So funny. I read the title and immediately hit "post a reply" to tell about my magical moment along the Damme Canal. But there it was, post number 2. Well, isn't it interesting that almost two years later and two more long trips to Europe, that is still the most magical moment in my memory?

Standing in a nature's silence broken only gently by waterfalls in New Zealand's Doubtful Sound...uncivilized.

The sights, sounds and smells of the annual winter Victorian Ball at Larnach Castle in Dunedin, New Zealand...unreal.

The moment after leaving the 143-foot high platform of the Kawarau River Bridge bungee jump...unstoppable.

Patrick, to have the same thought two years later about a moment "set in crystal" is indeed magical.

There are some moments that are with us forever. And this obviously is yours.
Take good care.

Patrick: I just did the same thing. See 10 posts after yours.

To LoveItaly, actually that magic moment was in 1995. So nine years later and about 18-24 more months in Europe total, it still remains my moment in crystal.

We tried to duplicate it a few years ago with two friends traveling with us, and although it was nice, it just wasn't the same. Those moments can NEVER be repeated or duplicated.

"Moments set in crystal"
What a lovely metaphor. Mine are:
celebrating with my son as he discovered the dinosaurs aat Dinosaur Park in Alberta, Canada,
biking with my daughter in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada,
walking at dusk on the golf course in Waterton with my husband,
visiting Old Quebec with my father and enjoying the miniature reenactment of the battle on the Plains of Abraham,
visiting Carr House , Victoria, Canada with my daughter who had never heard of this great artist,
behind the barricade on the Mall in London when a convalcade of national leaders rushed by,
eating a gelato while wandering across the Tiber,
smelling the vanilla smell from the douglas fir on North Rim Grand Canyon,
listening to the jazz jamming on the square in New Orleans,
tip toeing up to Lonesome George in Galapagos.

Not as exotic as some, but what a wonderful feeling.

My first day in Rome (or anywhere in Europe, actually) - we had arrived mid afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day just walking around.

We found the Trevi Fountain just before sunset, and sat with the throngs of people as the sun set and the fountain was lit up, eating gelato.

I recall thinking that I couldn't believe I was actually there - that something I had only observed in books before was right in front of me.

It was the realization that I had finally achieved my lifelong desire to travel to Europe - and all my months of penny pinching to fund the trip was more than worth it.

Walking through a mostly deserted Venice on an icy cold Christmas Eve in a light snow, seeing only the occasional warm glow from a trattoria and hearing the silverware and plates clinking in an otherwise silent night.

Opening the balcony of my hotel overlooking Lake Thun on a beautiful summer evening just as a formally dressed orchestra gathered at the lakeside below and began to play A Little Night Music.

Visiting some Czech friends' dacha outside Prague, roasting sausages over the fire in the woods behind their house, and having them show us the floor board underneath which they hid the radio they listed to the BBC on.

My first view of the Dordogne river at Beynac.

My most recent: three weeks ago standing at Trocodero and seeing a falling star next to the Eiffel Tower. Magical.

I will try to settle for the top ten:
#1: Coming from a side street in Venice through an archway and glimpsing for the first time the Basilca, we then walked into the square while one of the orchestras was playing "Strangers in the Night", we walked to the middle of plaza and DH (a rather proper Swiss gentleman) kissed me rather passionately....I decided at that moment I was keeping him for life.

#2: Immediately after #1 we went into San Marco Basilica and when we came down from the balcony with the horses suddenly the entire church was illuminated and a choir started singing, they were filming a video. The entire ceiling shimmered gold. It was absolutely breathtaking, I broke down in tears.

#3 Watching the sunset while sitting with DH sipping wine in a restaurant over the gorge in one of the Casas Colgantes in Cuenca, Spain

#4 Riding a carrige up to Neuschwanstein on a crisp, cold winter morning. Icicles everywhere, a true winter wonderland.

#5 Watching eight condors hover over the Grand Canyon and catching a glimpse of my 11yr old daughter open-jawed and wonder filled face. She had recently had to write a school paper about the condor preservation program so she really got the significance of the sight

#6 Walking the streets of Pompeii and Herculano

#7 First glimpse of Il Duomo in Santa Maria della Fiori

#8 Snuggling with daugther in the terrace at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton NP while we waited to see moose

#9 Swinging in a hammock with DH and daughter at night in Jobos Beach (Isabela, PR)surrounded by torches and watching the stars

#10 Looking at the pine trees stretching to reach the sun inside the Navajo trail in Bryce Canyon

Love this! Like others, I also remember my first sighting of Venice via water taxi. Phenomenal!

