Today is opening day for most of the teams in Major League Baseball, another season of the Mets disappointing me I'm sure. However as I write this blog they have a 1-0 lead against the Atlanta Braves so an opening day win would be nice.
I often write about places I have been or will be going, and in keeping with that tradition I'm going to Budapest at the end of the month. I had never been interested in visiting Hungary if I'm being 100% honest, but the more I read about it the more excited i am for the upcoming trip. It will be the first time I've ventured into Eastern Europe, and definitely the farthest east I will have gone in my life.
I was having a conversation recently about my favorite cities that I've been to, and you might be surprised to find out what makes my list out of the places I've been to so far.

1.) London - After having said this list might surprise you this one is the least surprising of all to anyone who knows me. London is the perfect city in my opinion, it has a little bit of everything. It's so cosmopolitan that I sometimes wonder if the word was invented to describe London. The west end you can argue is even better than Broadway, in the way its laid out you really get the scene its a theatre district. It has art, and culture flowing from every corner, yet they say Paris is the place for that, I might disagree. The nightlife is unrivaled by any other place I have been as well, whether you like small pubs or giant nightclubs London has all of them covered. I could go on an on about this city but after having been there 9 times and still wanting to go another 9 times I think that says it all.

2.) Toronto - I said to a friend of mine a few years ago that Toronto was Canada's version of NYC, and he said that's a bit of a bold statement. I stand by that statement today after having been there again in August. It's not only Canada's version of it but to me it trumps the actual NYC. Toronto has a certain buzz about it that I really enjoy, its ranked as the most multicultural city in the world and with good reason. CNN had a list of the worlds most livable cities recently and Toronto was ranked in the top 10, I couldn't agree with that ranking more. If Europe didn't exist it would be number one on my list of places to live.

3.) Las Vegas - Surprised yet? I thought long and hard about this one and Vegas is my favorite city in America. Unlike the two choices above for very different reasons. When you enter Las Vegas its like entering another realm, nothing is real except the money coming out of your bank account. I've been to Vegas a lot and each time I went I had a completely different experience, its unlike London and Toronto as its not a very cultured or artist place. Its not a financial or Theatrical capital its simply a gambling city that has turning into an iconic place a result.

4.) Boston - I should probably be sent to rikers island for being a New Yorker who likes Boston more than his own city. The first time I went to Boston as a senior in high school, I was pleasantly surprised to find a city that felt like Europe in America. The streets were not laid out in a grid like most other US cities and the damp and dreary weather made it feel like England. I lived there for 4 and a half years and I had good times and bad times there but after moving away it has become romanticized to me as a place where I found my bearings and started the transformation into the person I am now. I really don't have a bad word i can say about the place, Red Sox fans however that's a story for another day.

5.) Dublin - Never have I had such a strong feeling about a place as I do towards Dublin. She has her flaws like all places do, but when I hear people speak badly about Dublin it makes me want to jump to her defense. It's a miniature version of London to me, and also very reminiscent of Boston at the same time. When I lived in Cork I used to come up to Dublin often and always wanted to move here. Now that I live here I can't think of any other place I want to be, which has to be the first time in my life I've had this feeling.

Some of the other places I have enjoyed a lot that fell just outside of the top 5 are below in no real order.

Philadelphia
Paris
San Francisco
Lille
Manchester
Chicago
Montreal
Austin
Los Angeles
Leeds
Belfast
  ¶ 2:58 PM