Samuel Garfield

After reading Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver (yes, I am a Neal Stephenson nerd) I found out a lot about Versaille…like that during the 18th century ol’ Looie XIV kept his court there (you’d probably expect him to do so at Paris, the nation’s capital), and built the tiny (for a French king) hunting lodge his father had established there into a grand maze of manors, palaces, gardens, tranquil little artificial rivers, and other such things befitting The Sun King and his royal (or otherwise, as the case was sometimes) courtiers. Sounds like a fascinating and interesting place. I know that the palace is now a museum that I would like very much to go see.

I don’t know as much about French history as I might like, which is usually a big factor in determining where in the world I want to go. But anyway, what I do know is that I love french food, and French culture is really great in some ways. Though I would probably never want to immerse myself in French culture for too long, it would be interesting and fun for a while. I know way more about French politics, contemporary culture (and 18th-century imperial-era Fernch culture too!), and recent history (several hundred years) than most would probably think fitting for one who has never even been there. Might as well put my knowledge to some use, eh?

After reading Cryptonomicon (which comes absolutely recommended to anyone who is a history, geography, computer, cryptology, military, math, science, or other sort of nerd btw) I remembered a lot of the cool stuff I learned in Pinoy Teach in middle school. Basically, the Philippines is the or one of the most insane, wonderful, frightening, chaotic, crazy, romantic, fantastical, fascinating, historical, exotic, and astounding places in the entire fucking planet. Scuba diving, emerging markets, cultural crossroads, thousands and thousands of languages, buried treasure (everything from Spanish dubloons to Japanese war gold to Ferdinand Marcos’ legendary stash), myriad wildlife, jungles, heat, ocean, humidity, adventure…it’s all in the Philippines. I need to re-learn more about the history of the Philippines, now that I think about it…

I would really like to go to Turkey in general, but if I went I would absolutely have to go to Istanbul. Formerly Constantinople, named after Constantine, the first emperor of the eastern Roman empire after it split in two…an empire stubbornly sticking to Orthodoxy while stuck between the growing pressures of Catholocism to the east and north and Islam to the south and west. An empire that could have been much greater than it ever actually was. Another one of my favorite eras and places in history.

...and did I mention the architecture is just astounding? I admit I need to learn more about architecture before I can fully appreciate it, but even seeing pictures of the Haghia Sophia is just breath-taking:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107563

/me drools

I have to go here for pretty much the same reasons as Italy. If I go to Greece I don’t even know if I could contain myself…I wonder if there’s anything to see at Marathon, where the small army of Athens defended Greece against the might of Persia, or Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans held out for days against an army of a quarter million persians led by Xerxes II in revenge for his father Darius’ defeat at Marathon. Did you know that what we now call the marathon is named after the runner Pheidippides’ non-stop run of the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to warn them of the incoming Persian invasion forces? I honestly think that if I ever get to see the shores of Marathon with my own eyes, I might cry.

I just really want to go here some day…I don’t know when, exactly. It’s just so beautiful, so many amazing things from my favorite era of history took place here, and it used to be the center of the most powerful empire in the western world. I would probably have to go to Cannae, the site of Hannibal’s brilliant but ultimately fruitless victory against Rome…if there’s still anything at all to see there.

PS:
I almost forgot…I HAVE to go to Venice, the settlement founded by roman exiles fleeing from the barbarians tearing their homelands apart, hiding in a marshy area filled with hidden inlets—a former sea power, center of commerce and art, and staging area for the crusades. How romantic.