fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3798 ]

[ SECRET POST #3798 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3798 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 38 secrets from Secret Submission Post #544.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The other day we had a thread about attractions that were disappointing. How about the opposite? What places have you visited that were really impressive, surprisingly or not?

Tikal. The pyramids may not be *massive* but they were bigger than I expected. It's also just a big place. Sunrise there was magical (from Temple II, that is, Temple IV was full of noisy people).

Parc Güell in Barcelona. It was so pretty.

The Big Mango. That's one great big fucking mango.

Teotihuacan and the Takeshita street!! (Or Harajuku in general)

Not quite Teotihuacan, but I saw Monte Alban, another Mesoamerican pyramid, near Oaxaca, and even though it's smaller than Teotihuacan and I'm sure less spectacular, it really impressed me a lot more than I expected. Just the scope and grandeur of it all. Really fucking cool experience.

The Church on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia.

My photo:

Full-size

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-28 22:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 02:29 (UTC) - Expand

-Stone Henge, but I had the advantage to go with one of those tours that actually lets you inside the stones. We were the only ones there, it was a foggy morning, it all looked really magical and mysterious. I was really moved by it.

-Pyramids. They are fucking massive and old, it's fantastic.

-Kyoto, Japan in general. The atmosphere of that city is amazing, the traditional temples, castles, etc. really make it unforgettable.

-British Museum. As a history nerd, seeing ALL THE AMAZING STUFF is so worth it, plus the building itself is beautiful. I did grad school in London and popped in there regularly (it's free, too!).

-Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park - not fair to lump these together but I will since they are both in American national parks. America has some absolutely gorgeous nature.

-Disney parks. Fuck you yes it's going on this list. I don't consider myself a Disney nerd at all, but I like theme parks and rides. What's neat about the Disney parks is how totally immersive they are. It's not like other theme parks where it's mostly just about the rides/attractions, and the in-between stuff is waiting around. In Disney parks, just walking around is part of the attraction. I love the feeling of being in a magical fairy-tale land, which is how it's set up.

-Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio tour in the UK - you know what to expect with this one, but it's still really awesome to be sitting in the Hogwarts Great Hall, or see all of these sets, costumes, whatever. For being a glorified museum of movie leftovers, it's also really immersive, and you go at your own pace and just get drawn into the magic of it.

...those are probably the most "famous" ones that come to mind. I am generally pretty easily impressed when I travel, if it's something I know I'm interested in.

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

kaijinscendre - 2017-05-28 21:45 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-28 22:55 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

kaijinscendre - 2017-05-28 23:01 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

shortysc22 - 2017-05-28 22:39 (UTC) - Expand

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC was AMAZING.

The Lion King on Broadway made me cry.

And of the Smithsonian Museums, the Natural History one was definitely the coolest.

I really liked that Venice looks just like a painting. I know the water is dirty and that the city is going to sink but man it was fun being there.

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 01:54 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 05:33 (UTC) - Expand

most Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, but Fallingwater especially.

Fallingwater and The Big Mango

I really loved St. Stephen's Cathedral in Budapest because when I went they were very strict on the no talking rule and it's one of the few major cathedrals I've been to where you feel in awe and you can feel how holy and respected the site is

Tulum, the rainforest in Belize, the Grand Canyon, the cities of New York and San Francisco

I'm going to agree about Disney World. What surprised and impressed me the most was actually how well organized it was. Their logistics were amazing.

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 01:23 (UTC) - Expand

DC always impresses me. I love most of the touristy things. The Smithsonian is great. The monuments are also cool.

The US Library of Congress. A friend I was with wanted to go and I had no idea what to expect. Was totally mind-boggled when we stepped inside. Image.

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 01:22 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 01:58 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

analise - 2017-05-29 01:59 (UTC) - Expand

I've been to the Vatican both before and after the Sistine Chapel was cleaned.

The only possible words for experiencing that before and after are "Holy fuck."

The Golden Gate Bridge (and San Francisco in general).

The Kalahari. White sand, blazing sky, meerkats, more birds of prey than you could shake a stick at, and OMG cheetahs right up close. Fantastic.

Trieste, Italy.
Less crowded than the usual tourist traps, two big castles, Roman ruins, loads of churches and museums, one of the stops on the Simpson Orient Express, and within spitting distance of the world's largest tourist accessible underground cave (Grotta Gigante, go Google it, click images, and weep).

Washington, D.C.
Many people on this thread have already waxed lyrical about how great this place is. Just be aware that there are way too many one way streets there, and that the food is phenomenal.

Venice, Italy.
Where to start? Oh, first, be aware that in a good many films supposedly set in Venice, Venice itself gets swapped out for another European city with canals in it. (The near constant influx of tourist foot traffic is the reason.) If you like fish, Carnevale masks, marbled paper, lace, watercolors, al fresco dining, medieval festivals, stupidly tame pigeons everywhere, art exhibits out the ying yang, and glass reengineered to heights you have never even dreamed of, you should go to Venice.

Switzerland
The most ecologically clean place I've ever visited in my life. (I'd almost live there for that reason alone.) Dairy products to die for, vertigo inducing views of the Alps, internationally renowned ski slopes, great design scene, lots of small little places that feel like your very own, and indescribably pretty spring flowers that dot the landscape, cloth goods, and local sweaters.

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 02:26 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

(Anonymous) - 2017-05-29 03:10 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Tourist attractions that impressed you

analise - 2017-05-29 03:28 (UTC) - Expand

The gardens of Versailles are absolutely amazing. I spent two hours exploring them and I still didn't see everything. Notre Dame was also very beautiful. I wasn't expecting to be so impressed with the Eiffel Tower, but I was. It's seriously lovely and I spent a ridiculous amount of time just staring at it.

The Bruny Island cruise was good.

Cahokia was surprisingly interesting. It's literally some big piles of dirt sort of intermingled with a kind of shitty-looking industrial/residential area, but the museum was really interesting and Monks Mound is an impressively *large* pile of dirt and gives you a neat view of the St. Louis skyline.

The Taj Mahal was pretty damn impressive.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only