What surpassed your expectations?
 

After that rather unpleasant thread on what people didn't like abroad, what surpassed your expectations? <BR>Personally, although I had seen umpteen reproductions of them I was surprised at the size and sheer beauty of the Primavera and the Birth of Venus. I was also stunned when I suddenly caught sight of St. Mark's in Venice. I was not prepared for its beauty and was surprised to see an oil tanker behind it. <BR>My first sight of Stonehenge was at sunset. The visitor centre was closed but you can see it from the road. It looks ancient and eery in that light, pure Thomas Hardy.

By far...the quality of art in the Louvre. It just blew me away.

Tso beautful <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>The grand canyon of Verdon was the most beautiful drive I have enjoyed in France. We would stop at all the little cafes along the way. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Duiske Abbey in Graiguenamagh, County Kilkenny Ireland. I've seen a million old churches in Europe. Although fairly simple, I was blown away when I walked in. I guess because it wasn't so ornate. <BR>

What a refreshing change from "bashing"!I was really knocked out recently by the "Scavi", excavations under St Peter's in Rome. Really instructive and very moving. In an earlier adventure,I went to the cemetery for Allied Troops in Ortono, in the Abruzzo out of duty to my Mum who had lost a friend there during WWII. It was gripping looking at those rows of crosses. I think you could substitute any cemetery in Europe where US, Canadians, Australians and Brits died far from home at age 18.How different this forum on European travel might be today if Germany (and company) had won that war...

Seeing Ferdinand and Isabella's coffins - I still can't get over how small they were! <BR> <BR>And the first time I drove around the bend and saw the town of Beynac - thought it was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. <BR> <BR>First sighting of Lago Maggiore was pretty impressive, too. <BR> <BR>And the Dolomites....and the Alhambra....and the Parthenon

Rome, Pompeii and Tuscany. I was afraid they'd been over-hyped. Also, the Eiffel Tower and all of Paris!

Here are my top ten: <BR> <BR>1. The Musee D'Orsay...all those impressionists and so little time! <BR> <BR>2. The "Nightwatch" by Rembrandt. Nothing prepared me for the use of light in that painting. <BR> <BR>3. David...my all time favorite. The trip to Europe was worth it just to see that one statue. <BR> <BR>4. Edinburgh Castle....now that's what a real castle should be! <BR> <BR>5. The Tower of London...."it all started in 1066..." <BR> <BR>6. The food in Italy...enough said!!! <BR> <BR>7. Opening day at Octoberfest...what a parade, what a beer bust! <BR> <BR>8. Salzburg...just all of it! <BR> <BR>9. Piazza San Marcos and The Grand Canal <BR> <BR>10. ...and hopefully Provence, where I'm going in September!

I think the Dom in Switzerland caught me by surprise, even though I have seen quite a few mountains and climbed a few fourteeners in Colorado. (For those of you who don't know, the Dom is the highest mountain within Swiss borders.) <BR>We arrived in Saas Grund to find our apartment on a cloudy day, with the Mischabel Range, of which the Dom is a part, somewhat obscured. <BR>The following morning, the sky was mostly blue and when I looked out of my window, there was the Dom towering straight up,and up and up for nearly two vertical miles in one continuous patch of glistening white. Later that day the full immensity of this towering wall of white was made even more awesome. We took one the cable lifts up from Saas Fee. At the top, we seemed no closer to the top of the Dom than when we started. <BR>

All of rome! <BR> the Abbazia at Montecassino, <BR> the building itself, and the views from looking out from it. <BR> The Bapistry in Pisa, <BR>esp. when the guard came in and sang ! <BR> Parts of the Roman Forum. <BR> Piazza Navona at night. <BR> Montagna Spaccato , in Gaeta. <BR> Cappacino and caffe lattes <BR> Fresh Bufulo mozzarella <BR> <BR>The whole trip!

My list... <BR>1. Paris - all of it! <BR>2. The forum in Rome - the history, wow <BR>3. Pompeii - they were geniuses (except for the building near an active volcano part) <BR>4. Westminister Abbey <BR>5. The Duomo in Florence - pictures do no do it justice <BR>6. My first view of the Alps in Innsbruck <BR>7. Giverny-now I understand how Monet got his inspiration <BR>

to TBH: Where is the "Nightwatch" exhibited? I would love to see it.....

