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My most imspirational moments, so far:

1. Arriving in London, and fulfilling my dream -- on my first European trip 2. Viewing the Eiffel Tower for the first time 3. Seeing the view of the Tuscan countryside from Cortona, Italy

Peering through the heavy glass on the Bridge of Sighs in Venice Italy. I realized how we can take our freedom for granted and how precious the beauty of this world can be when it's threatened. Kate

Unfortunately, it was the day that I saw a man in Rome sitting on the sidewalk with no shoes and badly blistered feet. It was January. He had his hat out. I really wanted to buy the guy a pair of shoes but all of the shops were closed.

Then I realized something. If I bought that guy a pair of shoes there is no guarantee he would wear them. Also, had I bought him a pair of shoes then I'd be taking away what could be his only source of income. I realized that his torn-up feet were his source of income. Perhaps they were his only source of income. I doubt that someone would choose to let their feet become so maimed.

That day taught me that there's always a story behind what you see at face value. I try to take a moment to consider more than what I see, although I'm still not very good at it.

Truly there are many breathtaking sights in Europe, but arriving at the American Cemetary in Normandy literally took away my ability to speak. Seeing all of the rows and rows of graves and knowing the history of WWII just left me feeling so pathetically inadequate. What an eye-opener.

Sometimes I think it's the antiguity of Europe that is such a draw... Anytime there is so much emotion and passion in a room a place or a gallery.. I think it leaves it's own energy that we can share and draw on..Europe has an energy all it's own..

Maybe you've all showed us what the difference is between a tourist and a traveler.

Tim, re your post about the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach: I felt the same way you did. I remember the sculpture called "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves" and nearby the inscription from the French people that reads something like this: "A grateful French nation thanks the Mothers of America for the sacrifice of their sons on this beach in June 1944." Has been known to bring tears to the eyes.

Mine was deadheading to Europe for the very first time. I was asked to liberate my seat to accomodate a sick child. I was asked to take the Jumpseat in the Cockpit for the duration of the flight and landing into Faro, Portugal. I couldn't believe it! The sensation, the thrill, the 3-2-1, the red clay roofs, the donkeys with plows, the date palms! Culture shock! No, that was probably was a close second... Operating my first flight as Flight Attendant, making the announcement that we were about to begin our decent (home)into YYZ...looking out my Jumpseat window seeing the CN Tower flashing in the morning mist...remembering that I had promised myself as a young Girl that one day it would be ME be up there welcoming MY passengers into my beautiful city!! A goal reached and a dream fulfilled!! From "Wannabe Flight Attendant" to "Flight Attendant? Hey, that's me!" I could bearly get the English and French announcement out of me with the lump in my throat and my eyes welling up! Most days I still feel that way, even a decade later... only now my mascara doesn't run! Travel DOES broaden the mind! And open your eyes...the ultimate education!

December, 1985 in Hedelberg, Germany. Arriving after dark and parking in an underground parking lot, I walked up the steps and stepped out into the square- a light snow was falling as I looked up at the castle overlooking the town - breathtaking, still.

More recently, in Rome, my wife & I walked around a corner to see a section of the aquaduct looming over our heads. Still there, still solid. A silent sentinal to a long ago time.

Last year was my first trip alone, and my first time to Europe. My most memorable moments of 5 weeks of backpacking was seeing and walking up the bookcase to the attic in the Anne Frank House and seeing things she had written and pasted up on the wall still there almost as if she never left, second being really homesick and then stepping out onto the balcony right over the ocean in Vernazza, Cinque Terre. And finally the moment I stepped off the train in Venice and saw the grand canal, all I can say was it was magical.

The most inspirational moment of this year's trip to Spain was walking into the beautiful Catedral de Leon and seeing the breathtaking stained glass windows all around. And it was the only morning all week that we had brilliant sun, making it that much better! It's awe-inspiring to think that some of that artistry has been there for 600 years. When I visit places such as this, I spend some time thinking about the people who came before me, and those who did this remarkable work -- how did they get up there, anyway, without hydraulic lifts? :) I could have stayed all day watching the play of light change.

Nancy.. isn't it amazing?? I got the same awe inspired feelings at San Marcos Basilica in Venice. The mosaic floors that we walked on were thought out and lovingly placed by artisans who spent years on their knees all for HIS glory, never knowing how many hearts and minds they would touch centuries later.

Nancy and Kate: Thank you for sharing your experiences in Spain and Venice. I was in Sainte Chapelle listening to Les Solistes de l'Orchestre Symphonique Francais play the Four Seasons, and the sun was setting behind the stained glass wall on one side of the chapel; and it was just as Nancy said, the colors kept changing by the minute. In that place, with that music, and the sunlight changing behind the stained glass....

Each trip I take there's always that special moment - a snapshot in my mind. But what stood out the most to me of the 12 European countries I've been to, was when I arrived for the first time in Venice this past May. I walked out of the train station and looked out at this amazing floating fantasy. It took me by surprise. It was a magical 4 days. So much so that I will return to continue the adventure in December.

So many things inspired, but some of the most: Seeing babies laugh at the same things everywhere, children playing the same (or nearly so) games,sports fans celebrating happily-- in short, realizing that there are few places very different, that all people simply wish to dance , raise their children and to enjoy weddings and parties .

