The good folks at lowcostholidays.com have charged bloggers around the planet with the task of sharing our top 3 travel memories. Problem is, how can you ever choose? Every trip, every moment, every memory is special in its own way, and many times the very one we are living is considered "the best."
The fireworks at Disney are a perfect example. I've seen the show a million times, but each time I walk away saying "That was the best one ever." It's the same show. Every...single...night...
But I'm a good sport, so after careful consideration here are my top 3 travel memories of all time.
Bronze Medalist - The Train to Barcelona
Several years ago I met this girl, and a few months after we started dating I decided our relationship needed to be put to the test...I had to see if we could travel together. So we set off to Paris and Barcelona for what turned out to be one of the best trips of my life. Sure there was the Eiffel Tower and the Mediterranean, but for me the highlight of the adventure was the overnight train to Barcelona.
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| About as close to surfing as I'll ever get... |
This was my first time traveling by train, and the little kid inside me came out as we pulled away from the station in Paris. We stayed up playing cards in our sleeper, and watched out the window as the world passed by in the dark. The most memorable moment of the journey was our visit to the dining car, where I literally shared a glass of Cava with a complete stranger. Now, each and every time I pop open a bottle of Freixnet, I'm reminded of the train to Barcelona.
Oh, and that girl went on to become my wife... You may know her as MJ.
Silver Medalist - The Simatai Great Wall of China
My first adventure abroad - and the one that shifted my love affair with travel into high gear - was a trip to South Korea and China to visit my old college roommate. We spent a few days in Seoul before heading up to Beijing for the real heart of the trip. We had a private guide for our time in China, which of course included a visit to the Great Wall. After a bit of research, however, we decided our trip to the wall would be different than most...
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| You see a crumbling Great Wall of China...I see the memories of a fuller head of hair. |
The vast majority of organized tours visit the Badaling section of the Great Wall...a reconstructed tourist trap. We wanted the real deal, and instead asked our guide to take us to Simatai, a section which was said to be the most rugged and authentic of the entire Great Wall.
The 6 mile hike was perhaps the most inspiring experience of my life, and for years I believed that it could never be topped in my travel memory book. That is, until this happened.....
Gold Medalist - Pebble Beach
Just like each new iPhone, the latest and greatest travel memory often overshadows ones from the past. In this case, however, my most recent entry into the memory book truly is the best, and may not ever be topped....
Pebble Beach was, simply put, a dream come true. It occupies the #1 spot of nearly every golfer's bucket list, and it's still a little hard to believe that I scratched it off mine.
The great thing about lists like this is they are ever changing. I have a feeling that ten years from now this list will look very different, although I think it will be hard to ever knock Pebble Beach from the #1 slot. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try...
Thank you to TravelnWrite for passing me the baton in the travel blogger relay. Now I'd like to hand off to friends at Captain and Clark.
Enjoy Your Stay
