John’s prompt (as part of a booked.net
blogging challenge) to name and explain the five places that I would
revisit any day could not come at a better time. As it stands, I am a
bit on a travel high from two such destinations on my list. Without
further ado, here are the five spots that I’ve traveled to and to which I
would go back in a heartbeat:
5. Paris, France.
For
the wrong reasons, I guess, because for now Paris is my top do-over,
rather than do-over-and-over-and-over. You see, I actually lived in
Paris for four months, way back when. It was the kind of perfect
Parisian apartment in a posh neighborhood, with seven rooms, antique
furniture, and geraniums-adorned window that opened up on the
postcard-perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. The problem was that at that
time I was a very, very poor college student, who could not afford
anything in my neighborhood and not much outside it either. There were
no cheap street food stands. Everything fun would require a fair bit of
travel, and overall the city struck me as not just expensive, but –
unlike Moscow and New York, which are nominally expensive but are plenty
of fun on the cheap too – as a place that could only be properly
enjoyed with a wad of cash. I couldn’t even afford a digital camera, and
could barely pay for the film for my cheap old-school one; by the time I
scraped by enough cash to develop 20 rolls from my four-month stay
(that’s roughly 500 photos, or how many I take on a full day of
sightseeing now) a lot of the film got ruined and the pictures looked
pretty bad. So, I was kind of a miserable **** in one of the supposedly
most wonderful cities on the planet, and possibly would have pulled the
plug on the whole study abroad business, had it not been for my
wonderful, cheery roommate – who has since become one of my best friends
– who would force me out of the house for long walks around the city at
every opportunity, so that I could take in the city’s beauty and
whatever else it offered for free.
So, what would I do if I went back to
Paris? Stay at one of the magnificent Hotels Particuliers; go to my
favorite patisserie across from Saint-Sulpice and bakery in Le Marais;
hang out on the Seine on the FAR corner of Ile Saint-Louis; visit my
favorite Gothic church of all time, the breathtaking Sainte Chapelle;
walk all the little streets of the 5th and 6th arrondissements;
venture out to more “ethnic” neighborhoods for Moroccan and Vietnamese
cuisine; shop at vintage and one of a kind fashion boutiques; and visit
many private art collections. I feel like I truly know Paris very well;
now I want to simply enjoy it.
4. London, England.
London is immense and I like consuming it
by bits and pieces. Having checked off all the marquee landmarks on my
first trip a few years back, I now enjoy getting to know this city
slowly, savoring its distinct neighborhoods one by one. Charming
Hampstead, punky Camden, eclectic Southwark – each area might as well be
its own town, with its own cultural identity. And I want to get to know
them all. I have also felt museumed-out for the last few years – a
result of growing up in Moscow, studying in Washington DC minutes away
from a dozen Smithsonian outposts, living next to the NYC Met Museum
for seven years, and then hitting up the Louvre, d’Orsay, Uffizi, Prado,
the Hermitage and a bunch of other premiere art collections within just
a few years once my European travels kicked off. I had gotten to the
“you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” point, but I think I am finally
ready to do a bit of gallery-hopping again, especially focusing on every
country’s local fare. In London that means the British Museum and Tate
Britain, for a thorough expedition through the UK’s historic and
artistic legacy.
PS – London, if you’re listening: please
do away with the madness that is the 10 pm last call for food orders and
the 11 pm last call for booze. Oh, and cheaper public transport
wouldn’t hurt your case either.
3. Crimea.
Eighteen days
and I barely scratched the surface of this incredible place. A
relatively small peninsula surrounded by Black Sea waters is a veritable
treasure trove of cultural and outdoorsy adventures. Travel back in
time through the Ottoman, Imperial Russian or World War II influences on
the region. Ride horses across the rolling hills, climb volcanoes,
bathe in waterfalls and go para-sailing to your heart’s content. Or just
sit on the beach and drink glorious local champagne and eat fruit
straight from the branches of the nearby tree. Crimea is a perfect place
if you want to do everything – or nothing. I cannot wait to return to
do both.
2. Budapest, Hungary.
As I slowly made my way through Europe,
Budapest has always remained my “some day” destination – never a
priority one. I knew little of it and I had rather limited expectations
for whenever I finally made it there. Then, somewhat unexpectedly, I
decided to hop on over while on a Balkans vacation this month — and I
was blown away “on contact”.
The city is pure magic, from
sorbet-colored, mosaic-roofed buildings to innumerable glimmering cafes,
from jolly street performers to breathtaking views over Dunau. The
sights and landmarks are endless – it seems like there is a statue on
literally every corner, and every house has a unique detail just begging
to be photographed. I saw so much but didn’t get around to even more –
the museums, the “most beautiful market in Europe,” the interiors of all
the churches and castles, the boat tours, the parks… I am determined to
go back for at least a week in the next two years.
As grand as Paris, as palatial as St. Petersburg, as busy as London, as whimsical as Venice… Budapest, I am in love!
1. Florence, Italy.
Florence
has been my most favorite place ever since I visited it in 2008.
Squeezed between Venice and Rome on an overstuffed Italian vacation,
Florence was the city I enjoyed by far the most on that trip. From the
first moments in the city I knew that it was “the one,” my “travel soul
mate” — and this feeling hasn’t waned through my subsequent journeys to
new places, European or otherwise.
Florence perfectly combines the two
qualities that define all my beloved urban travel destinations:
postcard-perfect whimsy and fast-paced life of its own. Walking down the
streets of this town I felt like I had been dipped into medieval
Europe, but unlike, for example, Venice, Florence did not seem like a
Hollywood stage set that exists solely to entrap tourists. I loved its
street markets and designer shops, its varied restaurant scene and
gelato stands, its gardens and palaces. I loved the warmth and the
relaxed yet buoyant energy of its people. I want to go back with a
one-way ticket and just BE in Florence for a while.
