What was most surreal to you?
Feb 26th, 2008, 01:14 PM
#43
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1. The sight of San Francisco beyond the Golden Gate from the viewing area on the north side.
2. New York City in all its manifestations, and seeing Dave Brubeck play at the Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago, I waited 40 years for that.
3. Hong Kong from Kowloon.
4. The view of Rio de Janeiro towards the Corcavada from Sugar Loaf Mountain at sunset.
5. The Grand Canyon, as somebody else mentioned.
And for visitors to London, stand on Waterloo Bridge looking towards St Paul's Cathedral on a sunny morning. THAT's London!
2. New York City in all its manifestations, and seeing Dave Brubeck play at the Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago, I waited 40 years for that.
3. Hong Kong from Kowloon.
4. The view of Rio de Janeiro towards the Corcavada from Sugar Loaf Mountain at sunset.
5. The Grand Canyon, as somebody else mentioned.
And for visitors to London, stand on Waterloo Bridge looking towards St Paul's Cathedral on a sunny morning. THAT's London!
Feb 26th, 2008, 02:17 PM
#44
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1. The Great Wall of China - it was an absolutely beautiful day and I loved that the Wall continued on and on in each direction.
2. The Sistene Chapel and the Pieta.
3. The David.
4. The landscape of NYC from the World Towers.
2. The Sistene Chapel and the Pieta.
3. The David.
4. The landscape of NYC from the World Towers.
Feb 26th, 2008, 02:49 PM
#46
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1. Being on top of the Eiffel Tower. I could not believe that I was finally there.
2. Stepping out of the train station in Venice and seeing the Grand Canal. I was surprised that it was RIGHT THERE!
2. Stepping out of the train station in Venice and seeing the Grand Canal. I was surprised that it was RIGHT THERE!
Feb 26th, 2008, 03:05 PM
#47
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Our hotel room in Athens overlooked the Partheon and it was so surreal to look at it diff tmes during the day and see the color changes..
The unbelievable blue color of the Aegean from our terrace at Katikies in Santorini; I thought someone colored it with a crayola...
And yes the Kremin and Red Square was surreal and seeing Lenin lying in his tomb.. well.. pretty darn surreal!!
The unbelievable blue color of the Aegean from our terrace at Katikies in Santorini; I thought someone colored it with a crayola...
And yes the Kremin and Red Square was surreal and seeing Lenin lying in his tomb.. well.. pretty darn surreal!!
Feb 26th, 2008, 03:45 PM
#48
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My parents are Italian immigrants who often talked about "the old country". I so wanted to visit Italy but marriage, babies and a mortgage got in the way. Anyway finally in my mid forties I made it there. After a traumatic flight - one week after 9/11, missed flights, late arrival, locked out from our B&B - we were in Rome. Next morning I opened the window of my room and gazed over "i tetti di Roma". Wafting from the street was the smell of pastries and freshly brewed coffee. All this accompanied by the chimimg of church bells. I will never forget my first impressions of Rome - it certainly was surreal!
Feb 26th, 2008, 03:53 PM
#49
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Maybe I'm spoiled - but I don't recall anything as seeming surreal. Everything seemed more or less how I expected it to be.
I think what impressed me the most were things that I didn't plan on doing and had no expectations for - and often small things:
Sitting in one of the cafes in front of the pantheon having a drink and a free munchie while listening to the practice of a choir from some nearby church
Walking through the town of Thun in the rain, visiting the castle and wandering the charming multi-level shops We never planned to go there, but were shut out of the Jungfrau ascension when the weather at the top turned bad. So we just took off to explore and fell into Thun.
Sitting in the Cafe de la Paix in Paris having a kir royale and watching the world go by (way more then you even see from a cafe in NYC)
Visiting a historical recreation park in Ireland and realizing that my greatgrandmother and her family grew up in a "house" that was about the size of my parent's garage And finding out how unusual it was that the family was able to educate the daughters at all. (I remember when I was young her telling me how proud she was of having finished the "6th book" - which apparently was way more than most women did at the time.)
