Which World Wonders Have You Wandered?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:18pm

I feel that travel itch coming again, much to the groan of the empty bank account. I found this site, which has a subjective (but also fairly extensive) list of the top 100 wonders of the world. One of my "things to do before I die" is to visit all of these places (as well as a few others that didn't make the list).

Five questions to pose:

1. How many have you visited? (Feel free to list them.)

2. Which were your highlights?

3. Which were disappointments?

4. Which wonders have you not visited that you would like to see?

5. What's missing on the list that you think should be added?


Hillman Wonders Of The World

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 01:18 PM

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:22pm

It's interesting to me to have natural and man-made things on the same list.

The highest on the list for me is number 6, the Grand Canyon. I lived there for five years, and could go on and on about what it means to me. Definitely the most spiritual place I've been. The natives around there refer to it as the 'womb of the Earth' - and I definitely resonate with that.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:33pm

I thought the same thing about having natural and man-made things on the same list - and it seems like the list has a bias towards man-made things from ancient history more so than anything else. I just realized that the Top 100 gets updated once in a while. I suppose people can vote. I originally printed out this list on May 1, 2004 and some things that were on there that aren't anymore: Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas Strip, Kennedy Space Center. New additions include Yosemite, Ayers Rock, Antarctica Penguins (hear that, DG?!), Petronas Twin Towers.

I would love to see the Grand Canyon some day! It's probably the #1 place in the US that I haven't visited yet.

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:36pm

Tiff - I saw the penguins

If you get to the Canyon, and it's something that you can physically handle and are interested in, try to have enough time to go down INTO it - that's where the real magic happens

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:39pm

Is it hiking or face climbing? I'd like to do either! (I haven't face-climbed in a year though and that's a pretty tall face!)

[KelRel]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:44pm

I'm glad to see that I have acctually been to a few of these. I have been to Versailles, The Eiffel Tower, The British Museum, The Louvre, and seen the New York skyline.

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:50pm

Tiff - mostly hiking, although some of it can be rather challenging - 16% grades and up. If you do get down in and have time to do some back-country, there can be some climbing involved. Overall, though, they try to discourage it because it really is pretty unstable. But even if you just do the major hiking trails, it is WELL worth the effort.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:55pm

KelRel, how did you find Versailles and the British Museum?? I haven't been to either, but they're both on the list for my return visit. I've been to Chambord, Fontainebleau and Chenonceau in France, so I didn't know if Versailles would be relatively underwhelming (I was worried of being chateau-d out by the end of the trip). Everyone says it's a must-see. And the British Museum has...is it the rosetta stone...there?

DG, 16% and up! I think I'll stick with the major hiking trails. Are these a few kilometers or full-day hikes?

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:05pm

Tiff - it all depends on how much time you want to commit. The thing to remember is that the most grueling parts are always at the beginning and the end (coming out) - no matter which route you take (because that's where you're travesing the almost straigt vertical initial drop into the gorge.)

Unless you absolutely have to because of time and/or logistical reasons, I would avoid the main trail from the village (the Bright Angel) - as that's the most heavily traveled. Although, with that one, you can do a day hike pretty far in, have time to enjoy yourself, and get back out fairly easily in a day. That trail is ten miles if you go all the way down to the river.

The better one to use is the Kaibab, which is East of the village. It's only seven miles to the river - but, of course, that means the trail is a little steeper. It's not as heavily traveled, and I think the views are better sooner on the hike.

I would REALLY recommend, if you have the time, arranging to camp down at Phantom Ranch at the bottom. Hike in one day, spend however much time you can down in doing day hikes to and from the ranch, then back out on another day.

I can tell you that, for the people who live there and hike frequently (expecially those who live and work at the bottom) the standard allowance for travel is 2 hours down and 3 out. But that's just hiking full out, without really stopping for any reason (which I wouldn't recommend - it would be like running through an art museum!) AND, these are people who are most conditioned to the environment.

Also, don't go in the summer - WAY too many people, and it's HOT!!! Best is early April or mid-October.

[MissMonika]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:15pm

I've been to the Grand Canyon, Chichen Itza, Carlsbad Caverns, the Met, Angel Falls, Yosemite, San Francisco Bay, and New York (skyline). I'm not really a camping person so when my family and I went to Yosemite, I didn't really have the best time. The Grand Canyon is WOW! Looks like a painting up close and personal.

I'd really love to see the Great Wall, the Pyramids, the Colosseum. Well, I'd like to try to see all the things on that list but most likely won't happen.

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:16pm

Great thread. I'm a huge travel junkie.

I've been to:

Taj Mahal
Sistine Chapel
Louvre Museum
Canals of Venice
Versailles
Metropolitan Museum
Pompeii
Prague Old Town
Amalfi Drive
Chartres Cathedral
Uffizi Gallery
St. Mark's Basilica
Florence Cityscape
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Stonehenge
New York Skyline
Marrakech
Eiffel Tower
Niagara Falls

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:18pm

I've seen the Pyramids (amazing) and the Taj Mahal.

