Favorite things...

I feel exactly the same way about Paris. I'd move there today if I could. I enjoy: baguette with sweet butter and apricot jam at breakfast, hearing and seeing French all around me, the architecture, the views, the history, the grocery stores and everything in them, sitting outside at a cafe eating or drinking coffee, French pastries, walking everywhere and most of all... spending hours in the Luxembourg Gardens watching local guys play bocce ball, sitting in a comfy chair with my feet up hearing birds singing, relaxing and people watching. Pure heaven.

That sounds wonderful and put a smile on my face!

Listening to the musicality of different languages; hearing English spoken with an accent; speaking a different language and being understood!; bread; Nutella at breakfast; eating out and being for the most part left alone by the waiter (who did not announce his name); water with gas at the table (not to mention being able to order water "with gas" and not receiving a blank look in response); small but satisfying portions; drugstores/pharmacies/chemists (I could spend hours in Boots); all the open areas – plazas, piazzas, places, plaetze, squares, and parks; the Tube and the Métro, both of which I'm sure I'd come to think of as a necessary evil if I had to take them every day but which are delicious, puzzly fun for two weeks; being called "Madame" or "Signora"; the slightly exotic pronunciation of my name when spoken by Europeans; small shops; dogs being welcome just about anywhere (though I do wish their humans would clean up after their sidewalk deposits); chocolate; unusual Mentos flavors; cathedrals and basilicas and small churches with breathtaking works of art casually situated in a side chapel; comically narrow sidewalks; cities that appear to be made entirely of stone; suppressing my Seattleite instincts and jaywalking .... I could go on and on!

Wow! I seriously couldn't say it any better than Teresa did. I kept waiting to read one thing that didn't resonate, but every word did. - Churchbells - Tea with scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam - A real crunchy baguette sandwich - Real French croissants - The incredible variety of unpasteurized artisanal cheeses - Red wines that don't leave me with a headache - Small neighborhood parks discovered unexpectedly around a corner - Exceptionally beautifully designed shop windows - Exceptionally high-quality goods found in shops that don't have a commonly hyped designer name found everywhere else (Jermyn Street and Savile Row, London) - People all over the UK out walking because they love it - The evening passagiata in Italy - The presepe all over Florence at Christmastime - Enjoying cultures that take pride in traditions and work hard to preserve them - Preserved ruins - Golden mosaics in churches, everything inside churches - Peaceful church cloisters - Evensong after a busy site-seeing day - Georgian terraces - The view across Rome from the top of St. Peter's Basilica - Green, green, green - Grand houses with expansive parks and gardens
- etc., etc., etc.

The breakfasts, especially the breads, jams, cheeses....people riding bikes to work and walking everywhere, convenient public transportation, outdoor dining in beautiful places, stopping for a cup of delicious coffee that comes with a view and a cookie, small "village" communities...I could probably go on. I want to bring it all back with me. Eventually after a trip ends I get over not being able to take public transportation everywhere and not having old squares to visit. I get resigned to the fact that if I want to eat outdoors at a restaurant in my community I will have a view of a parking lot. But I never stop looking for the European bread.

being able to get around with total ease and speed, thanks to a great network of trains, buses, and trams that make mobility (within and across countries) a breeze...well that and men who can pull off wearing fashionable scarves and snug jeans without looking the least bit unusual

The fresh-squeezed unpasteurized O.J.

See Susan's answer. :-)

Sigh it's like most of these other posters saw into my soul. I can't say it any better.
I was in a furniture store this weekend and came upon a couple speaking French ... as subtlely as possible, I followed them around for 10 minutes, just to hear that lovely accent and language.

I feel the same way about Germany. Off the top of my head: 1. Riding the train across the country 2. Taking the U-bahn or other public transport to explore a city 3. Not really needing a car at all 4. German breakfasts: broetchen, cheese, wuerst, Nutella, and of course a cooked egg 5. Kuchen and coffee most afternoons at a local Konditorei 6. The food in general: it's fresher and has fewer GMO's than the stuff here in the US. I have NEVER once had heartburn after eating in Germany (and that's with all the heavy meat/potatoes, butter, cream, etc..) 7. Walking and walking 8. The castles 9. The churches
10. The shopping (but that's for another topic)

Spaghettieis at the Dolomitic Eiscafe in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

I like everyones posts, especially of course Susans, but Kimberlee dont' people eat soft boiled eggs in States,, I know I eat them at least 3 times a week up here?/ And Jeff, what in heck are garlic fries?

