What was most surreal to you?
 

When thinking about my upcoming trip to Rome, I am most excited about visiting the Pantheon. Ever since I first took Humanities in high school (a veeery long time ago), I have been wanting to see it in person.

I think it will be one of those "I can't even comprehend that I'm actually standing in front of the real thing" moments. You know...kind of like the first time you stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, or Radio City Music Hall. It's surreal to be at those places when you have been looking at photos of them for your entire life.

What iconic place first made you feel this way?

Notre Dame de Paris.

I had got off PanAm flight into Orly early on the rainy morning, made my way by bus and Métro to my digs, and immediately got on the first train to St-Michel stop.

Up the escalator, turn around, <i>et voil&agrave;</i> - the magnificent edifice I had known intimately from Hugo, countless movies, travel guides and coffee-table books for all my life.

And there I was.
And there it was.

Arriving in Venice by water taxi from the airport. It was just a smudge on the horizon at first. Slowly it got bigger and more distinct--then the boat operator cut the engine back and we slide into the middle of this most unique of cities from the open lagoon. Magic.

My first view of the pyramids.

The Taj at full moon.

Coming round a corner and seeing St. Marks with an oil-tanker parked behind it.
Going to the Uffizi and seeing &quot;The birth of Venus&quot; and &quot;Primavera&quot;.
I'd seen them in umpteen reproductions, but this was the real thing

Shelly, the Pantheon did it for me in Rome. It was completely surreal and I remain mesmerized by it even still...

David in Florence, looking up from underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I can think back to all of these and it feels like a dream.

First, I don't know. But more recently, the cave paintings at Font de Gaume in the Dordogne.

And can I pick one more? The temple of the oracle at Delphi.

Stonehenge when I was 10 years old.

I'd not seen any pictures before I went and I was amazed by it. You could walk amongst the stones and touch them in those days. We were there just before dusk and that's the time I like to be there when I've revisited.

My first time was the Eiffel Tower.

We were staying in the 1st, and could see it from the right bank of the Seine. We had only just arrived in Paris after an exhausting, two-days-in-Newark, still-in-our-same-clothes, weather-related-last-minute-change from going to Ireland.

Anyway...we walked all the way from the Louvre to the ET that night, in the rain, but it was worth every second. Absolutely beautiful!

Sydney. Circular Quay, the Opera House and the bridge.

Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow.

Have to say The White House. Always saw it on the BBC News growing up and now I live in DC suburb!

The Eiffel Tower viewed from Trocadero. It was Valentine's Day evening. It was a record temp (maybe 75!!!!). Coming up from the Metro, walking over the plaza and looking out to the Tower was magical. And romantic with the fountains and lights.

This post just made me go to www.paris-live.com !!! Thanks!

Definitely the Parthenon. I was so overwhelmed to be on the Acropolis that I tripped and stubbed my toe. I was horrified to be bleeding on the ancient white marble - fortunately a kind soul gave me a bandage!

The first time I stepped out of the San Lucia train station onto the Grand Canal.

My first visit to Paris.

Pech Merle.

The David.

((I))

My first cruise down the Grand Canal in Venice, along with renewing wedding vows with my husband on a gonodola the same trip. Very surreal.

The Berlin Wall

The first in my lifetime would probably be the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. It was certainly iconic to me as an 8-year old.

The first in Europe would be in London, simply due to timing as London was my first European destination: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Others that made a big impact:

Notre Dame de Paris
Eiffel Tower
Acropolis of Athens
Brandenburg Gate
Piazza San Marco, Venice
St. Peter’s Square and Basilica
The Forum in Rome
Turning a corner and seeing the Trevi Fountain.

The Colosseum- my friend and I were coming up from the metro and staring at a map looking for the way to the Colosseum, and I looked up and there is was. Right in front of me. Wow.

Also in Rome- entering St. Peter's Basilica. So majestic, so ornate. And they don't build them like that anymore. Another breathtaking moment for me.

I had been so eagerly anticipating my first trip to Europe for what seemed like forever, everything was surreal.

However, the very first place that made me feel that way was sitting in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Rome was our arrival city and we didn't get in until the late afternoon. We didn't have concrete plans until the next day, so we decided to wander around. We turned a corner and there it was.

I remember thinking about how many times I had seen the fountain in photographs - and there it was, right in front of me.

For the rest of the trip, all of the iconic landmarks affected me much the same way - The Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Colosseum, the Grand Canal in Venice, etc.

I probably walked around during that entire 3 weeks with my jaw half open.

'I probably walked around during that entire 3 weeks with my jaw half open.'

chepar- I'm betting that it was a wonderful trip then:). I felt that way on my last trip to Europe, and I'm hoping I spend the entire next trip like that- if it doesn't move me, I don't see a point in going.

