english & general Franchu on 28 Jan 2008 08:00 am
Things and places I want to see…
I have always been very curious, and over the time I have gathered in my mind a list of things and not so touristic places that I would like to see. In order not to forget them, I want to share them with you… and maybe someone has more suggestions of nice things to see 
- Cherenkov radiation. Don’t ask me why, but I have always found the pictures of the water glowing with an eerie blue light amazing.
- Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights have fascinated mankind for ages and I believe it is one of the most impressive sights that nature can offer.
- Microgravity flight. Nowadays it is the closest experience that you can have, short of going to space. Maybe one day space tourism becomes affordable but until then I would be happy to experience a zero-G environment.
- North Cape. Although in the wikipedia article it is stated that it is not the northernmost point in continental Europe, for me this place will always bear the aura of challenging place to go. Probably akin to the feeling that romans had when they reached the westernmost point of the iberian peninsula and called it Finisterre (end of the Earth).
- Antarctica. One of the less frequented places on Earth, and where it is all about you and nature.
- Active volcano. Actually it is not that difficult to see the lava flowing. You just need to go to southern Italy and take a boat to the Stromboli Island.
- CERN and FermiLab. Two places where real science is carried on.
- The Googleplex. To see if it is really as cool as people say
- Spend the night in the Pic du Midi observatory. They offer packages to spend the night up there, see the sunset, have dinner, spend some time looking at the sky with the scientists and enjoy the sunrise over the clouds (if you are lucky)
If you know of any place in Europe where it is possible to see the Cherenkov radiation and it is open for visits, please let me know. My best guess would be a nuclear waste storage plant, but don’t know if there are any open to visitors.