been too jetlagged to notice my surroundings even if it had not been dark.)

My first trip to London and realizing that the well known places looked just like all the pictures I had ever seen of them.

First time in Notre Dame and feeling my knees go weak from the awesomeness of the place.

In an English village at a pub and talking with the bar tender about World War II and having him tell me about his experiences and how he will always appreciate the Americans who came. (My Dad was one of them and might have been in this very pub.)

In a Norman village studying the war memorial and its names of villagers killed in the war and a Frenchwoman who came up and hugged me when she realized that I was American. She then told me a verry touching story about her first encounter with American soldiers right after DDay.

Arriving in Italy in early April after leaving snowy Boston behind. Forsythia blooming, sun out, and sweaters off.

On the boat in the Grand Canal in Venice as we rode along and I realized that it looked just like two watercolors that had always been on the mantel at the home of one of my grandmothers. Took my breath away.

So many more, I just close my eyes and can picture myself back at all sorts of places and remember little incidents and big WOWS!

phillyboy

Here's one I posted before

As a result of an ill-informed decision on my part, we (my wife, our son, another couple and me) ended up having rented a Fiat Ducato in Italy in 2003. This is a VERY large nine-passenger van, probably the most impractical vehicle one could imagine for navigating the narrow streets you find in Umbrian hilltowns, which is where we spent the bulk of our 2 week vacation.

Each day, I began sweating profusely as we approached another new town ... Spoleto, Assisi, Todi, Spello, etc ... wondering how I was going to maneuver that monstrosity through the tiny alley-like roads. The day we visited Perugia, I met my match when I reached a tangled intersection of ancient streets in the old town. I had one option ... make a hard right turn onto a ridiculously tight cobblestone "street", on a very steep downgrade, leading to an old stone arch and eventually, supposedly, a parking area. After 3 or 4 attempts to make this turn, I became hopelessly wedged-in between the stone wall of a house behind me and a signpost in front of me, with no more than a couple of inches to spare, and on what seemed like a 90' grade. As the cars began to back up and the horns started sounding behind me, I squeezed out of the driver's side of the "bus" and threw up my arms in total frustration ... I had no idea what to do. My travelling mates were completely useless.

Out of a car that had been 2 or 3 vehicles behind us emerged a young man of about 19 or 20, who asked in very good English if he could be of help. Of course, I had little choice but to accept his offer. With a smile, he climbed in behind the wheel, and within a few seconds, had worked the Fiat free, and positioned it so that it was aimed straight ahead, down the steep slope. He then asked us to wait in the vehicle while he somehow guided his car around us, and signalled me to follow him ... still a big, happy smile on his face the entire time. He escorted us through the arch, made a few more turns, and saw us safely to the parking garage we had been looking for. Without giving me any other opportunity to thank him, or show my appreciation in a material way, he waved and disappeared down a side street.

Whenever I think about what is special about Italy, this smiling young man is one of the first things that comes to mind

phillyboy

... and two more ...

Having a picnic lunch in the grass next to the Temple of Janus in Autun, Burgundy. My wife, me and another couple (best friends)...crusty baguettes, excellent French ham and salami, cheese, Dijon mustard, and a couple bottles of excellent local vin rouge. Totally relaxing and otherwordly on a sunny May afternoon.

On my first afternoon in Umbria, we had just arrived at Palazzo Bocci, in the small town of Spello. At about 5:30 in the afternoon, I took a walk alone to explore the town. I came upon a winding narrow street, with the most beautifully well-kept old homes that I can remember seeing anywhere. Handsome front doors and overflowing flowerboxes everywhere. The road, which was more like an alley and barely wide enough for one small car to pass through, was composed of a gleaming, grey-tinted cobblestone that absolutely glistened in the late afternoon sun. The labyrinthine road seemed to drift off to infinity, and I just stood there staring at in. I snapped a picture, and sometimes I gaze at the photo, transfixed, for many minutes. It's like the doorway to a simpler time, place, and life.

losaltos

I lived in Rome in the 70s when I was working on a graduate school thesis. I was standing on a corner on Via Mario de' Fiori (just off the Sanish Steps) thinking about where I was headed. It was a gorgeous summer day. All of a sudden a handsome young man reached over and pecked me on the cheek and said something in Italian like "sorry miss but I just couldn't resist...you look so lovely with the sun shining on your hair..." Made my day! Of course today he would probably get whacked if he did something similar....