Four “Oh My God” moments in Europe

These are some personal favorites; sights that, when you see them, will leave you with no doubt whatsoever that (1) you are in Europe,and (2) you are seeing something that is totally different from what you normally see in everyday life.

1, Westminster, London. (This one is best at night, but pretty darn impressive in the day as well.) When you’re in London, before vou go anywhere, take the Tube to Westminster Station. Leave the station using Exit Four, and only Exit Four. Look up. You’ll understand.

2. St Peter’s, Rome. Walk in the door at St Peter’s. Look all the way to the other end of the room. That big thing in your way, with the pillars, is the tomb of St Peter, the first Pope. That white dove, up there on the window, the one that looks like a fly, is larger than you are. The room you’re standing in can hold 95,000 people.

3. Sainte Chapelle, Paris. Walk out of the spiral staircase into the upper chapel of Sainte Chapelle, in Paris. Most of what you’re looking at, as delicate as it seems, was already centuries old on the day that Columbus was born.

4. The Trocadero, Paris. (This is another one that’s best at night.) When you get to Paris, take the Metro to Trocadero Station. Leave by the exit marked “Woodrow Wilson” and “Musee”. When you get out of the station, you should have a street on your right, a building on your left and, across the street and a little ways in front of you, a statue of a man on a horse. Walk down the street (in the direction of the statue) for about 50m, then turn left around the building. You will have no doubt that you are in Paris.