[KelRel]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:28pm

Tiff, they were both amazing! The museum was so interesting and it does have the Rosetta Stone which was mind boggeling to see. Versailles was huge and breathtaking. I can't really describe the experience. I loved it.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:33pm

I've been to (well the New York Skyline I guess counts but I see it every day so its not really a trip I take) The Metropolitan Museum of Art more times than I can count, The Parthenon/Acropolis, and Santorini.

I found the Parthenon to be so disappointing, then again so did the people I was with. Although that was not because of the Parthenon itself, I was there shortly before the Olympics were in Athens and it was heavily covered in scaffolding so that was the disappointment about it.

My best friend lives in England so I've been there several times although I've never been to the British Museum. For me, something in England that I would add instead would be the city of York. Walking the walls of that city was one of the most wonderful times I've ever had, I adore that city.

But, my top of the things on this list would have to be Santorini. The cliffs of that island and the atmosphere of it is, hands down, the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my entire life.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:34pm

From the list, I've been to Bali, Colosseum, Canals of Venice, St. Peter's and Sistine, the Louvre, Leaning Tower of PIsa, the Met, Florence Cityscape, Chartres, Matterhorn, St. Mark's Basilica/Campanile, Petronas Towers, New York Skyline, Chambord, Mont-St-Michel, San Fran Bay/Citscape, Statue of Liberty, Ponte Vecchio, Las Vegas Strip, Kennedy Space Center and Eiffel Tower. (That's from the old list - I don't think Las Vegas or Kennedy Space Center are on there anymore.)

The ones I'm most looking forward to seeing are the Pyramids and Sphinx, Great Wall, Taj Mahal, all of the Mayan and Aztec sites that were listed, Qin Terra Cotta Warriors, Marrakesh, Santorini, Burg Al Arab and the British Museum.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:36pm

Bythesword, did you watch the sunset in Santorini? People swear up and down that it's one of the most beautiful sights to witness!

I'd like to visit Stonehenge just to see it, but people say it's a real let-down as well. Do you actually get to go up close or just from a distance?

[bythesword84]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:41pm

Actually, yes I did see the sunset in Santorini (I also saw it set on the island of Mykonos where it is also a beautiful thing to watch) and everyone I went with stood there in silence for a minute after it because it was just so breathtaking.

Side note, there's also this place there that makes amazing Chocolate Mousse, which I'm sure you needed to know.

And by all means, make sure you ride a donkey down the cliffs.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:43pm

I've actually traveled quite a bit, but have not visited terribly many of these sites.

Places I have visited:
6. Grand Canyon
23. Jerusalem Old City
79. Yellowstone
83. New York Skyline
96. Neuschwanstein Castle
99. Dead Sea

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:49pm

Do you did ride the donkeys! I read about that somewhere, and it was warned that the donkeys are fed at the bottom, and then make the trek up. So regardless of whether there's a person or not, it's literally planning to get its ass back to the bottom as soon as possible! The thought terrified and intrigued me! And yes...I do need to know that chocolate mousse place. Now. (Like I'd turn down chocolate in Greece!) Did you find Santorini uncomfortably saturated with tourists? That was my biggest issue with Italy, specifically Rome - too many tourists, too commercial, and it lost a lot of its charm. Is it like that in Greece? (The goal is to visit Greece next year.)

Where in Germany exactly is Neuschwanstein Castle? Is that the one that apparently inspired the design of Cinderella's Castle? Oops, add Jerusalem and Mecca to the places I really want to see. The history is fascinating!

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:51pm

Yes, Tiff - also used in the film of CHITTY

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:54pm

*dies*

[bythesword84]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:57pm

Well you can ride the donkeys either up or down the cliffs. My friends and I opted to ride them down which was incredibly amusing because down is probably a lot scarier than up because, heck those places are freaking high. I was there at the height of tourist season but actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I found that the people who were there that appeared to be "tourists" were actually mostly people who lived there for the summers.

As for the chocolate mousse place I actually just looked it up because I'm the loser who took a card from it- its called Zotos Family Pastry.


(and the photo is the donkey that I rode, for your entertainment. He had a penchant for walking as close to the edge as possible so I thought I was going to fall off at every turn. Obviously, I didn't.)




PS: I want to live in that castle DG, or well, any castle.

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 02:57 PM

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 2:59pm

Oh good, it's as large as a small pony! I had this fear of crippling a poor little calf! Was the smell pretty bad?

ETA: And because I'm a loser, I've now bookmarked this thread, written down Zotos, and plan to visit it next year!

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 02:59 PM

[bythesword84]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:12pm

I hope you like it as much as my friends and I did.

Actually the smell wasn't that bad. When you first walk up and you see all of them lined up you'll probably think "eww this smells" but the minute you get on it and you head down you don't smell it at all. Its only when you're in the middle of the whole bunch of them that it smells.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 3:14pm

Is it that it doesn't smell, or is it that the sheer fear of falling off a cliff on your ass (so to speak) makes you forget everything else?