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topping for Great Expectations

ALL of England and Scotland: My first, and still most treasured, trip abroad. My mother and I spent three weeks and the trip was perfection - the kind of trip where the pipe organ was playing at every cathedral just as we got there - even the weather was sunny and beautiful. London, Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands, Wales, actually getting my mother to sit in pubs and drink ale with me. I didn't think anything could surpass the impossibly high expectations I had, but it most definitely did.<BR>Also, my honeymoon in New Orleans - another perfect trip - we stayed at the most amazing hotel - the Soniat House - in the French Quarter, with our own courtyard, then onto a plantation (which we also had totally to ourselves) and then back to a lovely B&B in the Garden District in the home of a woman whose family had lived in NO forever. She had wonderful stories to tell.

Portugal. I expected to be interested and involved; I didn't expect to fall in love with a country.

1. Gallipoli beach at dawn on ANZAC day<BR>2. First glimpse of the Pyramids of Giza<BR>3. Sun rising at Abu Simbel<BR>4. The Reclining Buddha bangkok<BR>5. The coral spawning in november at the great barrier reef, scuba dive at night was scary !<BR>6. The Italian people !

Thank you to whoever brought this thread back to the top. I don't think I caught it the first time around, and you people have brought back so many wonderful memories --like Stonehenge and the Anne Frank House -- both were for me incredibly moving experiences years ago. I don't know what I can add. My first visit to the Swiss end of Lago Maggiore went so far beyond my expectations, I was spellbound. We stayed in Gerra-Gambarogno. The tile roofs and the blue-green water in the daytime and the violet sky just after sundown and the lights of Brissago and Ascona across the water (in the middle of the night). Sometimes a city visited a second or third time surpasses expectations. On my last trip to Zurich, I finally slowed down enough to explore the old narrow streets and found a smaller, more intimate, and very beautiful small town tucked inside what to me is a big city. Solothurn is a place which surprised me. I can't even list the reasons why, but it turned out to be a lovely day and a gracious, interesting town. J.

The Louvre. Art is not my favorite thing, but collection after collection was impressive. We were most amazed by the buildings. This was the first palace where we could go almost anywhere, not just the few open public rooms. The hugeness was astounding, not to mention the historical significance. I'd love to be able to wander through Versailles, Hampton Court or any other major palace that way.<BR>Venice - I felt like I was on a film set the entire weekend. The buildings there were also incredible, usually our favorite saying "don't forget to look up" applies to ceilings, in Venice we were looking at the steps taken to keep the buildings standing.

Saint Basil Cathedral in Moscow<BR>Roman Coliseum at night<BR>Eiffel Tower last April with the twinkle lights<BR>View from the tower in Siena<BR>Lava flowing into the ocean on Hawaii's Big Island<BR>

<BR>Provence in general, and Aix-en-Provence in particular. We were there on market day, and the whole experience was just exhilirating.<BR><BR>Asissi. Had no expectations, but seeing the town on the hill, surrounded by sunflower fields, and then going into the churches was just too much.<BR><BR>Brugges, and Belgian beer, chocolates and fries with mayo.<BR><BR>David and Moses.<BR><BR>My first sight of the Big Ben, coming out from Westminister station.<BR><BR>The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, in Ghent.<BR><BR>The Prado in Madrid.

A great thread indeed! I've bookmarked it to use in planning my next trip.<BR><BR>Some of my favorites:<BR><BR>My then boyfriend proposing to me next to the Thames River in London.<BR><BR>Ireland - after driving maybe 30 miles outside Dublin into the Wicklow Mountains, we were in a beautiful rural area with stunning vistas, winding dirt roads, and sheep everywhere. One of the most breathtakingly beautiful places I've ever seen!<BR><BR>London Walks tours to Bath and Salisbury. Not being much of a fan of group tours, I was skeptical, but these were different. The groups were small, and we took trains (not tour buses) to our destinations, where we walked everywhere, and the guides were superb!<BR><BR>Paris - everything about it, just as others have said, but especially Notre-Dame and nearby Ile St. Louis. Also fell in love with the restaurant Philippe Detourbe - can't wait to return so we can eat there again!<BR><BR>The town of Reims in Champagne, France. Only had a few hours there, but was struck by its beauty, charm and liveliness.<BR><BR>In spite of learning about Versailles in high school French class, I wasn't prepared for just how massive and decadent it would seem in person. Standing in front of it, it wasn't hard to understand why the revolution occurred. You could almost feel the resentment building in yourself, just imagining yourself living during that time.<BR><BR><BR>These aren't in Europe, but they were no less amazing:<BR><BR>Snorkeling at Molokini crater just off Maui.<BR><BR>The natural beauty of Banff National Park in Canada.<BR>

Since this is a Europe Forum, in Europe: <BR><BR>The Alpes.<BR><BR>Ghirlandaio's frescoes : Santa Maria Novella. I happened on them by accident and had always loved them. <BR><BR>The Alcazar in Sevilla and The Alhambhra in Granada: I felt the wonderment of a child: They far surpassed my expectations<BR><BR>The Tate Gallery <BR><BR>The paintings of Vermeer<BR><BR>Paris: I didn't know how emotional I would get about it all: Every time I go.<BR><BR>The Louvre thrills me to tears and always surpasses my expectations<BR><BR>The food in Italy<BR><BR>My first baguette and pastries in Paris<BR><BR>Santorini on my honeymoon 1979

Haven't had a chance to read the previous replies yet, but I will. My answer to the question is, simply, the Reims Cathedral in France. It is the most beautiful cathedral I have visited so far, but I hope to see many, many more. Going to Rome in two weeks! Can hardly wait to see St. Peters. <BR><BR>Sandi

Bath. <BR>Its unexpected beauty was like a punch in the gut.<BR><BR>I hadn't planned on being there and knew almost nothing about the place. I arrived early one Sunday morning about sunrise and was very moved by its grace.

Seeing the opera (my first,Don Giovanni) in the castle in Savolinna, Finland. Watching this magnificent story in the courtyard of a castle from the 12th century where people LIVED, worked, loved, and being a part of the most wonderful NATURAL background still gives me goosebumps. When the opera was finished and we walked across the moat, there was a full moon overlooking the water and I felt that I was in another time. It was so beautiful. The fact that we were visiting the family that my son stayed with on an interchange and had been emailing with them weekly, and were NOW meeting for the first time,in their country, experiencing this incredible evening was one of the most treasured moments.

American Cemetery St Laurent - Omaha Beach - Normandy - France Went on a dark and dreary day and will never forget it.

Venice--it's better and better every time I go.

Food in Germany--not the greatest in the world, but much better than many people allege.

The caring and warmth of the nuns at Fraterna Domus convent when I injured my back when we were in Rome last December. When I had to stay in bed for four days, they brought me soup and pasta. Since I could not obtain pain medication from the emergency room, they brought a doctor to my room, and after he wrote a prescription for tylenol codeine, one of the sisters went to the pharmacy and brought me back the medicine. When I was able to come downstairs at last, the sisters greeted me with &quot;It's a miracle!&quot; and kissed me on both cheeks.

The history and feelings of Savannah Georgia and eating at Mrs. Wilkes

The Kotel (The western wall) and all of Jerusalem

The city of Natanya in Israel

The color of the water of the Agean Sea.
All of Santorini.. one of the most beautiful places on earth.

So many place to see yet

Restaurants in Prague.

When we saw the lines at the Accademia in Florence, I thought why should we stand in line to see the David when we just looked at an exact replica in the square? But we did stand in line and when we saw the original we gasped. How could it be so much more magnificent when the copy is so identical? Nevermind, it just is!