The Seven Wonders of Pasadena
The New 7 Wonders experiment has ended. Great Wall, Colosseum and The Taj? Sure. Petra, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza? Amazing sites, but meh, there are greater "Wonders."
Christ Redeemer? Now is it just me -- a mere minion of the Godless press -- or is one statue a hella lame Wonder?
Of course Cambodia doesn't have the tourism nor did it orchestrate a campaign as did other countries in the running -- votes were apparently subsidized in Brazil -- but not including the ancient and expansive Khmer temple complexes collectively known as Angkor Wat is absurd.
I've visited a number of the sites that were under consideration. Getting up close to a place like the Taj Mahal cuts through all cliche and oversaturation to evoke true awe and wonder.
But I've actually toured and retoured the complexes around Siem Reap/Angkor Wat on two separate Cambodian incursions, because their wonder occupies an entirely different scale.
Here's a link to the Cambodia section of articles and pictures on my now defunct travel site.
So I've been, er, wondering what people vote as the Seven Wonders of Pasadena? Or should we say the San Gabriel Valley? (Does imagination and wonder exist east of the 605?)
What do you think? Any suggestions? (Let's pretend to be serious for a moment.)
To qualify it has to be something humans have inflicted upon the environment (aka "man made") such as City Hall, the Rose Bowl or the Colorado Street Bridge.
If leaving a comment is too "public" feel free to e-mail me at todd.ruiz@sgvn.com.
Oh, and remember, Friday is the deadline
for submissions to the Peppermint Gardens contest.