For those of us for whom travel is a rare and special treat and not an ordinary occurence (for some, travel is very common and they don't see it as something magnificent), do you ever find yourself overwhelmed at the oddest times by a glimpse of or a picture of places you have traveled to? For instance, when looking at a commercial, and there is a shot of a landmark or a place you visited, do you get this tiny little thrill inside that says "Wow! I was actually there!!!"

And if so, what was it that you saw that brought back such memories?

You know I travel alot and I always see it as something magnifiscent. I don't think your question applies to people who only travel once in a while. That's why these boards are so active, that's why people read every trip report to paris even if they have been there a dozen times, because they still get a thrill. that's just my honest opinion.

For some that post on here, it appears that while they enjoy traveling, they do it so often as to not see it as a "once in a lifetime" sort of thing...or at least that is the impression I get from their posts.

I like it when I'm watching a movie and I know that they are 'rearranging' the scenery, like in "Before Sunset" (Paris).

That is what I am talking about!

Sometimes I will see a simple commercial, and it will suddenly pop in my head
'OMG! I was <b><i> right </i></b> there!!!

I remember when I took a French language class one of the photos in our book was of a hotel where I had stayed in Chamonix. You have to understand this was only a 2 star hotel nothing fancy at all so it was thrilling to see &quot;our hotel&quot; in my book.

Are you trying to say that people who travel only occasionally somehow see and feel the experience more deeply?

No, Fidel. I am not saying that at all.

IMo those who don't travel as frequently may vefy well have experiences which linger longer but cannot say for sure.

Recently, people reported about the thrill of being published in the latest Fodors edition and I suspect a lot of those people have traveled a good deal.

An interesting corollary question might be how many people here actually feel that they travel &quot;rarely.&quot;

My slant is more of a socio-economic one of course....in that some of the postings come across in a way that suggests that for some people traveling to different countries is very commonplace and not extraordinary.

I was suggesting that for some of us for whom travel is not commonplace, we may get more exacted at the little things such as a commercial that shows the street we stood on, a picture that reminds us that we have touched land that our ancestors have not.

I was thrilled to see the scene in Persuasion(BBC I think) where some are having afternoon tea in a Bath teahouse.

In reverse, in answer to your question &quot;Ilovetravel&quot;:
In the early 90's we were on one of our Italian trips and stayed at a hotel in Florence where the movie Room With a Veiw was filmed. We had seen the movie and later through Conde Nast found a full page spread of the terrace overlooking the Arno , and the caption, &quot;Hotel Quisisana E Vecchio&quot;...we decided to book the hotel and asked specifically for the &quot;terraced room with a view&quot;...we were promised to be booked into that room...and we were!(surprisingly, the rate was under $100 at that time)

Footnote: A few months later terrorists blew up the Uffizi Gallery next door and so badly damaged the hotel that it closed permanently. Now, we hear it has been rebuilt with another name.

Stu T.

Okay this may sound odd, but for me it was watching the scenes of the Roman arena and car chase through the streets of Arles in the movie &quot;Ronin.&quot; I had visited Arles only for a weekend but had wonderful experiences there and it will forever be etched into my memory. And BTW, if you happen to like cars (particularly the Audi S8), Ronin is a great movie.

How many times have you noticed an American tv advertisement selling an american product in a European setting that is being viewed by an American audience? There's a current Starbucks commerical that I'm pretty sure is filmed in Prague - all I know is it's not in America.

And yes - I get a bit silly when I see a less-than-popular place I've visited on tv.