You have to stop walking, breathe deeply and let the moment ooze into your brain.
A building or monument that had previously been part of your travel dreams is now right in front of you. It actually exists. Real people work in it, stroll past every day, purse their lips in annoyance at the tourists who are so excited to touch it.
“I’m really here!” you think, a bit sheepishly because it is certainly stating the obvious.
Or maybe, like me, your whole brain is vibrating with “Squeeeee!”
It’s discombobulating to realize that yes, that really IS the Leaning Tower of Pisa (and wow, it leans! The picture on the pizza box is true!) or the Eiffel Tower, or the Forbidden City in Beijing, or the Golden Gate Bridge.
That’s how it was for me last weekend, in New York for the TBEX travel blogger’s conference, when I specifically laid out my walking directions in such a way that my path would take me past the Flatiron Building.
Built in 1902 by Daniel Burnham (yes, of Chicago architecture fame) it is one of the most recognizable, most distinctive buildings in the world.
Read this for more Flatiron history, but pause right now and think about a building or structure that you’ve always wanted to see in person and were finally able to stand in front of, ogle it like a doofus, almost get run over as you try to photograph it….not that this happened to me at the Flatiron, mind you….
Please tell us about it, down in the comments.
I want to share my Flatiron squeee! brain ooze feeling with everyone who travels partly for the joy of saying, “I’m really here!”
Edinburgh Castle made me grin foolishly. So did the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building.
Thanks, Mary! We should start looking for fellow “foolishly grinning” people around buildings.
To date: Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Pantheon, Colloseum, St. Mark’s Venice, St. Paul’s Rome, Trafalgar Square, Temple Mount Jerusalem
To come: Great Wall, Angkor Wat, Petra, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and…??? I’m pretty much in awe wherever I go! (and we walked past the Flatiron too while in NYC. Cool.)
In NYC I love the “wow” factor that can happen whenever you turn a corner. This happened to me this week in NYC w/ the Flatiron builiding! It’s weird since 9/11 I never know quite which direction I’m headed anymore w/out those soaring twin towers to navigate by. I loved seeing the Leaning tower of Pisa for the first time – I was expecting such a tourist trap and even though it was, I was taken about by how exquisite it was. As far as looking forward to something for many years, the Loire valley chateaus totally thrilled me
Uhh…husband pointed out that St. Paul’s in Rome would be hard to see. Meant St. Pete’s!
For me, that moment was the first time I saw Big Ben from a distance after leaving Trafalgar. I couldn’t help but utter, “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament…” Lots of other places that I was happy to see on my travels, but for some reason, Big Ben (yes, I know that’s really the bell) was the one that made me grin ear to ear.
I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having, reading these. Thanks so much for your thoughts and reflections.
Thanks for writing this Sheila. I live blocks from the Flat Iron building and grew up near it too, so I don’t really “see” it anymore. But you’re right, it is a very cool building, and I do love how there’s public seating right there now, too.
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