My magical places: <BR> <BR>Zermatt, Switzerland <BR>Crested Butte, Colorado <BR>Monchsberg in Salzburg, Austria <BR>Fall(season)in Somerset, PA

Getting bombed out of my mind on whiskey on the back deck of my beach house at Topsail Beach, NC on a clear,sunny blue day with a brisk ocean breeze in my face and a beach with at least a couple of young ladies who fill out their bikinis in delightful ways.

Florence, at night, from a garden terrace above the town, a bottle of red wine with between the little woman and me.

What a great topic. <BR>1. Sunrise at Taormina, Sicily from the Rooftop of the Hotel Isola Bella. As the pescatori, perhaps unaware of the exquisite beauty of their surroundings, make their way out to sea for another day's toil. The way the colors shift and dance, the shimmer of the water, the perfection of it all. <BR>2. The Isle of Capri at night. <BR>3. The village of Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England.

Harry brought to mind a (couple, three, four...well, five or so great memories...) ...mostly off the coast near Almada-Lisboa... lived there for a year <BR> <BR>Thanks, Harry, for your candor!(sp?) <BR>lol

Whoooops! didn't mean the bikini thing... lol <BR>Was thinking more the great scenery and mood....oh, and that Portuguese wine...

see it...?

Sharan, I agree with you. No Bikinis. <BR>I didn't remember posting on this a year ago. I mentioned a grove of giant Sequoias. I would also say that another magic place would be in my mind as I think about my past travels and looking forward to the next places. <BR>

What a lovely, lovely thread. So many places left to go see..I wish for everyone to reach their dreams. <BR> <BR>Top 3? Tough: <BR>1. Waking up on my honeymoon in Villa d'Este to see Lake Como bathed in the early morning light, mountains beckoning in the background and birds chirping happily. <BR> <BR>2.Absolute silence like I'd never ever heard before somewhere on the top of the Black Mountains in Germany. <BR> <BR>3.Palazzo Sasso, Ravello...our first night there, we saw the lights of a cruise ship docked in the bay, fireworks going off in the night sky, and the sweet chords of a music festival wafting up to our terrace. <BR> <BR>sighhhhh

Tuolomne (sp) Meadows above Yosemite Valley <BR> <BR>Eating a toasted salame sandwich on Siena's Campo in the sun <BR> <BR>Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill Kentucky <BR> <BR>Cherokee Park in Louisville, Kentucky <BR>

River, lake, sea, ocean, any big body of water.

It is not an easy question but... <BR> <BR>The first sight of Grand Canyon from South Rim road. <BR> <BR>Lagoa do Fogo in Sao Miguel Island ( Azores Archipelago ). Really awesome. <BR> <BR>A snowy day touring the white villages in Southern Spain. <BR> <BR>Prague´s Charles Bridge at night. <BR> <BR>Voringfossen ( Norway ) at dusk ( about 11: 00 pm ). <BR> <BR>Albarracín pink-coloured town and walls at dusk. <BR> <BR>La Mer de Glace from Le Montenvers final station ( French Alps ) <BR> <BR>Every place in Iceland. <BR> <BR>The same for stormy Arizona in summer. <BR> <BR>Brugge´s Cathedral area almost alone, just the water flowing under the bridge. <BR> <BR>A "Festa" at night in Three Villages ( Malta ). <BR> <BR>First glimpse arriving at Venice. <BR> <BR>

A quiet bridge, suspended over glacier water in Interlaken, Switzerland. I met a fellow American at our place of lodging and he invited me out to walk with him. It was raining and we still ventured out with sweaters and wraps. We hiked to a castle ruins and looked out from a small tower. On the way back, we stopped on a covered bridge and just listened. There were cows bells in the background, the water was forceful and white, and a little old lady with her dog walked by us with a pointing finger. She thought we were getting a little too familiar! It's a memory I'll never forget. And hope that I can relive.