If I moved back to the US, the things I would miss the most are the outdoor farmers markets held almost every day of the week here in Frankfurt. I just love walking through them. I would also miss the sidewalk cafes, the easy public transportation, the use of local produce in restaurants, the bakeries on every street corner. I like seeing the seniors all dressed up, heading out for their daily 4 hour excursion to the grocery store, stopping to chat with everyone they pass. I would miss the sun coming up at 04:00 in the summer and staying light out til 22:30 at night. I would miss the multi-cultural aspect of this city, with a weekly fest celebrating one country or another, and the feeling that we like each other and enjoy getting along with each other. I would miss the lively downtown, no matter what time of day or night, and the feeling of safety no matter where I walk. I would especially miss the sense of history that infuses every stone.

If I had to move back to the US (which I'm not planning to do), here's what I would miss. German bread. No other country does bread better. The entire country being criss-crossed by hiking and cycling trails. Walking to the edge of my village and being able to see mountains, vineyards, and depending on the weather, up to 5 castles. Belgian frituurs, both for the fries and the delicious deep-fried mystery meats. Being able to take my dog everywhere. The Alps. The Odenwald. €4 bottles of good local wine grown in vineyards that my dog and I regularly hike through. Schnitzel. Fachwerk. The prominence of church spires on the horizons. Mostly mild summers. Festivals that aren't over-run with the annoying frat boy demographic. Speaking softly in restaurants and being able to hear each other.

Like visiting an incredibly early, musty and decaying church whose door was just open one that felt abandoned, off the beaten track in Orvieto, way away from the cathedral we were there to see. And later, once home, figuring out what we saw, how it all fits. Beautifully said, Nancy. That was a true 'back door' and what travel (vs. tourism) is all about for me. There's a wonderful book titled 'Art & Architecture: Tuscany' by Anne Mueller von der Haegen and Ruth Strasser that covers many of the stunning and historically significant locations where works of art and architecture can be seen that are for the most part unknown to the mobs of tourists that fill Rome, Venice, and Florence. Seeking those places out reaps considerable rewards, but it requires much effort and willingness to go fairly far off the beaten path, as well as time spent putting what you can see in its historical, social, artistic, political, and cultural context.

Have been living in Vienna for 10 years now and am still tickled by it. Agree with Jo and with the comments of many others. The day when I start to take it for granted, it's time to go home. Not there yet!

Well having lived here for almost 25 years.... One thing I still get a kick out of is seeing two to four police officers in charge of about ten six year olds, wandering about the town.... You may see it too. This is the final step before the kids are required to walk to and from school alone! The officers are talking to them about their safety, where are the good points to cross the roads, the safe routes to take to and from school, what to do if some thing goes wrong... It is a big step for the kids and their parents! The fact that Swiss kids, my own included, can still do this never ceases to amaze me!

You hit the nail on the head, Jim. I have 2 teenaged daughters, they've been taking Public Transit around Vienna by themselves for years. On my daily commute to work I routinely share the bus/tram with little kids on their way to school. Amazing. Contrary to my last post, I have started to take the safety/low crime rate for granted. I shouldn't.

I love the public transportation! I live in Pearland, Texas and we don't even have taxi service, no trains, no buses, no anything. My wife and I love the buses, subways and trains and we've gotten very good at using them. I also like that people walk in Europe. They don't here unless it's for health reasons.

Yes, to all! Thanks so much for sharing because it has really makes me happy to read all your posts and daydream of Europe. :)

@ pat - Garlic fries are French fries with tons of garlic on top. Heavenly if you love garlic like I do. And the garlic fries at AT&T Park (where the San Francisco Giants play) are the best! Not all garlic fries are created equal.

France is my go to place. I miss.... -unpasturized cheese, any French cheese - delicious rose wine by the glass, cheap - sitting at my fave cafe near the Ecole-Militaire metro stop in Paris, watching people, locals and tourists - walking along the river Seine, gazing at the gorgeous bridges - the local market, each with a very different feel. - the Eiffel Tower, viewing it from various parts of the city. - the historical architecture with its decorative finishings
- easy and quick public transportation I cannot wait to return to France this fall!

