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We walked into Notre Dame as a candlelite service was going on with the organ and choir singing. It put a chill down my spine.<BR><BR>Driving thru Bavarian alps towards Neuschwanstein off in the distance. What a remarkable site.<BR><BR>Driving towards Mont St. Michel in the distance in Normandy at sunset, magnificent. Truly fairy tale stuff.

Meants to share this one too....walking down the same street as St. Paul in Ephesus, Turkey. Just amazing something that old could still exist and in such good condition.

Everything about Prague in the winter,but especially the moment when my husband and I came across a lone busker, past midnight in the town square, singing John Lennon's &quot;Imagine&quot;. As we stood listening others began to stop and we were soon surrounded by en eclectic group of travellers, from different countries, languages and walks of life, who all began singing. This may sound contrived and corny, but I SWEAR as soon as we all joined together in song, the first gorgeous snow flurry of winter began to fall.

sitting on top of cortona and seeing all of umbria and tuscany below me.

I would love to hear more.

Driving the length of the Canadian Rockies from Kootenay, through Banff, Yoho, and all the way to Jasper.<BR><BR>Driving the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park in Montana.<BR><BR>Walking up the stairs in San Marco monastery in Florence, and turning the corner on the landing, looking up, and seeing Fra Angelico's Annunciation before me in all its resplendent glory.<BR><BR>Pulling into Florence for the very first time, at Piazzale Michelangelo and seeing the panorama of Firenze.<BR><BR>Walking to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time. I simply could not believe what I was seeing was real.<BR><BR>The Colosseum<BR><BR>Pompeii<BR><BR>Just like the rest of you--so many wonderful moments--and I haven't even travelled all that much.....yet!

Sitting on the beach the first night in Blanes a small town north of Barcelona,having rented an apartment there,sight unseen on the internet,taken a train from Barcelona airport, to find the apartment in the old part of town,below the church tower with a perfect roof terrace and best of all to find the international fireworks competition to begin that night....local champagne ,ocean, fireworks and a crowd of locals....<BR><BR>Watching Guernica being hung in Madrid the year it was returned to Spain, <BR><BR>Taking a subway all over Tokeyo alone and buying a vintage Kimono in an alley shop..<BR><BR>New Years Eve in Nelson New Zealand and my first exposure to &quot;first night&quot; and the warmest wishes from total strangers...<BR>Watching my daughter pretend she was French as she and another 13 yr old walked ahead of us in Paris....Getting caught in a gay rave the same night [Bastille Day] along the Seine..<BR><BR><BR>the moments that choose us..

Coming up from the subway and seeing Paris for the first time - we were so enthralled we walked 5 blocks in the wrong direction before realizing we were headed AWAY from our hotel!<BR>Walking up the path to the giant doors of the castle we stayed in for a week in Tuscany.<BR>Seeing the peaks of the Alps peaking through clouds from a plane on our way to Milan.

Meant to add the moment we saw a bride and groom emerge from a hotel in Kamakura, Japan, dressed in kimonos, and stepped into a rickshaw that would take them to the temple. This happened while we were standing in the cherry-blossom draped walkway that led from the ancient temple down to the sea! Wow!

My uncle was killed in 1943 while flying as a navigator in WWII over France. He was buried in St James France in the US cemetary after the war. I never knew him as I was born after he was killed. He was the only son and my mother's only brother.<BR><BR>In July of 2000 my wife and I drove to St James to visit the cemetary and his grave. The US caretakers there treated us great. We were honored guests. The emotion of being the only member of our family to visit the cemetary and grave was more than I expected.<BR><BR>It still remains one of the most memorable things I have done in Europe and really brought the entire war in focus for both of us.

in morocco ten years ago... first saw this small strand of four very large amber beads in one of the village (traveling)markets near zagora. i loved them but what to do with four amber beads the size of lime's..? two days later in another market in ouarzazate i saw the same beads. the man in the stall remembered me and was excited that we should see each other again. this time the price was considerably lower. the next day i felt sad that i had not purchased them.... two days in yet another market ( these markets go from village to village like a traveling farmers market) i found the same stall. the vendor smiled and put the beads in my hand and would not accept any money in exchange. these beads sit on my fireplace mantel and are one of my favorite memories.

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Having dinner at the &quot;perfect&quot; French outdoor cafe, watching cars and motorcycles sppeding by listening to sirens, and then finding out it was Princess Di<BR><BR>Cruising to England 3 days later and watching all the Pomp and Circumstance at Buckingham Palace. Being a part of History<BR><BR>Standing on the ships balcony while pulling into a foggy Istanbul, hearing the prayer call on loudspeakers throught the city. Eerie.<BR><BR>Walking where Paul walked in Ephesus.<BR><BR>Pompeii, with Vesuvious-sp? in the backround.<BR><BR>Dinner in the Eifel Tower.<BR><BR>Sitting on the lawn of Fattoria de Vibbio, in Umbria, drinking wonderful red wine, watching the sunset.<BR><BR>Going to a ballet in Russia.<BR>And too may more too list.<BR>What a wonderful thread. Can't wait for our next trip! A barge cruise in France!!!<BR>Helaine

I love this thread.<BR><BR>This is exactly what I need to get through the coming no-Europe year. (Waah!)<BR><BR>One of my own favorites:<BR><BR>It was my last day in Paris, my partner having already left that morning. I made every minute count, seeing the much-anticipated Mus&eacute;e du Moyen &Acirc;ge and shopping like a maniac for gifts at the Galeries Lafayette - wore myself right out. (Not my usual travel style, but then, it *was* my last day!)<BR><BR>For lunch I grabbed a baguette with ham &amp; cheese at a Latin Quarter boulangerie. I walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and ate at the foot of the fontaine des Medicis. Afterward, I picked up my backpack full of gifts and wandered out to the spacious circle of benches in front of the palace. I was so full, and happy, and tired, and the mid-April afternoon was so warm... I figured I would just rest on my bench for a few minutes, then go back to my hotel for a nap. I put my backpack beside me, arranged my jacket on top of it, and put my head down...<BR><BR>...and opened my eyes two hours later! Whoops! As often happens when you wake up in a strange place, it took a second to realize where I was. At first I just smiled at the feeling of sun on my face, then I heard the chirping birds and laughing kids, and then I suddenly remembered I was in Paris! In a *park*, for crying out loud.<BR><BR>Best nap - and best waking-up - I ever had. :)

I had never seen fireflies before and as we sat outside our villa near Castellina in Chianti. They twinkled amongst the olive trees as dusk creeped in. It was truly magical!<BR><BR>Standing at the top of Blackcomb after a full day of skiing and most of the skiers have left, looking out over Black tusk and the other rugged volcanic mountains sends chills down my spine! And it's not because it's cold!