The other moment I treasure is based more on an interaction than anything else. When I was in college, our chamber choir toured through Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic within a few months of the Wall coming down. We gave a concert in Brno and afterwards were mingling with the town's choir members. We spoke little Czech (though I did master "please" and "thank you") and they spoke slightly more English. We got by in some broken French & German but were clearly frustrated. One of our choir members started singing Rachmaninov's Ave Maria (something like Bogoroditse Devo in Anglicized Russian), and one by one we all joined in. It was a truly magical and moving moment--after the impromptu joint song together, it somehow seemed much easier to communicate with one another.

Because I love reading what everyone had to say in here...and it's time for some more...and, well, we need to move the title that's sorta messing up the column onto the second page...
anyway, to the top again.

One more: the Neolithic ochre swirls in the Hypogeum in Malta. I absolutely got chills.

Standing on the top deck of the Patras ferry just leaving the port of Venice, watching the sunset and hearing the bells of (so it seemed) all churches of the city.

Driving in the US - lost as usual - argueing with my passenger, coming round the corner and unexpectedly seeing Niagara right there in front of me. Jaw-dropping!

Also, lifting the window blind in an overnight rail sleeper and seeing Italy for the first time, in the dawn light. Ochre buildings, red roof tiles and poplar trees - beautiful!

This is an all-time great thread, and I'm glad it's been topped again. I wouldn't add too much to my original reply from 4-1/2 years ago, except...

* Standing in the long shadow of pre-history, admiring 20,000-year-old artwork in the dank caves of the Dordogne.

* Pompeii. No "frozen moment" discussion is complete without a mention of this remarkable place.

* Sunrise and sunset at Uluru (Ayers Rock). There's a certain kind of person who travels 10,000 miles to take a picture of a rock. And to be in the same place at the same time with a couple hundred of them gave me a palpable feeling of kinship...like this forum often does.

In no particular order:

1. Getting out of the train station in Venice - and see the Grand Canal on a bright day in Fall.

2. Arriving for the first time in Assisi on a Sunday morning and church bells are tolling everywhere.

3. Waking up at night at our Hotel in Montalchino and looked through the window at the valley far below with the flickering lights of a small village.

Me and my wife went on that 2CV (you know that old typical French car you see in the movies)car ride and i strongly recommend it to everyone. The driver was an authentic parisian (except he was actually really friendly ahah) who told us random stories about the city and France in general. They stopped in front of every main monument to let us take pictures or sometimes even took the pictures for us and the view was just breahttaking. We could stand up (even though the car is so cosy you don't feel like standing up) to take advantage of the view on the Champs Elysees etc... I mean it was such a great typical experience we actually decided to do it again. So the next time they picked us up from the restaurant and drove us around (Moulin Rouge, at the foot of the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame,...), with all the night enlightments etc..+there was litteraly no traffic,we definitely appreciated that bottle of Champagne they let us took in the car. Finally they drove us around Montmartre in some tiny streets and places only locals know so i WON'T hop on any of those touristy buses ever again.

PS: for the tip the name of their web site is parisauthentic.com but don't trust the web site's bad quality it doesn't reflect the quality of the service

Allow me to echo things already mentioned...

Stepping out of the train station in Venice.

Waking up on our first morning at the villa in Tuscany, taking a walk and watching the sunrise, truly breathtaking.

Seeing the look on my childrens faces when we were strolling in London (lost!) and turned a corner only to find we were in Trafalgar Square.

All 6 adults saying Ooh and Ahh as we realized we had stumbled upon the Leaning Tower (we had stopped to shop at the market stalls we saw from the road).

Watching my son's face as he was singled out to open the exit door after the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London.

I've said this in other threads, but now that I've actually been to Venice, I've come to appreciate the beauty of the Basilica and I am absolutely mesmerized by how it changes color with the natural light. Mornings it's soft pastel pinks and purple. Midday with the sun bearing down it is almost blindingly white. Near sunset, gorgeous oranges and grey-blues. It was here that I finally understood what Monet was all about.