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| Page Views: 313 | Life's Sweet Memories by longsanborn - last update: May 22, 2009 |
What makes life worth living? The mind is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, we don't remember the bad things from the good experiences. This way we will always treasure the sweetness and the precious. We don't always remember the difficulty of the journey but we will always remember the joy when we reached our goal or destination. That's why I love travelling. Maybe it's the euphoria when I see a new place and experience new things that kept me going. Maybe it's different for everyone, but for me, I always have sweet memories of all (almost!) my oversea travels. I am just a simple "kampong" (vilage) girl that grew up to be a world traveller. I find life is too short and there's not enough time and money to cover the whole planet. |
| Phi Phi island in Phuket, Thailand |
Travel Memories - Part 1
These are some of my treasured memories of the past:
- Seeing the YOSEMITE National Park (CALIFORNIA, USA) for the first time; I was a university student in FRESNO at that time and I visited this wonderful National Park for the first time during winter. The sight of the majestic mountains towering above the Yosemite valley and the old Redwood trees were grand sights to behold. Sometimes, whenever I think of my student years, I would remember Yosemite (SIGH...!).
- wind-blown hair and face while walking along the GOLDEN GATE Bridge in SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; the wind gust was pretty strong!
- so happy feeling like a kid again in DISNEYLAND, ANAHEIM, and the UNIVERSAL STUDIOS in LOS ANGELES.
- played the jackpot machine and winning some money in LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.
- going camping for the 1st (and last) time with my roommate and her family in LAKE TAHOE, RENO, NEVADA.
- Happy when I touched dolphins and killer whales for the first time at the SEA WORLD, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.
- disappointed when I visited for the 1st time the Chinese Theater and saw Walk of Fame in the Hollywood Boulevard, LOS ANGELES (the whole area looked less glamorous than I expected - it was sleazy-looking, dirty and boring).
- feeling wild and adventurous on my first road trip in the USA; i.e. joining my friends when they drove my car from Fresno, California, to Portland, Oregon in Summer 1986. I remembered I just bought the 2nd hand car and I didn't know how to drive at all. Then my friends got the brilliant idea of going on a road trip and they took me along because they needed my car! I actually learnt to drive in Portland; one of them taught me. What a fun and carefree summer that was!
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| Going to Mulu Caves in Sarawak Malaysia |
Travel Memories - Part 2
- First awesome sight of the Colosseum in ROME (I loved the film "Gladiator").
- Humbled when I stepped inside St. Peter's Cathedral in the VATICAN CITY; and wonderment when I saw the Sistine Chapel and centuries-old arts, paintings, marble statues and religious objects in the Vatican Museum.
- Nostalgic when I walked around the PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORA and awed when I saw the statue of David by Michelangelo in FLORENCE, ITALY
- Breathless when I saw the beautiful dream-like romantic picturesque TUSCANY landscape for the first time.
- Euphoria standing in the SAN MARCO SQUARE in VENICE, Italy.
- Gleeful standing in PIAZZA DEL DUOMO in MILAN, Italy.
- Cheery walking around Park Güell (GAUDI PARK) and the SAGRADA FAMILIA Church in BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Memorable road trip through the wine valley of south-eastern FRANCE, passing through MUNICH and SALZBURG; my visit included the wine areas of COTE de RHONE valley, Chateauneuf du Pape, and LOIRE valley.
- Felt in love with the AMALFI COAST of ITALY; the cliff-hanging towns of POSITANO, AMALFI and RAVELLO are like a little bit of heaven on earth.
- Disappointed when I saw the small statue of the Hans Christian Andersen's famous THE LITTLE MERMAID ("Den Lille Havfrue" - in Danish) in COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.
- Jubilant at spending my first New Year's Eve in LONDON in 2005 and enjoyed the excellent fireworks by the River Thames and the London Eye.
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| Beautiful Danube River along the Wachau, Austria |
What is the future like for me? I would love to continue with my favorite hobby of travelling and taking pictures. I am thankful to God and grateful that I am blessed to have the opportunity to travel around nice and wonderful places. I am getting older as the years pass, and I found that I prefer to travel in relative comfort. I hope that I live long enough to keep doing this. I hope that I will continue to be able to afford all these travels - this is the reality! Anyway, I like to write about my travels on VT so that at least I have some kind of record for historical purposes - just for me, at least. But I also hope the readers will enjoy reading about my adventures as well. |
| Aya Sofia behind me in Istanbul Turkey |
Istanbul Turkey - One of my Favorite Places The wonders I found when I first visited Istanbul was a great surprise. I didn't have much expectation about Istanbul but I found so many wonderful treasures of the past. I didn't know that the Ottoman Empire was as big and as rich as the Roman Empire. The Aya Sofia (also Haghia Sophia) was a mosque - but was previously a Byzantine Basilica - but is a museum now. Famous for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of the Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years. When Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar and all religious artifacts were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features - such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside - were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey. I was awed when I first saw the outside and inside of the Aya Sofia. The mosaics were very beautiful. |
Beautiful Prague Another of my favorite cities is Prague in the Czech Republic. It reminded me so much of Vienna with its architectural buildings. There were so much to see and I would love to return there again. I especially love their beer! I've never liked beer until I tried the original Budweiser from Prague. |
| Versailles, Paris, France |
Gay Paris and Interesting Strasbourg, France Another city I love to visit is Paris in France. What can I say about Paris that have not been said and written so much about? Let me think and write later! Anyway, I have visited Paris 3 times now, and I would love to return again. I love visiting the museums and the famous Versailles Palace and Gardens. If you don't know, the Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna was designed after this French original. Strasbourg is the capital city of the Alsace région in northeastern France. It is located close to the border with Germany. I passed by this lovely city during my road trip through France, and I was surprised by the German influence on the architecture and food. I was wondering if I was still in France, not Germany. |
| Cordoba's Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos' gardens |
Sunny Andalucia, Spain (April 2009) Andalusia's landscapes both pamper and shock the senses. I was in Madrid, Cordoba, Malaga and Seville in April 2009 during the Easter weekend and extended my stay for over 1 week to explore Andalusia. It was my first time to Andalusia and I didn't know what to expect. But I am glad I went like this because what I discovered there made me fall in love with the whole Andalusia region. Everything was wonderful, colorful and fantastic! The people, cities, food, shopping, landscapes - just everything! Despite the language barrier (many Spanish don't speak English), but they are so warm and hospitable that I didn't mind it at all. So, now, Andalusia and Spain have become my next favorite destination to travel and return again! |
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 Comments for longsanborn about World | | | | |
daryll Fri Sep 25, 2009 22:41 UTC
Hello Helena, Good to hear from you! Great would love to meet you in London. Do you prefer hotel near Msian Embassy or maybe I can help; email me ur dates and ur budget? | jumpingnorman Fri Sep 25, 2009 20:20 UTC
Helena - that's awesome...will wait for pic.. jumpingnorman@yahoo.com And yes life is short we have to live life to the fullest...and Antonio also met us in Lisbon - he's a great VTer but I did not hear him sing! Thanks, Norman:) | EuromeetKrakow2010 Thu Aug 13, 2009 20:50 UTC
Helena, you and your family/friends are very welcome for the next Euromeet in Krakow, Poland. You are very welcome, thanks a million for signing up. I can't wait to see you again :-))) | Hosell Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:43 UTC
Hi Helena! you are today's featured member!!! :-) |
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