According to Smithsonian's January 2008 issue, there are twenty-eight places to see before you die. "Whether you visit only a couple of these destinations or all 28, your life will be enriched by the experience."
Portals into the Past:
--Mesa Verde (Colorado)
--Pompeii (near Naples, Italy)
--Tikal (Guatemala)
--Petra (Jordan)
Feats of Engineering:
--Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
--Taj Mahal (Agra, India)
--Easter Island (way west of Chile)
--The Great Wall (China)
A Matter of Timing (to be seen at certain times of year):
--Aurora Borealis (Alaska/Yukon)
--Serengeti (Tanzania and Kenya)
--Iguazu Falls (Brazil)
--Macchu Picchu (Peru)
Triumphs of Vision:
--Musee du Louvre (Paris, France)
--Zen Garden of Kyoto (Japan)
--Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy)
--Fallingwater (Pennsylvania)
Scale New Heights:
--Yangtze River (China)
--Antarctica
--Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
--Grand Canyon (Arizona)
In the Presence of Gods:
--Pagan (Burma/Myanmar)
--Parthenon (Athens, Greece)
--Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
--Ephesus (Turkey)
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow:
--Venice (Italy)
--Amazon Rain Forest (in parts of eight South American countries!)
--Great Barrier Reef (east of Australia)
--Galapagos Islands (west of Ecuador)
I've seen the Louvre, the Uffizi, Venice, the Parthenon, and the Great Barrier Reef. If I follow through with China this summer, I'll see the Great Wall (and I'm not sure about the Yangtze, I'll have to check the sample itinerary). Seeing those places has certainly impacted me--they are all beautiful, stunning, inspirational in their own ways.
In the last year or so, reading National Geographic Adventure, South America is definitely on my list. There are so many treasures, both natural and historical, and it's kind of overwhelming. And it seems expensive, since those are the kind of experience you need a guide to make the best. I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford it, but I would certainly like to make it to one South American country in the next couple years. (I think Peru seems like a good start.) (Our school cut all after-school programs last month; we've had our own budget issues even before the city-wide cuts. This means I have no more extra income, so I'll have to get used to continuing not traveling.)
I think Yellowstone is a treasure that everyone should experience. I've never been to Yosemite or Glacier National Parks; I hear those are gorgeous, amazing places (and they're on my own list). The Australian Outback is an incredibly unique and beautiful, though harsh. It's a place and lifestyle unlike any other. Any or all of those destinations should definitely be on a list like this one.
So what do you think? How many have you visited? How many are on your own "list"? Anything you think should be added?
7 comments:
Parthenon, Louvre, Ephesus.
But I've been in a coal mine. Under Niagara Falls.
I've walked in the woods, and down strange streets. I've seen beach stretch for miles without a soul.
I've seen photos of cities after bombings, and I saw West Farms, looking pretty much the same.
I've been at sea during a storm, and I've seen lightening strike 10 yards from my porch.
I grumble at dogs, psst at cats, look in awe at hawks, call squirrels bad names.
I've climbed New England hills and emerged to taste fresh crisp breezes. I've seen farms to the horizon in the Hungarian plain.
And I see amazing things in classrooms.
Ephesus wasn't so amazing. But there was a little earthquake when I was there. Only one I ever felt outside of Brooklyn.
As long as I'm getting something from these experiences, don't think it matters if they are on Smithsonian's list.
Jonathan, YES! I totally agree with you. And you have a pretty amazing list of your own. (It sounds like a poem!) I think that is the point of the whole thing--enrich yourself by seeing new things. I know that's one of my life mottoes (though I wouldn't have been able to articulate it like that until just now). Thanks for the great comment!
Oh! If you go to China you MUST MUST MUST go to Yangshuo!!! Seriously, it was spectacular. Feel free to e-mail for details.
Poetry, or a bad rip-off of Bob Dylan?
(with the meaning totally twisted out of recognition)
Hard Rain
Jonathan
I have an idea. You come here and watch the boys for a couple of weeks and Ginger and I will hit some of these places, for I have seen none of them...
I've only been to three, Ephesus, the Uffizzi, and the Pyramids (though I was too young to remember them) though I'll add the Louvre to my list next week(!). I'd add Cappadoccia, Turkey, because it's culturally, anthropologically, architecturally, and geologically fascinating.
High on my list are the Galapagos, Antarctica, Iceland (for the geology), Petra. The Aurora Borealis is a good one to add. I'd like to see a total solar eclipse.
If you go to South America, do Ecuador! I can give you an intinerary and contacts (rain forest, etc), but skip the Galapagos if you care about the environment (they're closing the Galapagos any day now, anyway, for the same reason.)
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