"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run There's still time to change the road you're on.." Led Zeppelin Ever since Jacob climbed some stairs in his dream (OK ladder.. but we'll include them here in this thread), Man's desire and ambition to climb the heights by taking a step that is one higher than another and then another.. have been a deep cathartic human experience.. In this thread, I would like to highlight some Stairs and Steps that I may or may not have climbed that are quite memorable and hope to inspire dear reader to atleast go climb some of those (that are legally accessible *insert Moonface emoji) So do your stretches.. put some grippy shoes on.. and let's go climb those stairs! Leaning Tower of Pisa As you probably know, the leaning tower of Pisa in Tuscany actually is leaning.. And you can climb the stairs all the way to the top through the spiralling inside stairs! That alone is fun.. but what makes it more challenging is that the steps are actually made out of the white marble like the tower and as anyone who's been into castles and ancient staircases in Europe knows, the steps are compressed and misshapen from all the years of use.. Ofcourse, it's coming back down that's almost always more challenging than going up.. My suggestion, have your SuperTuscan AFTER you climbed the stairs.. *Note: Get IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) SuperTuscans.. they will rival the Bordeaux's Mt. Huashan Teahouse A gentle cardio climb up scenic stairs to a teahouse at the top of a misty mountain.. Sounds so ZEN right? Ah yup.. THAT is your path young grasshopper.. And this is what's beneath you.. Umm.. calm your mind.. think Oolong Tea.. "The light in the window is a crack in the sky A stairway to darkness in the blink of an eye" -- Ozzy CN Tower Ahh.. CN Tower.. the phallic symbol of the Canadian passive aggressive politeness.. This is a must do for all Canadian once cos 1). Only the charity events are allowed to climb up so you are doing it for a good cause. I did mine with United Way.. I think WWF is the other that runs it. 2). It's only 1,776 steps! (Insert moonface emoji) I gotta warn you though.. it has no windows.. so if you are claustrophobic AND Acrophobic, this may not be for you.. Yes I am looking at you right now, Kaw players from Toronto.. go signup meow and train for it.. Gaztelugatxe Island, Spain This island off the Bay of Biscay near Bilbao, Spain is just magnificent.. The stairs are so scenic to climb especially at sunset in the summer when the evening is warm and the golden hour light shines on you.. There is a Hermitage dedicated to John the Baptist at the top.. Dont worry, I didn't come across Salome.. "You know that it would be untrue You know that I would be a liar If I was to say to you Girl, we couldn't get much higher Come on baby light my fire" -- The Doors Halfdome, Yosemite This is how most people see the Iconic Halfdome in Yosemite.. This is how 300 people who got permits per day in the summer see the Halfdome It's basically around 400 feet of hauling yourself up the iconic rock with a cable to hold on to.. ofcourse, to get there is like 5-6 hours one way (and gain like 4,400 feet in elevation) so plan your day accordingly.. The views of the Yosemite are magnificent as you ascend and descend and at the top so if you can get the permit and you are in shape, this is a great "day hike" It's hard to describe climbing up one giant of a rock.. oh bring hats etc.. the Sierra Nevada sun can be scorching.. Haiku Stairs, Hawaii Nicknamed "Stairway to Heaven", these steps to an old radar station on Oahu, Hawaii is off limits and totally illegal to go without permits.. Lush and exotic vegetation amidst the mist and gentle breezes off the Pacific, natural world slowly reclaiming man's rackety steps made of steel.. I don't know where this place is.. the place may or may or exist.. Notre Dame First.. allow me to segue into something related to this famous Cathedral that I personally find very fascinating.. Please read this Preface to the Novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame That's right.. Victor Hugo wrote this timeless classic because he was so inspired by "Graffiti" on the walls of the Notre Dame!! So next time you go climb up the 300 something stairs to the Bell Tower of Notre Dame.. ...You may come up on some melancholic inscription from someone disappeared from the midst of generations of man centuries ago, that may inspire you to give to the world, the next timeless classic..
Ugh the link doesn't work well from inside the game.. Here's the preface.. Preface to The Hunchback of Norte Dame A few years ago, while visiting or, rather, rummaging about Notre-Dame, the author of this book found, in an obscure nook of one of the towers, the following word, engraved by hand upon the wall:-- ANArKH. These Greek capitals, black with age, and quite deeply graven in the stone, with I know not what signs peculiar to Gothic caligraphy imprinted upon their forms and upon their attitudes, as though with the purpose of revealing that it had been a hand of the Middle Ages which had inscribed them there, and especially the fatal and melancholy meaning contained in them, struck the author deeply. He questioned himself; he sought to divine who could have been that soul in torment which had not been willing to quit this world without leaving this stigma of crime or unhappiness upon the brow of the ancient church. Afterwards, the wall was whitewashed or scraped down, I know not which, and the inscription disappeared. For it is thus that people have been in the habit of proceeding with the marvellous churches of the Middle Ages for the last two hundred years. Mutilations come to them from every quarter, from within as well as from without. The priest whitewashes them, the archdeacon scrapes them down; then the populace arrives and demolishes them. Thus, with the exception of the fragile memory which the author of this book here consecrates to it, there remains to-day nothing whatever of the mysterious word engraved within the gloomy tower of Notre-Dame,--nothing of the destiny which it so sadly summed up. The man who wrote that word upon the wall disappeared from the midst of the generations of man many centuries ago; the word, in its turn, has been effaced from the wall of the church; the church will, perhaps, itself soon disappear from the face of the earth. It is upon this word that this book is founded. March, 1831. Victor Hugo Link address (quote this post and copy and paste to the browser for the preface and the rest of the book is there too) http://www.online-literature.com/victor ... re_dame/1/
Escalators are scary.. I once got on them and then the power went out and I got stuck on it for 5 hours..
Behold my dream staircase! Why? Well, not only do they function as steps, they also double up as storage/book-cases. Then...SLIDE mixed with stair-cases are just so bae. *heart-eye emoji*
I always saw "laddered stockings" on chicks as a "stairway to heaven".... or a stairway to hell.... it always depended on their attitude