Thought of another moment- Standing on the cliff edge at Dun Angosa in the Aran Islands. Stark, remote and breath-taking. It was the edge of the world, and it made me feel insignificant and powerful all at the same time.

The Taj Mahal - I couldn't believe I was actually there, and it was much more amazing in person.

In Rome - The Colosseum and the Vatican.

Definitely Stonehenge. Also, the Tower of London. These are icons to me (as an anglophile and lover of history) that mean the world to me.

Flying into Paris one rainy morning and seeing just the top half of the Eiffel Tower poking through the clouds.

Notre Dame Cathedral during Sunday mass.

All of the art in the Louvre that I studied in my Art History classes.

For our first trip to Venice we arrived by car and took the vaporetto near the parking garage. It turned onto the Grand Canal and the moment was breathtaking. I have also taken two of my children (one at a time)and made it a point to watch their jaws drop as we walked out of the San Lucia station.

On the Island of Terciera in the Azores, walking among the volcano's steam vents with the slight smell of sulfur. Each vent had its own small and colorful ecosystem.

My first view of the Western Wall (1970)in the old city of Jerusalem -a place where until 1967 I had forbidden to travel. A very surreal and emotional moment.

All th above of course, but the best was POMPEII!!!!!!! I couldn't believe I was in the real city and it was still there if you could reach into your imagination...and fill in the blanks and the best was the modern world did not distract from the viewin any way ....it brought tears to my eyes

Four breath-taking 'I-can't-believe-it' experiences for me were --

((*)) Michelangelo's Pieta
((*)) from a plane window, the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji peeping up above the clouds
((*)) the Grand Canal in Venice as I stepped out of the train station
((*)) flying in a tiny eight-seater plane down the middle of the Grand Canyon

And this is why I travel.

Glastonbury's Tor: We experienced it on a warm summer evening under clear blue skies. The mystical, magical sunset among all those mystical magical people was unbelievable.

Sitting on a Swiss mountain, watching the brown Swiss graze in the meadows and hearing an alphorn in the background. Perfect!

Machu Picchu--most definitely!!

The David

The first time I flew to Italy. We went over the Swiss Alps as the morning sun was coming up. Glorious! The sun sparkled on the snow on the mountains which gave the snow a golden hue and there were little villages scattered here and there.

Next was standing and looking at the Duomo in Milan.

Driving into Rome and trying to find our hotel and suddenly right ahead of us was the colosseum!

Driving from Rome to the Region of Molise. The mountains, the greenery, the still simple lifestyle of the residents. Older ladies all in black leading donkies loaded down with hay as they did centuries before.

To many beautiful and perfect memories.

Notre Dame de Paris, seen from the taxi on the way in from the airport. I cried.

The Grand Canal in Venice as we stepped out of the railroad station on a glistening October day. I cried.

Oh. Wait. I forgot about seeing the gorgeous Tuscan countryside!

We arrived in Athens,checked into our hotel. Travel time - 36 hours Sydney/London/Athens. So you can imagine we were feeling pretty strung out. However, we headed off on foot to start exploring and I will never forget that first unexpected moment when I looked up and there is was........... the Parthenon!! We were both completely overwhelmed!!

Later that week.... the beauty and calmness of Olympia.

These are great! I have to agree with many of yours, especially in Italy.

Goddesstogo, definitely Mount Fuji from the plane.

And - the first time I saw it from the rooftop terrace of our house in Tokyo, tiny &amp; snowcapped in the distance.

Seeing a lump on the horizon as we drove across France, and then, as we got closer &amp; it took shape, realizing it was our destination:
Chartres Cathedral.

Seeing the sunrise from the top of the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

A volcano puffing little puffs of smoke (steam?) on the island of Java near Borobodur; Indonesia itself is the most surreal country I have ever visited.

Walking around a corner in NYC and seeing the Chrysler Building looming up before me. I gawked like a happy idiot.

Walking along the Seine and seeing Notre Dame just like in the movies &amp; looking down on the city at Sacre Coeur with a harpist playing La Vie en Rose.

Walking through the welcome center and actually being in Chichen Itza and seeing the Kukulcan Pyramid.

Walking up the hill in the rain and finally being able to see Neuschwanstein!

St. Peters Basilica, The Coliseum, Venice

I know this is the europe board, but the most surreal for me without a doubt was the grand canyon. It looks like a backdrop even when you're standing right in front of it.

Exiting the train station in Venice and immediately facing all that beauty. Not having to wait to get to St. Marks or some other landmark really surprised me.