I fell in love with Paris on my first visit there. It was beyond what I'd dreamt about. <BR>And...at the Musee d'Orsay, Van Gogh's "L'eglise d'Auvers"...I just stared at it with awe. <BR> <BR>Other things? Seeing one of my favorite Gaugin paintings, "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" in the National Gallery in Edinborough was wonderful...as was Scotland itself. <BR> <BR>Loved Venice...coming in on the Grand Canal was a mouth-dropping experience for me. Florence...the Duomo, Giotto's Tower, etc. Sigh. And yes, the David, the Primavera, the Fra Angelico frescos at San Marco...all were beyond my expectations. Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Stonehenge... <BR> <BR>And the Old Town in Prague... <BR>Okay...guess I just love Europe! <BR> <BR>Lee

The Duomo in Milan from the outside. No other cathedral I' ve seen had the same impact on me. The inside is nothing special. <BR> <BR>Turner artwork at the Tate Gallery in London: there was one of his paintings that simply made me speechless, it was pure sunshine. <BR> <BR>Monet's Japanese garden in Giverny: the most peaceful garden I 've ever seen, although crowded with tourists. <BR> <BR>San Francis Basilica is Assisi, and Assisi itself: both, the upper and lower churches, with a lower ceiling, but so beautiful, peaceful, and meaningful. <BR> <BR>Surlok

Laura, <BR> <BR>The Nightwatch is in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum. I was there in March, the size of it was impressive also! <BR>

Venice - I figured it couldn't be anywhere near as pretty as the photos; boy, was I wrong. <BR> <BR>Cooking class at the Ritz-Escoffier - I figured it would be terrifying, intimidating, overwhelming; boy, was I wrong. <BR> <BR>Morocco (all of it, every bit of it, everybody in it) - I figured it would be exotic, different, gob-smacking; boy, did I underestimate.

Paris, Venice, Barcelona, and Rome all exceeded any expectations I had. <BR> <BR>Specific sights that exceeded my expectations in those cities were the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Canal, all of Gaudi's buildings, and St. Peter's Basilica & Square. <BR> <BR>Places & sights elsewhere were the Pont du Gard, the Trophee des Alpes, and the Gorges du Verdon in France; and Cinqueterre, Siena, and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. <BR> <BR>

Even more fun! But there are so many places! <BR> <BR>1. The Nightwatch - much more spectacular in person than in a book, the size alone will take your breath away (and it is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam). <BR> <BR>2. The Berliner Dom - the organ gave me goosebumps hearing it played. <BR> <BR>3. David in Florence. <BR> <BR>4. The American Cemetary in Lux. <BR> <BR>5. Trier (I haven't been to Rome, but the ruins in this city can rival the ones anywhere in my opinion). <BR> <BR>6. Delphi, Agamemnon's Tomb, the greek isles (away from the tourists though!). <BR> <BR>7. The Spainish Riding School - even my parents the non riders that they are were moved. <BR> <BR>8. The Bodensee - esp on a clear day when the Alps were "out" and it seemed that they were right down on top of the Lake. <BR> <BR>I'm sure that there are more, but those are my favorites.

I am one of those who loves Paris and had always dreamed of going there. I was afraid it would not be able to live up to my high expectations. It did by a long shot. <BR> <BR>The interior of Chartres cathedral. For the most part, I prefer the exterior of Notre-Dame in Paris to the expterior of Chartres, but the interior was truly magical. <BR> <BR>The Rodin Museum in Paris - So easy to see and what great, expressive art. Will always be one of my favorite museums and artists now. <BR> <BR>Gettysburg Battlefield. After almost a week of battlefields, I arrived. It was even more interesting than I had imagined for the thirty years I wanted to visit it. However, Antietam is better in a way because of the lower crowds and commercialism. <BR> <BR>The Mayan ruins in Mexico. Ok, I knew they would be something I had to see, but what started out as just another part of my trip turned into the real highlight and gave me a whole new interest. <BR> <BR>Freiburg Cathedral - love the color and the spire. <BR> <BR>Beijing - caotic, dirty, bureaucratic, but utterly fascinating <BR> <BR>Toronto - one of my favorite cities; lots to do and see <BR> <BR>Charleston - I think it is my favorite city so far in the U.S. So much history, great food, friendly people, good service. <BR> <BR>Backstreet Prague - Away from the crowds in places like Mala Stana and Vysehrad. So glad I decided to add a couple of extra days into that trip to spend more time in Prague. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

oh some of the non-European notes got me thinking again: <BR> <BR>The bioluminescent bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico. It was like swimming in the milky way - and splashing each other was like having a "pixie-dust" fight! <BR> <BR>Also - that unmatched turquoise blue gin-clear water in many Caribbean locations. When you see it from the air it is astounding. Swimming in it washes away innumerable weeks of stress!