It's a slow day; why not a meme?

[etumukutenyak]

Stealing this from beckyzoole: bold for the places you've been. (Derived from Forbes Magazine's article on most-visited places.)



1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C. (Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the war memorials): About 25 million
3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million
4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million
6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million
7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million
8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan: 12.9 million
9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France: 12 million
10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France: 10.6 million
11. The Great Wall of China, Badaling area, China: About 10 million
12. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: 9.2 million
13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: 8.5 million
14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France: 8 million
15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million
16. Everland (amusement park), Kyonggi-Do, South Korea: 7.5 million
17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: At least 7 million
18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 6.7 million
19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Fla: 6 million
20. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, Fla: 5,740,000
21. Pleasure Beach (amusement park), Blackpool, England: 5.7 million
22. Lotte World (amusement park), Seoul, South Korea: 5.5 million
23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan: 5.4 million
24. Hong Kong Disneyland, China: 5.2 million
25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France: 5.1 million
26. Tate Modern, London, England: 4.9 million
27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million
28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million
29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million
30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY: 4.5 million
31. Grand Canyon, Ariz.: 4.4 million
32. Tivoli Gardens (amusement park), Copenhagen, Denmark: 4.4 million
33. Ocean Park (amusement park), Hong Kong, China: 4.38 million
34. Busch Gardens (amusement park), Tampa Bay, Fla.: 4.36 million
35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 4.26 million
36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY: 4.24 million
37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy: 4.2 million
38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia: More than 4 million
39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million
40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million
41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Calif.: 4 million
42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million
43. Natural History Museum, London, England: 3.7 million
44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million
45. Palace of Versailles, France: 3.45 million
46. Yosemite National Park, Calif.: 3.44 million
47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: 3 million
48. Pompeii, Italy: 2.5 million
49. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia: 2.5 million
50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India: 2.4 million


Well. All I can say is, it's a good thing I've lived in a few places, otherwise I'd never have seen some of these things.

Comments

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

I wish I'd gone to Yosemite the last time I was in California. I love the big open spaces.

(note -- check your HTML for #36)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks! Hate when that happens. Dratted html tags.
I went to Yosemite eons ago, and have only the vaguest memories of it. Still, it counts on my lifetime list... :-) I really must get the family out more.

[oddnari.livejournal.com]

I can't even begin to tell you how aghast I am... my country's sites lose out to the likes of Disneylands? O.O

I expect the last to become bold-faced VERY soon, my Muku *sternly*

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Yes'm.

Most of these places on the Forbes list are touristy and many are "amusement parks". I would submit to you that India is full of non-touristy non-amusement park places, full of history and culture and fabulousness. And food. You know tourists don't do food. They want their McDonald's and their Starbucks, and wouldn't know good food if it slapped them across their collective faces.

My father's family is Irish, and I'm sure you know that the Irish in the British Army served many tours in India. I've had a pretty darn tasty curry in a pub in a small town in the middle of Ireland. Amazingly good. One of my grandfathers (great-great-something like that) served in India for his entire career and retired back home. I'll bet he liked his curry too. (and I do know that "curry" is a mixture of spices, although the word became used to mean certain types of dishes.)

Mm. I could do a lamb korma or some pakoras. Haven't had breakfast yet and not likely to have it any time soon...maybe tomorrow I can go to the Indian restaurant buffet for lunch. :-)

Oh, and what's stopping you from coming to this side of the world? Hm?

[oddnari.livejournal.com]

True, true.
We-ell, all I can say the Indian tourists I know are pretty different.

Yeah, I know abt the Irish. My favourite sister-in-law is of Irish descent (half Irish, half Zoroastrian).

Actually... curry is not really a mixture of spices... curry is just gravy that's got a dose of what we call garam masala (garam=hot, masala=powdered condiment-s).

Did I tell you I had pakoras today? Onions, potatoes, cottage cheese ones, bread ones, green chilli ones. I didn't tell you? And they tasted damned delicious with chutney? Hmm?

Your embassy is stopping me from coming to that side of the world, me love. D: D: D:

I tried twice and both times I did not get a visa D:

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Did I tell you I had pakoras today? Onions, potatoes, cottage cheese ones, bread ones, green chilli ones. I didn't tell you? And they tasted damned delicious with chutney? Hmm?

You're just damned lucky I read this after dinner. That is all.

:-)

Well, the American Embassy is clearly staffed by blockheads. We shall just have to meet up someplace else. Although if you keep on talking about pakoras I may swim there tomorrow.

Now, as I understand it, masala is still a mix of some specific spices, although the particular mix depends on the family/region? See, to Amurricans, "curry" is the spice. This I know is not correct. To the Irish, I think, curry is the dish, which is probably closer to the original Indian meaning.

I grew up reading a lot of Kipling too. Time for tiffin yet?
;-)