My Not-So-Secret-Anymore.. Love of Staircases!

So here's the thing all.  Since i was a child of about three or so.. i've had a fascination with, and love of.. staircases of all kinds.  Spiral staircases.. steep staircases.. 'hidden' staircases.. and just the plain ol' straight up staircases!  Where do they lead?  What is UP there?  Secret rooms?  Neat surprises?  Books, possibly?  And is there an attic above whatever is up there?  Interesting view from 'up tall' like that?  (That's the three or four year old M wondering... )  I always wanted to go UP.  My mother, knowing i had this curiosity, always told me before we visited acquaintances or friends, to mind my manners.  That it's impolite to ask..  even nicely.. if i can see upstairs.  :)  So i used to stand at the foot sometimes and look longingly up when i thought no one was watching.  Now that i'm a grown-up; i live in a three bedroom ranch house.  I like it and all. But alas.. no stairs!  I MISS a house with a staircase.  My parents' old Victorian in New England has a pretty staircase in its hall.  My grandparents' 150 year old farmhouse has TWO staircases.  A front one and a back one!  How much fun was THAT when i was a kid?  Lots, i tell you!  No surprise then, that my favorite Nancy Drew mystery is 'The Hidden Staircase'.  Or that my second favorite is 'The Mystery of the 99 Steps!  Or that i adore the novel 'The 39 Steps' by John Buchan.  Some of my favorite books feature 'stairs' prominently, or the word is part of their title!  There's just something special and mysterious about a beautiful set of stairs.  I'll never forget the time i saw the Grand Staircase at the Breakers Mansion in Newport, RI.  It's breathtaking!

There are 'so' many sets of stairs i want to see in the Universe, and when i become the world traveler i want to be someday; i will see them all!  And i figure; when i'm traveling the world, i can pretty much eat whatever i want.  Well, within reason.  Because climbing all those steps will be GOOD for me.  I won't flab out on these journeys around the globe.  One of the first i want to see.. i also want to share with you.  It's the beautiful spiral staircase at the Musee Gustave Moreau in Paris!  It's magnificent!  There are a couple of beautiful photos of it on this link.

http://parishotelboutique.blogspot.com/2010/07/musee-gustave-moreau-and-mystery.html

Gorgeous.. isn't it?  I want to climb that one of these days!  Sooner rather than later.  Another one i'd like to see.. and climb, of course.. sometime in the future.. is the gorgeous staircase at the Lello Bookstore in Porto, Portugal!  That is one breathtaking.. possibly in more ways than one.. set of steps!  Want to share that one with you also.  Maybe some of you have seen it and climbed it already?  I mean, it's in a BOOKSTORE!  What more could i want?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYWuE1M2-88

How amazing is THAT?!  I know, right?  :)  And the one more link i want to share is probably one of my favorite set of steps of all time.  Though they're not long.  Or spiral.  Or steep.  Or hidden.  And i'll never be able to climb these steps...  They are.. drumroll please..!  The Stairs That Go Nowhere, from the film.. 'The Seven Year Itch'!  Yes.  I love those.  And they feature prominently in the movie too.  In fact, here's a staircase scene featuring none other than Marilyn Monroe..  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWxGEVek7as

Love love love that scene.. and the entire movie.  Well, i won't keep you any longer on this wonderful New Year's Eve, 2011...  soon to be beautiful 2012!  Have a Happy New Year, and please keep yourselves safe this Saturday, December Thirty First, Two Thousand Eleven.  M for Magnificent Stairs to Climb and Marvelous Things to Discover 'Up Tall'!