i think that all of us have a first (fondest) memory of a vista, building, city, etc, that sold us on traveling to other countries. for me it was arriving in paris for the first time, walking down blvd. montparnasse to the ecole militaire and tuning the corner with the champ de mars and eiffel tower laid out in front of me. incredible. that pretty much guaranteed my life savings would be dedicated to more of those impressions.<BR><BR>have any of you have similar experiences?

Awakening, after a very rainy night in a small hotel in aigle, and having the Dent du Midi framed in the room window on a crystal clear morning. Just ASTOUNDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little more pedestrian but memorable none the less: sitting on the walk in the evening by the harbor in Villefranche-Sur-Mer and watching the lights of Cap Ferrat twinkle on one by one.

I've said this before, but I will never forget emerging from the Venice train station for the first time, out of the dark, non-descript building into the light, water, and colors that are Venice.<BR>Sigh.

Walking through the Tuilleries past the Louvre towards the Seine...to the right, the Champs Elysses all lit up, across the Seine, the Eiffel Tower ,all lit up, and over it all, a full moon.<BR>I hope I will always remember how magical it was~

The Manhattan skyline coming from New Jersey with the Staten Island Ferry!

As a college junior, I visited Israel at Eastertime. Early on Easter morning, my roommate and I boarded a bus for Eilat. As we drove out of town, we passed the Garden of Gethsemane. The sun rising in the background made our view of the Garden quite incredible!

I'll agree with Elaine. That first sight of the Grand Canal as we emerged from the Venice train station is grabber!<BR>Close behind is the first view of the Eiffel Tower at night.

Walking into Grand Place in Brusells. Looking around the courtyard and seeing these amazing buildings. <BR><BR>Ursula- I agree. Taking the ferry from Jersey to NYC at night is awesome!!! Last time I did it was when I went home for Christmas.

Not the usual, but: On our first trip to Europe, we flew into Schipol, trained into Amsterdam and enjoyed our day there. However, we were staying in Haarlem. I remember walking down the narrow streets near the Grote Markt, not knowing if we were anywhere near there, or if we were headed in the right direction. The streets were virtually deserted, too. But we then came to St. Bavo's and the square was filled with people relaxing after work on a Friday. It was both a relief and a spectacle (though we felt a little silly conspicuously walking around with our bags looking for our hotel).

Mine is also a Haarlem one. My husband and I were sent to the Haarlem office for a year. We lived in Zandvoort (overlooking the North Sea). We had only been there a week. We had taken the train into Haarlem on Saturday morning for market day. On Tuesday evening we were to meet some friends for dinner. We walked from the train station and rounded the corner to the Grote Mart and saw it all lit up at night. Really breathtaking as it looked so different from the Saturday morning bustle of the market.

Stepping out of the Innsbruck train station, looking up and seeing mountains! It took my breat away.

In Rome, from the Janiculum, my first view of the city bathed in the amber light of late afternoon.

My wife and I were in Florence for the first time. It was about 11:00 PM our first night there and we were walking back through the river side of the Uffizi to our hotel after having dinner over beyond the Ponte Vecchio. A street musician had set up in the loggia of the Uffizi and was accompanying, on violin, a recording of Andrea Boccelli singing Con te Partiro. Ow! Most Excellent and one of a kind confluence of stuff.

Walking from the bus stop to our hotel in Siena, near San Domenico, and seeing the Duomo of Siena crowning a hill that looks the same today as 400 years ago.

I arrived in Costa del Sol on a very hot, humid August day. I woke up the next morning to a clear sky and for the first time saw the Med Sea, Gibraltar and the coast of Africa from my balcony.

I'll join the Venice crowd. Taking a water taxi from the airport to the mouth of the Grand Canal. Just incredible--I've never ARRIVED anywhere that evoked such feelings.<BR><BR>Second fondest, travelling South of Rome for the first time. Made me feel close to my roots.

After graduating in art history from college and working for a year to save money, I finally flew to Europe in 1968. As the flight from Boston to Heathrow descended over England toward landing early that summer morning, I looked out at the hedgerows, trees, houses, and noticed the green-gold, subdued light. "My god, it's Constable light!" I thought.<BR><BR>After seeing the landscapes of England in his paintings over and over again, it hadn't occurred to me that he was really painting what it looked like, that the light could really be that lovely. <BR><BR>(Wondering if European art history scholars had the same sensation when they landed here (esp.in the American midwest or west) and saw how bright and flat, by comparison, American light is and that American landscape art is often not exaggerating the brilliance.)

Another vote for Venice. Coming out of the train station for the first time, that first view of the Grand Canal, and then that first slow (#82?) vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal to our stop. It was magnificent.

Finding our way by metro, locating the Funiculaire and finally standing in the cool morning air at Sacre Coeur overlooking the city of Paris. Also the views from the Eiffel Tower (2nd level) and a cruise on the Seine at sundown seeing the lighted Tower. Forget it, I loved Paris period!