I think what impressed me the most were things that I didn't plan on doing and had no expectations for - and often small things:
Sitting in one of the cafes in front of the pantheon having a drink and a free munchie while listening to the practice of a choir from some nearby church
Walking through the town of Thun in the rain, visiting the castle and wandering the charming multi-level shops We never planned to go there, but were shut out of the Jungfrau ascension when the weather at the top turned bad. So we just took off to explore and fell into Thun.
Sitting in the Cafe de la Paix in Paris having a kir royale and watching the world go by (way more then you even see from a cafe in NYC)
Visiting a historical recreation park in Ireland and realizing that my greatgrandmother and her family grew up in a "house" that was about the size of my parent's garage And finding out how unusual it was that the family was able to educate the daughters at all. (I remember when I was young her telling me how proud she was of having finished the "6th book" - which apparently was way more than most women did at the time.)
Feb 26th, 2008, 04:04 PM
#50
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After a lifetime (i hope there's more left!) of worldwide travel, I would have to say that surrealistically speaking, there were numerous sights...many of which have already been mentioned herein...BUT,the MOST surrealistic of all is heralded in this piece I wrote for one of my books in 1993.
To set the scene, we had just driven to Treblinka after finding my wife's mother's childhood home in Miedszrych Podlaski. It was dusk and absolutely no one was at the entrance barrier or anywhere else to be seen...the two of us were utterly alone...not a sound, not even a bird, not another human being.
THE STONE FOREST TRILOGY
III TREBLINKA
(a name that lives in perpetual infamy)
the sun has set beyond the pines,
we are only two amid the mass
of chiseled stone in rolling fields
atop the consecrated ash,
as stillness permeates the dusk -
a rail-stop in the countryside,
appearing so pastoral and serene,
where boxcars of human cargo
from Warsaw and Bialystok
fueled the furnaces of finality,
stoked by mercenary hordes -
boldly inscribed,
"never again" screams forth
from the monument upon the hill -
while two days travel to the south
Bosnia burns.
To set the scene, we had just driven to Treblinka after finding my wife's mother's childhood home in Miedszrych Podlaski. It was dusk and absolutely no one was at the entrance barrier or anywhere else to be seen...the two of us were utterly alone...not a sound, not even a bird, not another human being.
THE STONE FOREST TRILOGY
III TREBLINKA
(a name that lives in perpetual infamy)
the sun has set beyond the pines,
we are only two amid the mass
of chiseled stone in rolling fields
atop the consecrated ash,
as stillness permeates the dusk -
a rail-stop in the countryside,
appearing so pastoral and serene,
where boxcars of human cargo
from Warsaw and Bialystok
fueled the furnaces of finality,
stoked by mercenary hordes -
boldly inscribed,
"never again" screams forth
from the monument upon the hill -
while two days travel to the south
Bosnia burns.
Feb 26th, 2008, 04:09 PM
#51
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How does one choose? Each time I go there is something new to be amazed at.
Like many, I've seen so many places on TV or the movies that when I have finally found myself in front of the actual location I get that "I can't believe I'm really here" feeling.
Most recently was my last trip to London and Paris with a friend. She'd never been to Europe and it was so fun to watch her experience. For myself it was taking the Metro in Paris and as we came out of the underground, I could see the Eiffel Tower coming up in the distance.
I grew up in a family that didn't necessarily discourage travel but instead were led to believe that people "like us" didn't have these kind of opportunities (too risky). So for me to take the plunge all those years ago and very determinedly go on that first trip(and solo, to boot) was so out of my family's comprehension they thought I was crazy.
Like many, I've seen so many places on TV or the movies that when I have finally found myself in front of the actual location I get that "I can't believe I'm really here" feeling.
Most recently was my last trip to London and Paris with a friend. She'd never been to Europe and it was so fun to watch her experience. For myself it was taking the Metro in Paris and as we came out of the underground, I could see the Eiffel Tower coming up in the distance.
