Travel

[bcholmes]

Meme! Stolen from the_siobhan and hobbitbabe.



First, places I've been:

1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year

A few times. First, on a trip with the_siobhan. Then, some time later, while visiting for fun.

3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million

Back when I was in grade 6. My parents took me to Florida. We drove down, taking something like 3 days to travel a distance that I've seen the_siobhan do in six hours. Okay, maybe seven.

4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million

After I finished high-school, I went to England with my grandparents. I'd been a complete anglophile for most of the first 18 years of my life, and going there was a big dream. The actual England didn't quite live up to the England of my imagination, but I was glad to have gone.

6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million

Many, many times. I remember as a kid once, I got one of those souvenir newspapers where they custom print a newspaper claiming that you went over the falls in a barrel.

7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million

Yes. First time, with Ldot and the_siobhan.

37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy: 4.2 million

Just a year ago, with the_siobhan

38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia: More than 4 million

Just after I graduated from University. I wandered all around south-eastern Australia. I fell in love with Sydney while eating fish and chips at the base of the opera house. Mmmmmm.

39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million

Same time as the Vatican. I almost got a picture taken with a genuine ancient Roman centurian.

40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million

elissaann, I think, suggested this. It was a great day. Turns out they were having bicentennial celebrations of Haitian Independence, and we just sorta stumbled into it.

42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million

Again, with the_siobhan. How can one not see the Empire State Building?

44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million

I dunno if this quite counts. I went in to London after a week at an IBM conference in some city whose name I've forgotten. I stayed at a hotel near the houses of Parliament, and just outside my hotel room window was the London Eye. The line-ups were mind-boggling, so I didn't take a ride. But I watched it a great deal.

Edit: I've just remembered. The city in question was Winchester, and I was staying in a hotel right beside Winchester Cathedral (where Jane Austen is interred).

48. Pompeii, Italy: 2.5 million

Oh, what a place. the_siobhan and I did a trip there, and Sio got lots of pictures of the mural with the big phallus.

53. Temple of the Descending God in Tulum, Quintana Roo Mexico

On a cruise. I was extremely impressed by this site. Surprisingly, when I went there, it wasn't overrun with tourists. I've been (very briefly) in Mexico twice. The Tulum visit was the high point for me.

54. Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

On a cruise in 1997? Just in Jamaica for part of a day. Also, I once spent a week in Jamaica when I was a kid, but I didn't get to see anything interesting.

55. Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas, NV

*laugh*. the_siobhan and I went to see this. It was a hoot!



In terms of places I'd like to go, well, I'd be happy to get to pretty much all of these places. So let's narrow it down to, say, the top five:

47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: 3 million
69. Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France 750,000 visitors per year
50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India: 2.4 million
58. Great Wall of China
5. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million


And my additions to the list:

72. Saut d'Eau, Haiti
73. Gemeente Museum, Den Haag, The Netherlands



The complete list:

Bold the places you've been and italicize the places you long to see. Add one place you've been and one place you'd like to go to the bottom.

1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C. (Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the war memorials): About 25 million
3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million
4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million
6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million
7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million
8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan: 12.9 million
9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France: 12 million
10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France: 10.6 million
11. The Great Wall of China, Badaling area, China: About 10 million
12. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: 9.2 million
13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: 8.5 million
14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France: 8 million
15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million
16. Everland (amusement park), Kyonggi-Do, South Korea: 7.5 million
17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: At least 7 million
18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 6.7 million
19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Fla: 6 million
20. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, Fla: 5,740,000
21. Pleasure Beach (amusement park), Blackpool, England: 5.7 million
22. Lotte World (amusement park), Seoul, South Korea: 5.5 million
23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan: 5.4 million
24. Hong Kong Disneyland, China: 5.2 million
25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France: 5.1 million
26. Tate Modern, London, England: 4.9 million
27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million
28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million
29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million
30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY: 4.5 million
31. Grand Canyon, Ariz.: 4.4 million
32. Tivoli Gardens (amusement park), Copenhagen, Denmark: 4.4 million
33. Ocean Park (amusement park), Hong Kong, China: 4.38 million
34. Busch Gardens (amusement park), Tampa Bay, Fla.: 4.36 million
35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 4.26 million
36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY: 4.24 million
37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy: 4.2 million
38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia: More than 4 million
39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million
40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million
41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Calif.: 4 million
42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million
43. Natural History Museum, London, England: 3.7 million
44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million
45. Palace of Versailles, France: 3.45 million
46. Yosemite National Park, Calif.: 3.44 million
47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: 3 million
48. Pompeii, Italy: 2.5 million
49. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia: 2.5 million
50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India: 2.4 million
51. Angel Falls, Venezuela
52. Pyramid Kukulcan in Chichen Itza, Yucatan Mexico
53. Temple of the Descending God in Tulum, Quintana Roo Mexico
54. Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
55. Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas, NV
56. Space Needle Seattle, WA
57. Macchu Pichu, Peru
58. Great Wall of China (This is in here twice)
59. Amber Palace in Jaipur, India
60. The Smithsonian in Washington DC
61. Scotland's eastern and northern isles
62. Durham Cathedral, Durham, England
63. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna Austria
64. WWII Normandy Beaches/American Cemetery, Colleville sur Mer, France
65. Shrewsbury Abbey, Shropshire, England
66. Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior
67. The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
68. L'Anse aux Meadows World Heritage Site, Newfoundland 32,000 visitors in 2000
69. Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France 750,000 visitors per year
70. The Painted Desert/Petrified Forest in Arizona. 600,000 visitors per year
71. The Ossuary in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic. 40,000 visitors per year.
72. Saut d'Eau, Haiti
73. Gemeente Museum, Den Haag, The Netherlands

Comments

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I'm in six of the seen! I win!

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

Seven, actually. You were also at the Coliseum.