I had many European inspirational moments. The 2 that stood out the most occurred during my 1st British trip many years ago. The 1st was a RSC production of Henry V starring Kenneth Branagh at the Barbican in London. Branagh's portrayal of Henry was so real to me that after he gave the St Crispian's Day speech, I wanted to sign up and fight the French. I knew I was watching an historical, live performance. I later found out that the critics thought he would be another Olivier. The 2nd was riding a rented bike from Brompton to Hadrian's Wall in the English countryside on a beautiful, sunny day. When I got to the Wall, I realized that ancient Roman soldiers built this awesome structure. Here I was touching and climbing on top of it. At 1 point I saw this magnificient tree standing alone in the nearby fields. I took a snapshot of it. Everytime I look at the picture I remember that wonderful day.

I've had two inspirational moments. One was while walking through a double row of standing stones along the path to the church on the isle of Iona. Iona, a tiny island in the Inner Hebrides, has been a holy island since the time of the so-called "ancient Britons." There's something truly magical about the place. Among many other things, it gave me goosebumps to realize that Macbeth is buried there. The other had to do with something much more modern: the Brandenburger Tor, which we visited on Unification Day, 2002. We walked freely back and forth over the place where the Berlin Wall had stood. For anyone who caught that moment on TV, the night of November 9, 1989, it is a joyful thing to walk through the gate.

My husband and I have traveled to Europe a few times and there have been many inspirational/special moments -- travel opens the senses and mind to wonderful moments. The two that stick out in my mind were 1.) waking up that first morning in Kitzbuel to the sound of bells from all the churches, and 2.) the sound of the cow and goat bells whilst hiking in the Swiss Alps.

During our last trip there were many great moments, but the one that brought actual tears to my eyes was the hike we took from Almendhubel (above Murren)to Gimmelwald in early June while the flowers were blooming. I grew up in Colorado and have been to Yosemite many times, but have never experienced anything so overwhelmingly beautiful. My husband always describes it as Yosemite on steroids.

When my husband and I were just dating, we took a whirlwind six-week trip through eight European countries after college and had many of those pinch-me-I-can't-believe-we're-here moments. But my favorite was in Munich when we happened upon what seemed like a spontaneous summer festival in the city's main plaza and got swept up in the music, dancing and laughter. There were revelers in traditional dress, young and old, everyone with a mug of beer and everyone so carefree ... I can still summon the feeling I had then and feel so lucky to have been there, in that exact spot at that exact moment.

I like the Alps. My first glimpse of the tall Alps mountains, with some snow on it, in southern Germany, was a thrill. And in Norway the friendly and helpful Norwegian people were inspirational to me. When foriegn travellers in Norway ask a Norwegian person for directions, the Norwegian person has a cordial strong desire to help the Foreign traveler. And some Swedish people in Sweden are equal to the Norwegians in that respect.

I've had 3 over the last 9 years. My 1st 9 years ago, seeing my best friend for the first time in Stockport, England. We started out as pen pals some 10 years before the actual meeting but quickly became the best of friends.

The 2nd and 3rd happened this past March. First seeing my best friend after she had spent the past year going through chemo treatments for breast cancer. She's only 34, with a 7 year old daughter and to see her having fun after the worst year and doing things with her daughter, myself & my husband that she wouldn't be able to do otherwise. The 3rd moment had to be seeing my husband at Edinburgh Castle for the first time. This was actually his 2nd trip to England, he had gone with me the previous summer to visit my best friend, but to actually see him standing and looking at such a historical place was so worth it. He had always said he would never go overseas but it put the biggest smile on my face to see him there looking in amazement at the castle.

Several over the past 15 years:

1)Standing in the attic where Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam, looking out at the same little patch of sky that she talks about in her diary.

2)Seeing the David in person - it really is the most amazing piece of art - it brought our entire family to a standstill (including my small children). We stared at it, circling it for almost 30 minutes.

3)Seeing Don Giovanni in the same Opera House in Prague where it had debuted. I had goosebumps as I thought about Mozart's genius.

And a small bit of "ah ha" moments - seeing the colors in Ireland - there really is a reason they call it the Emerald Isle.

I want to thank all the wonderful travelers' who have posted their thoughts and memories... Such indelible impressions that make me want to go where you've been and see what you've seen and feel what you've felt..People are universal..Please keep sharing!

Thought of a few more:

August 1st in any Swiss village or small town for their main national holiday. Parades galore.

Barcelona street at lunch time when the locals drop their coats and dance a tradional Catalonia dance in a big circle.

Trip #1: seeing/hearing Bach's Mass in b minor by candlelight in St. Martin's in the Field (London).

Also trip #1: a new war (WW II?) museum outside of Valence (France)(will have to look up the name later). Many people were crying, nothing was in English (but didn't need to be), and there was an overwhelming gratefulness to the American troops for their assistance. Before I went to this museum, I didn't even know the Americans had gone there....

More trip #1: getting into the Tower of London early and spending time alone with the Crown Jewels.

Trip #2: Spending a WHOLE DAY at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew (outside London).

Trip #2: Being the only American at my friend's wedding in a 13th century cathedral in Valence, France.

Trip #3: Coming next year! DH's first trip across the pond. :-)

When I was 16, I went to Germany and Austria with a group from school. We went up to the castle in Salzburg, and when I walked to the backside of the castle and saw the Alps for the first time, it took my breath away.

I am an agnostic. Once on a visit to Gesu in Roma I had walked halfway down the aisle when the organ suddenly burst out with Bach's Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring. It sent a shiver up my spine and suddenly I knew why people believed in God, built cathedrals, wrote music and did many things. They want to touch the void, exceed themselves, commune with eternity. I am still an agnostic but I no longer disdain those who do believe.

Charles, I was moved by your post! You nicely summarized why Christian European art was created.

I'm hard pressed to think of my "most" inspirational moment. 1.Evensong at York Minster 2. Evensong at Westminster Abbey 3. The Culloden Battelfield and Kilmainham Gaol.