Thank you all for sharing! I really enjoyed reading about your memories and of places I've never heard before... Some interesting choices indeed!This world really is full of amazing spots to discover
It's on my list of places to visit when I finally win the lottery. That and the English countryside and Easter Island and visit the Olmec heads of Central and South America and... Sigh. /adds buy lotto ticket to to-do list./
Lol, I have to admit: from time to time I buy one of those tickets for exactly the same purpose! :P
To me, the most beautiful place on earth is where I grew up, and where my mother still lives. It's a small town in upstate New York, and by objective standards, it has nothing to distinguish itself from any other semi-rural place in the region.It is especially beautiful to me both because of the obvious sentimental reasons and because it is the place that I have seen most deeply. It was there that I learned the beauty of everything from the wild flowers that grew abundantly, to the brilliant reds and golds of the leaves in autumn, to the fauna, including deer, chipmunks, rabbits, and groundhogs. I also found the beauty in things most people would probably overlook: everything from pollywogs -- my house overlooked two swamps, with a third one nearby -- to snakes (very graceful in their movements). A side benefit of having to take my dog out several times a day is that I saw the seasons change, and was able to enjoy the beauty in each season, as well as to watch the trees get bigger from one year to the next.
I also spent much time simply gazing up at the stars. Although the area is filled with light pollution now ("progress" has taken its toll), as I child I was able to enjoy seeing countless stars in the Milky Way. It appeared as a thick and brilliant ribbon through the sky. There were always so many stars visible that it was almost impossible to pick out the constellations, since they were hidden amid a myriad of other stars.
I realize my answer probably sounds corny at best and maudlin at worst, but it's the truth.
Not corny at all! The feeling of belonging is what makes certain places special to our heart, and I bet this is true for a lot of people (myself included). Just last Sunday I was in our country house, built by my grandfather, and I can relate to a lot of what you describe: I used to spend most of the summertime there when I was younger, and every time grandpa went fishing and took me with him, I played with the pollywogs in the creek.
And while the place is quite in the middle of nowhere and probably not very attractive for most, for me is a well of memories. This August I was there too: one night I went down to the neighbors' field (they weren't home :P), I lay on an old blanket and I spent a couple of hours gazing at the stars-I saw the most beautiful shooting stars ever, so big and bright that you could see the different colors in them... Literally breathtaking.