Getting up early in the morning, finding a café, and sipping coffee while I watch Paris come to life in the morning... @Andrea - have to agree with you about the garlic fries - AT&T Park is the best! Headed there Saturday... Go Giants!

I love constantly visiting and committing to my memory bank additional places of enormous artistic and historical importance. The result: after many trips to Europe, being able to associate newly visited sites with their place in the chronology of Western Civilization, and to refer back in my memory bank to all the other sites previously visited and loved. It's about finding and remembering how our civilization developed. Love the discovery of enormously important places, especially the earliest ones. That feeling of transporting yourself back in time. Like visiting Priene, a Greek site on the West Coast of Turkey; when we "found" it back in 1996, it was (tragically) unpatrolled by any state officials and deserted. Like visiting an incredibly early, musty and decaying church whose door was just open one that felt abandoned, off the beaten track in Orvieto, way away from the cathedral we were there to see. And later, once home, figuring out what we saw, how it all fits.

"Speaking softly in restaurants and being able to hear each other." Oh, man. You really struck a chord with that one, Tom. I hadn't formed that thought in my mind, but now I see why we enjoy going out to dinner in Europe . . . and not so much in the US. We seek out quiet restaurants here but they are hard to find, especially in San Francisco and Palo Alto which is where we are usually looking to dine out. Everything has to be "buzzy" and noisy to be cool. But that doesn't seem to be the case in the restaurants where we have dined in Spain, Italy, or Switzerland. Not that it is hushed, but the noise leavel is reasonable and not something we have to raise our voices to talk over. I am now really looking forward to some great food in quiet settings oon our trip to Germany in spetember!

Reading all of these responses really made me wish we were going back to Europe in two months instead of Vegas. I love the ease of getting around the Germany cities on public transport and feeling safe on them. I love the farmer's markets and the fact that they are so affordable. My absolute favorite are the strawberries at the market in Munich, they are so perfectly sweet and ripe!! Everyone else said the same things I would. Oh how I wish I was going back!!!

Looking out a train window and seeing a Romanesque church and baptistery on one of the oldest Roman roads- and getting off at the next stop for a closer look. The piazze and the people and art that fill them. Bread in Matera, and the small cave-churches in the sassi area. Art everywhere, history everywhere. The kindness of strangers. The chaos of Napoli, the serenity of Paestum, the spirituality of Assisi. Everything in Rome.

Sitting here smiling at the stories and my own memories while counting down to this year's journey, thanks everyone!! Pastry shops in Paris, B&B owner inisiting we borrow an umbrella (she was right we needed it :-), helpful shop clerk who found the piece to repair my husband's tripod, strangers offering to take our photo, lovely restaurant dinners plate of the day and house wine, side walk cafes, seeing the Eiffel at odd moments down a side street, from afar and close up, helpful people on buses and train stations, the pharmasist who gave me excellent cold meds in Paris -- all with nearly no common language! I could go on and on, but I must go to work. :-) :-)

I hope this tread just goes on and on! Great stuff.

OK, then, Thomas... :) - Knowing that when I get a table for dinner (or even lunch) in France it will not even be hinted that I should pay until I make the move to ask for the bill. - Watching French children helping each other and playing well together at the playground in the Jardin du Luxembourg. - Seeing elderly French couples holding hands and strolling in the Tuileries. - Standing in Monet's footsteps and looking out the window of his bedroom onto his garden in his house in Giverny, and in Leonardo's footsteps in his bedroom at Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise. - Walking in Michelangelo's footsteps in the back streets of Florence. - Looking down from the Abbey at the top of Mont Saint-Michel and seeing the shape of the Mont cast in perfect shadow on the sand below. - Eating perfect frites in Brugge - Trying as many different Belgian beers as possible - a new one each time. - Running into the wind across the deep sand on a Belgian beach on a gorgeous cloudless day and dipping my toes into the frigid North Sea. - Knowing that no matter how many different chocolatiers I try in Belgium, there will always be dozens more still to be tried.
- Watching Italian teenage boys on the beach in Vernazza showing off their sunglasses and competing against one another for the attention of American teenage girls preening in their bikinis. I could go on...

One of Europe's main attractions for me is the age of things. In Texas, the Missions in San Antonio were built in the 1700s and we think that's old but standing in the Arena in Verona, Italy that was built under Augustus Caesar is a completely different experience.