All my (short) life I wanted to visit Europe. I wanted most of all to see Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's castle in the clouds in Bavaria. I passed up the chance to go as a high school backpacker and once child #1 came along I thought the dream was gone, if not for ever then for many many years. <BR> <BR>Another chance came along and we grabbed it. I remember so vividly walking up the steep paved slopes behind the castle and reaching the Maria Brucke. Walking out on it, turning around and KAPOW! - there it was. Soaring, majestic and absolutely so much more wonderful than I ever dreamed it would be. I didn't ever want to leave. <BR> <BR>There have been many trips and many more wonderful sights since then, but that mental picture will always hold a special place in my heart because at that moment all I could think was "I made it. I really and truly made it." <BR> <BR>Mrs. turnip is under strict orders that when I finally fall off the truck (turnip truck that is) to scatter my ashes while standing on that very bridge. <BR> <BR>Cheers, the turnip

Turnip, <BR> <BR>Too Funny!!! I too, always wanted to go to "The Castle"... ever since I started traveling to Europe. <BR> <BR>As it goes... <BR> <BR>The first time I passed up Neuschwanstein, I decided to go instead, from Innsbruck, thru the dolomites, to Venice for a look-see... <BR> <BR>The second time, from Munich, missed the train stop... <BR> <BR>Third time, got sick in Munich, and just couldn't do it! <BR> <BR>I'll get there. Just you wait and see.

Ireland, especially, Inishmore (Aran Islands) and the Dingle Peninsula <BR> <BR>Eating breakfast and people watching at a sidewalk cafe in Paris <BR> <BR>View of the Manhattan skyline from the river <BR> <BR>

New Orleans. It's been six years since I've been there but, as they say down there, I've got the Bayou in my blood. Paris would be next. I hope to be going back to Paris in September. I have a strong feeling that Spain is calling me and will become one of those places. Just a hunch.

A difficult question, as the more I travel, the more magic places I discover. <BR> <BR>Older favorites: <BR>Connemara in the West of Ireland <BR>Donegal in the North West of Ireland <BR>The Ring of Kerry (minus the throngs of tourists and does not include Kilarney) <BR>Moses Mountain in the Sinai at sunrise (I don't think I could ever face that climb again - thank GOD I took photos) <BR>Every other site I visited in Egypt Luxor, Dandera, Valley of the Kings/Queens) <BR>Paris: The Marais, The Pont des Arts, (actually - most of it) <BR>Prague: Charles Bridge, the Old Square <BR>London area: Richmond Park, Chelsea on Sunday morning <BR> <BR>New discoveries this year (in Spain): <BR>Segovia <BR>Barcelona: L'Eixample area, Bari Gotic <BR> <BR>In June (hopefully): <BR>Siena, Lucca and parts of Florence <BR> <BR>Regards

Wow, I've been to many amazing place, but the key word here is 'magic'. In no particular order: <BR> <BR>-waking up to the view of the Himalayas from Gorepani in Nepal <BR> <BR>-Petra, Jordan, with the sun shining on the massive stones <BR> <BR>-Bellagio, Lake Como, with the mist over the lake and the geraniums blooming bright red <BR> <BR>-sunset in Santorini <BR> <BR>How fortunate we've been to be able to travel.

Great question/thread. Travel in and of itself is always magical to me. Some really special places/moments: <BR> <BR>France: Chateau de Beynac has the most spectacular/magic area where one can sit and view the Dordogne River valley and just reflect on the glory of life and travel. <BR> <BR>The steps in front of Sacre Coeur in Paris at dusk <BR> <BR>Italy: Saint Mark's Square in Venice at night with one of the many orchestras playing Andre Bocelli in the background <BR> <BR>England: walking late in the evening among any of the back streets in London's Mayfair district -- takes you back in time <BR> <BR>Sitting listening to the choir at evensong at King's College, Cambridge <BR> <BR>Innsbruck, Austria or London, England at Christmas time <BR> <BR>John