I suspect that most of us have been glued to coverage of the unspeakably tragic fire that ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral yesterday. Mr. Brillig visited Paris when he was in college and said walking into Notre Dame was “one of those perfect moments”. K1 visited in early 2016 as part of a student exchange program, and when we spoke yesterday she said visiting was a highlight of her trip. In her words:
When I went it was me [a Unitarian Universalist], a Jewish man and a Muslim woman, and we were there during Sunday Mass. It felt like a whole different world of love and hope.
I’ve never been to France, and so have only seen this magnificent ancient yet living building in pictures. It’s STILL on my short list of places to see in my lifetime, along with the Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower. Seeing all of the pictures and memories flooding my social media feeds got me thinking about the places I’ve been, the places I have yet to see, and the places I will never get to see except in pictures because of natural or manmade destruction. Please grab a glass of whatever suits your mood and hop below the Story Break to consider the places on each of our Bucket Lists…
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In no particular order are some of the places both natural and human-made I’ve been lucky enough to see with my own eyes:
On a trip to England and Scotland with Mr. Brillig shortly after I finished graduate school, we got to visit so many places. In London, St. Paul’s Cathedral (we went all the way to the top of the Dome!), Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London were highlights. (As an aside, it also was wonderful being able to share the latter two with K1 when we stopped in London on our way to Ethiopia a decade ago.) I remember vividly the amazing Roman ruins of the World Heritage Site city of Bath. And lastly, on our trip north to Scotland, we toured Edinburgh Castle.
I’ve visited French Polynesia and snorkeled in the waters off Bora Bora, then so clear and teeming with life like I’d never seen.
I’ve been to the northernmost part of the Rift Valley, driven on ancient roads to see farms fenced with living vegetation planted a hundred years ago, and spent time in the National Museum of Ethiopia.
I was able to join Mr. Brillig at the end of a work trip he made to Belgium, and we spent a spectacular day in Bruges soaking up ancient history and visiting the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Not all bucket list items are ancient, and hence I mention our repeated visits to the Delirium Cafe in Brussels :-))
This past winter Casa Brillig walked the grounds of Chichen Itza, another World Heritage site. We also swam in the crystal underground waters of a cenote.
Closer to home I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building and visited Central Park. I am old enough to have been able to watch my preschool-aged eldest play on the steps of the Capitol building. I’ve had tea in San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden, been to the top of NH’s Mount Washington, and wandered the historic spaces in Boston and Salem. I spent three days in and around Death Valley, and looked for memories of the long ago past in the nearby ghost town, Rhyolite.
But there are so many places I have yet to see:
I want to see the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands, and the wilderness of Alaska.
My scientist’s heart wants to see the Galapagos Islands.
So many ancient wonders, including Machu Picchu, St. Petersburg and the Great Wall.
I want to travel Europe by wandering from city to city, country to country.
I want to visit the continents of Australia and Africa for months at a time. SO much history and culture I can’t even list it all.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Aurora Borealis somewhere above the Arctic Circle, during a day that has no sunlight or a night that has only sun. (bear with me if my science is wrong. You get my drift!)
And so many more places!
Where have you been, and where do you want to visit if time, money and ability were no obstacles? Let’s get our travel itineraries together in the comments, after first perusing the trio of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures we serve up every night!
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From BeninSC:
In Egberto Willies’s fine diary about engaging a trump supporter, this comment by jrasicmark resonated with me. Sometimes walking away is the best strategy. The folks j encountered were never going to be reachable. Stakes are too high to waste the time and energy on them. Wise move, j!
Highlighted by bonniebluesky:
Is this comment by Dfh1 that sums up what many of us find to be good justifications for the existence of social media! (Not saying there are not others.)
Highlighted by Elasg:
Is one of the longer comments I’ve seen on Daily Kos, by Eric Nelson, about the pervasiveness and effectiveness of Internet trolling.
Highlighted by Sulla:
Is this comment by democratos, countering the idea that Australia and Germany are the ‘equivalent’ of our states. They certainly aren’t.
Highlighted by Gwennedd:
Is this comment by Ice Blue, with good news about a surviving Notre Dame treasure. (I believe it is the same item featured in the diary’s title photo!)
Highlighted by Bethesda 1971:
Is this fine comment by Colorado Blue, on ‘not our trump’ republicans, and the ‘strange and nasty orange plant.’
Actually, Bethesda 1971 actually highlighted two comments by Colorado Blue. Here is the second, focusing more on the Reagan contamination.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, April 15th, 2019, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for April 16, 2019. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!