I grew up in a family that didn't necessarily discourage travel but instead were led to believe that people "like us" didn't have these kind of opportunities (too risky). So for me to take the plunge all those years ago and very determinedly go on that first trip(and solo, to boot) was so out of my family's comprehension they thought I was crazy.
Feb 26th, 2008, 04:38 PM
#52
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Mine are non-European, but I notice others have included some not in Europe too:
1) landing in the middle of the night in Pago Pago, Samoa. A full moon sparkling on the waves, swaying palm trees silhouetted against the sky - I really could hardly believe I was in the South Seas.
2) walking through an ancient cemetery in Japan during cherry blossom time - ancient moss-covered stones, a gentle "rainfall" of cherry blossoms when the breeze stirred, the paths were carpeted with the blossoms, everything peaceful and quiet
3) the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, seen from the highway as you drive from the north into the city - even though I live in Sonoma County and see this view on average at least once a week, I never tire of it, and still, in a way, can't believe I'm really in this amazing place.
1) landing in the middle of the night in Pago Pago, Samoa. A full moon sparkling on the waves, swaying palm trees silhouetted against the sky - I really could hardly believe I was in the South Seas.
2) walking through an ancient cemetery in Japan during cherry blossom time - ancient moss-covered stones, a gentle "rainfall" of cherry blossoms when the breeze stirred, the paths were carpeted with the blossoms, everything peaceful and quiet
3) the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, seen from the highway as you drive from the north into the city - even though I live in Sonoma County and see this view on average at least once a week, I never tire of it, and still, in a way, can't believe I'm really in this amazing place.
Feb 26th, 2008, 05:23 PM
#54
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I love these posts. We are so lucky to travel and experience this sense of awe. Funny, I have lived in NY for so long that I nearly forgot (until I was reminded by reading about others' experiences) that I wept when I first saw the skyline of Manhattan (I drove from Michigan with a friend). It was an amazing sight and emotionally awesome since it signaled the beginning of my post-college, no-longer-supported-by-my-parents life.
Feb 26th, 2008, 05:26 PM
#55
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Coming out Westminster Tube station and seeing Big Ben/Clock Tower-Big Wow factor as it looked the same as the movies
Paris-Spying the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero Metro. It loomed over the skyline in the midwinter fog like a impressionist watercolor.
NYC-Taking the Staten Island Ferry and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, knowing that some ancestors had the same view.
Paris-Spying the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero Metro. It loomed over the skyline in the midwinter fog like a impressionist watercolor.
NYC-Taking the Staten Island Ferry and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time, knowing that some ancestors had the same view.
Feb 26th, 2008, 06:24 PM
#56
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1. The Parthenon ,Acropolis.
2. Chartres Cathedral
3. Effiel Tower
4.David -left me speechless, couldn't get enought of this feast for the eyes
5.Cordoba-Spain
6.Santorini
I always feel I need to go back and see these natural wonders, art and architectural marvels a second time , to let it truly register that I am actually there and savouring all of it.
2. Chartres Cathedral
3. Effiel Tower
4.David -left me speechless, couldn't get enought of this feast for the eyes
5.Cordoba-Spain
6.Santorini
I always feel I need to go back and see these natural wonders, art and architectural marvels a second time , to let it truly register that I am actually there and savouring all of it.
Feb 26th, 2008, 06:48 PM
#59
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- Standing in the swirling mists of the Lough Inagh valley in the Connemara of Ireland. Couldn't see signs of life anywhere, just hills cloaked in fog hovering over a black water lake.
- The banyon roots growing over the temple ruins in Angkor. It was like transporting to some lost world.
- Listening to the call to prayer circling us while we watched the sunset over Fez. Every minaret boomed out the voices of muezzins, each unique, each starting a minute or so after the one before him. And it just went round and round this jumbled ancient city, competing and harmonious at the same time. Way, way, way exotique!
Feb 26th, 2008, 08:06 PM
#60
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I also remember after arriving in the little town of Yangshou,China and going across the street from my hotel to have homemade dumplings(I watched them making)in a tiny shop .I remember thinking," OMG! I am really in CHINA having real dumplings made like they have been for hundreds of years ...just unreal "
