My husband and I were driving back from a long day trip from Venice to Bratislava, were tired and arguing about something inane, when we turned a corner and saw the most incredible rainbow! The colors were so vivid that it just stopped us in our tracks and made us realize how blessed we were.

We arrived in Wengen in the evening as the sun was setting during a steady rain with clouds filling the whole valley. The next morning we woke up to a perfectly clear, sunny day. Our balcony faced toward the Jungrau and it was one of the most stunning views I've ever seen. We sat on our little balcony eating fruit and thinking we were in heaven.

This is not my photo...but it's pretty close to what we saw: http://tinyurl.com/2m9hon

My two friends and I were driving north to Amman, Jordan after a weekend climbing all over Petra (in itself unforgettable, plus the crusader castle ruins we stopped to see along the King's Highway.)

The moment I think of though is when we drove down into a wadi (valley, loosely defined) as barren as the grand canyon, until the narrow dirt road seemed frighteningly destined to drop us off the edge. We climbed down the rest of the way to the bottom, where a tributary of the Jordan trickled along - but also formed a natural bath about the size of a backyard swimming pool, then trickled on its way again. We took a swim (so nice in the desert heat, even late in the day as it was) and looked up at a landscape that might have been on Mars or the moon: rugged, rocky, vertical ...

That trip - especially that weekend - was filled with stellar moments. Swimming on the moon was my favorite.

What a wonderful title!

I have been lucky in my life to have had more than a few such moments, moments that I can pull out of memory and relive.

I agree that riding the vaporetto down the Grand Canal from the station in Venice is one.

My very first trip to Europe more than 40 years ago--waking up (after arriving well after dark and bleary eyed from a long trip), looking out over the valley, and seeing the Hohensalzburg castle floating above the mist over the city.

Watching the sun "go down by Galway Bay"--a spectacular sunset shared with special friends.

Walking along the riverbank and watching the full moon rise over Wawel Castle in Krakow across the river.

Watching puffins on Staffa Island on a crystal clear day.

Arriving in Vernazza to see turquoise water and lots of flowers after flying out of New England in snow flurries.

My first sight of tuulip fields in bloom in Holland.

Mont-St-Michel in the early morning mist with sheep grazing in the foreground pasture.

A climb up into the tower and through the attic of Ely Cathedral and looking at the amazing engineering under the roof.

arriving on the Great Blasket Island.

Seeing a rainbow as Old Faithful spouted off.

Just a few from my travel memories. Have lots close to home, but this is supposed to be travel.

Thanks for giving me an excuse to go down "memory lane".

I was reminded of this by the "One Place" thread, and there's another one to add:

Walking from the deserted bus stop at 3AM in Druskininkai (just off the bus from Poland) with the pines towering above and their scent a positive benediction in the night. There are very few times when I have felt so buoyantly joyful.

What a great thread!

Being invited into the cockpit of a commercial airplane as we flew into Nepal and there before us in all its splendor was the tallest mountain in the world, Mt Everest.

Driving from Calgary westward and sparkling in the cloudless morning sun were the snowy peaks of the Rockies, horizon to horizon, from north to south.

Rafting down the tumbling turquoise waters of the Swat Valley River on inflated pigskins

Sitting on the patio of my friend's penthouse apartment in Paris, nibbling little nothings with French wine, comfortable chatting with old friends and watching a single contrail slowly cross the sky

At the Musee d'Orsay watching a group of very attentive young students sitting on the floor listening to their teacher explain a Monet painting

which reminds me of another group of school kids in Cesky Krumlov, so friendly, so many questions, so many smiles

Crossing the Khyber Pass while the conductor casually twirled his handgun around while asking the passengers for their tickets

So many happy and unique memories! Too many to write them all down!

Thanks for a great thread, Amy!

1993. After scrimping and saving for years my daughter and I arrived in Ireland to "the worst weather we've had all year" and we truly wondered what we had done. Then the next morning to walk up into the Gap of Dunloe in the cool stillness and realize that yes, it was all worth it.

Been back 5 more times but that morning stands out.