a lot...sorry Mom and Dad!
But I can't help it! See, I whine sometimes about living in America. Because, truthfully, I would much rather live in Europe - pretty much anywhere would do for this girl. I blame this urge on studying abroad in the spring of 2003 where Europe was my playground and pretty much any city was only a 30 euro plane ride away!
Alas, since 2003, I haven't been back there, and since 2004 I haven't been abroad! I know, that may sound spoiled, but for everything I do/am passionate about - traveling is definitely at the top. Way at the top - like, Ithinkaboutiteveryday-at-the-top
But, just when I was about drown my sorrows with cheap wine and the Travel Channel the other day, I came upon an article on MSN.com which was pretty fantastic about pointing out to me just how thankful I should be about all I've seen already.
The article was entitled "Europe's Must-See Landmarks." And I was thinking, "Man, I bet, I've only gotten to see a few of these." Insert :( here.
But, really, I had seen 10/19. And that's pretty cool. No, that's really cool. So below, I've listed all of them for your own perusal, highlighting the one's that I've been lucky enough to visit.
(Not in any sort of particular order)
1) Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - Paris, je t'aime. My favorite memory? My dad's attempt at la langue francaise by walking up to the ticket window and telling the man at the window, "I would like trois for the top!" Good times.
2) Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic - Good friends, really cold weather, and awesome photography on this Bridge. I still have a picture that I bought on it hanging in my apartment.
3) The Palace at Versailles, Versailles, France - Ugh, love that Hall of Mirrors! Rainy day, but my parents and I had the best time! The small chapel was probably my favorite room.
5) Buckingham Palace, London, England - Totally - great architecture, not as impressed with the changing of the guards as I thought I would be.
5) Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark - Nope, but I would sure love to go there!
6) Puerto del Sol, Madrid, Spain - Unfortunately, never made it to Spain.
7) Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain - See above
8) Hagia Sophia mosque, Instanbul, Turkey - Nuh uh, but this is near the top of my list - maybe next year I'll go to Instanbul and Budapest????
9) Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, Paris, France - We went to the Easter mass there - just incredible...it's such an undescribable place, I almost cried when we went in.
10) Red Square, Moscow, Russia - Since when is Russia part of Europe?
11) St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, Italy - Yes!!! Plus, I was there with friends on the day the Pope (John Paul II at the time) gave a blessing. Amazing, just amazing.
12) Piccadilly Circus, London, England - Actually cut through here everyday on my way to class.
13) Colosseum, Rome, Italy - Totes...even cooler in person, but give you the creeps to see where the slaves/animals were held.
14) Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England - Our whole program went out to see this monument. Unfortunately, you can no longer walk among the stones, because all of the footprints were softening the ground and causing the stones to shift slightly. But worth it, nonetheless.
15) Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany - Nope, but would love to!
16) Giants Causeway, ner Bushmills, Northern Ireland - Never made it past Dublin the weekend I was there - not enough time.
17) The Parthenon on the Acropolis, Athens, Greece - Sadly, the closest I've gotten is an obsession with Greek mythology and my 8th grade sugar cube replica.
18) Alhambra, Granada, Spain - See above one more time:)
19) Custom House, Dublin, Ireland - Saw it only from the outside, but that counts!
Well, there you have it, my friends. I've been really blessed to see all of these amazing places.
Not that I'll quit whining any time soon:)
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4 comments:
WOW...you've done well for only being 26 !! Hopefully you will have many more years to travel and to enjoy so many wonderful places. And that would include LOTS of sites in the STATES !!!!!
Wikepedia says:
"European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 km², and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural mountains and in the South it is defined by the border with Kazakhstan.
This area includes Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two largest cities of Russia.
Roughly 78% of the entire Russian population lives in European Russia, at an average of 10.5 persons per square mile (27 km²).[1] However, 75% of Russia's territory lies within Asia and accommodates only 22% of its population at 0.97 persons per square mile (2.5 km²).[1]
The term "European Russia" was used in the Russian Empire to refer to traditional East Slavic territories under Russian control, including modern Belarus and most of Ukraine (Dnieper Ukraine)."
I'll give you credit for making the most of your time in Europa! Perhaps you can knock a few more of those sights off the list upon your next Voyage de Europe this winter? Fragen Sie mich jeder Zeit :)
"15) Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany - Nope, but would love to!"
Hilarious. Not only is that castle be-you-tee-ful, but the tour guide we had was hilarious! Def. worth it in my opinion...
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