Ten Cities

Day 26: Name 10 places you would like to visit

I love traveling, but then again, who doesn't. The choosing where to go, researching where to eat and what to see, the nerve wrecking experience which is buying plane tickets and booking hotel rooms online... 

Here's my list of 10 places I would like to visit, in no particular order:

1. Chicago. The windy city. Chicago is one of those cities filled with great architecture. It's home to buildings by Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan and Helmut Jahn. Hell, it was home for Frank Lloyd Wright and where the Prairie School movement was born. As an architect, how could I not want to go there? (Image via here)

2. San Francisco. Maybe it is the kid in me who wishes was a part of the Tanner family or maybe I've just been watching too much Full House lately, but San Francisco has always appealed to me. It's just such an iconic city and for once, architecture has nothing to do with it (except maybe the Golden Gate Bridge): Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Lombard Street... It seems like the kind of place you could take the time to really see the city without having to worry about missing stuff. (Image via here).

3. LA (and everywhere around it). Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Malibu, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Anaheim...  God, I think this is the place where I want to go the most. Being such a tv freak, walking around any of the aforementioned places would be like a dream come true, like living in movies and tv shows I've loved for years. Seriously, just walking around Rodeo Dr pretending to be friends with Kelly and Donna would do it, but there are so many great things to do and see in LA: Disney Concert Hall, The Broad, LACMA, and a whole lot more of architecture based picks. Plus the food scene and latin vibes and basically everything. Earth, swallow me now and spit me in LA. (Image via here)



4. Positano. Ahh, the Amalfi Coast. It is one place that seems to be thriving these days, but of course, why woulnd't it? It keeps popping on my instagram feed implanting on me the idea of going there asap. The whole place just looks so romantic and laid back, like the perfect place for a honeymoon or an anniversary trip. (Image via here)

5. Paris. Because no one ever said 'Veracruz is always a good idea'. Although I've been once before, ever since I read that Jordan and her family moved there for a year,  I've been obsessed with the idea of spending a long time there, as in more than four days (like last time). It's the kind of city that has more to offer than touristic attractions. I've run around Champs Elysées and done the eternal lines to climb the Eiffel Tower (not that I would mind doing it again), but I'd like to really spend time in Paris. Sit at cafes, peruse flea markets, drive a vespa around the city, the true Parisian experience. (Image via here)

6. Amsterdam. When I was studying in Sheffield, Amsterdam was supposed to be part of a summer holiday but fell through at the last minute. I'd still like to go some day because I think the Netherlands has such a rich culture and Amsterdam seems to be a beautiful city with the canals and clogs and... windmills? (Image via here)

7. Tokyo. So exotic, right? As you can probably tell by now (except maybe for Positano up there), I'm more of a big city kind of tourist, way more into going to places where there are many things to do and see, over laying by the pool reading (not that I don't enjoy that as well). Plus, again with the culture and the architecture. (Image via here)

8. Shanghai. Those sights, that skyline... that's all I got, but seriously, big city, architecture, what more is there to it? well, of course, Shanghai Disneyland :) (Image via here)

9. Sydney. At some point in my life I was obsessed with the surfing culture (And the Olsen's twins unrealistic traveling movies). But taking that aside I feel like Sydney is a very cosmopolitan city, and one which has it all: beaches, great architecture, culture, art, and the Sydney Harbor Bridge & the Opera House. (Image via here)

10. Rio de Janeiro. A was the one who actually planted this seed on me, but what attracts me of visiting Brasil, other than food, is (you guessed it) the architecture. Actually a trip to Brasil would need to include other cities like Brasilia, Sao Paolo and maybe even Curitiba to check out Oscar Niemeyer and Lina Bo Bardi's work, not that the beaches of Copacabana wouldn't be enough for me ;) (Image via here)

So basically my picks depend completely on architecture and things to see (aka landmarks) which result in quite busy holidays, rather than relaxing ones. Oh, well! Live while you're young!

Other cities I'd love to visit include: Copenhagen, Beijing, Perú & Machu Pichu and everywhere I've been before, except now with A :)

G.