Going somewhere for the first time is always an adventure for most people as there is something indescribable about being in a city for the first time, seeking out and finally getting to admire the sites that one might have previously become familiar with through TV or perhaps film. As for myself personally I get a sensational feeling that I am entering a new world every time I get off that train or airplane or what ever means of transportation I might have used to teleport me to that city which I am venturing to discover. That feeling is one that can perhaps be compared to seeing an opera for the first time where at first all we know is the name of the piece but when we read the synopsis and hear the music then that opera becomes more then a name of a piece written by a certain composer, it becomes much more then that, it becomes a living work of art capable of inspiring our imagination and perhaps even fantasy.
The same can be alleged about a city which we are visiting for the first time which at first perhaps we only know as a dot on a map that looks no different from any other dot on the same map but takes on a whole new life when we cross its threshold and learn the truth that lurks behind those walls that cities used to have in days of old. The life I speak of is in the streets which we see packed with stores, restaurants, bars and above all those nameless faces of people walking to their destinations, and it is precisely all these things that like the opera transform the city into more then a mere dot on a map but another world which like the opera can also inspire our imagination and even fantasy.
To many all operas maybe a repetition on to themselves but not to those who share love for them as to them there is something of difference in every opera, just like to those who find civilization in cities there is something of difference in every large metropolis that sets it apart from the rest. That difference may come in the form of a mood or ambiance different cities provide to those whose sensitivity allows them to detect the elegance of Paris, the hustle and bustle aggressiveness of New York City, the imperial grandness or its remains that are to be found it the eternal city which is Rome, the strength that is London and many other cities to many to mention, but then again to many the difference may also come in the form of simple monuments which serve as calling card for a city.
There are certain monuments or so called landmarks that one spends ones whole life hearing about sometimes these landmarks are the only reason that makes one go to a particular town or city in the first place, for instance how many people would really be visiting the city of Pisa if not for th at tower which if not for the fact that it is or was made defectively would simply pass for another tower which could be found in any other city any where in the world.
I must say that I am not ashamed to admit that the main goal if not the only goal of my travels is and always has been to visit large cities. It is in these large cities where I can do all the things that interest me and one can correctly assume that if an activity can not be performed in a city such as skiing or other such, shall we say “outdoor stuff” then that activity does not interest me in the very least.
The things that attract me to a city are for the most part small in number but great in significance so I will present a list of some of the biggest attractions that “great cities” offer which I will begin for no specific reason with landmarks which in my opinion best symbolize not only a city but the nation where the city finds itself in. One item which must never fail to present itself on any list of mine regarding attractions offered by cities is museums which I adore for the reason that I am a history buff true and true who has spend many a night reading books by the likes of Norman Davies and Paul Johnson who me being American is more to my liking.
In conclusion I will say this though in the ears of some it may place me in the category of pretentious and it being that I do not have or have ever had any desire in seeing the country or what some refer to as nature, for my idea of nature is going to “Central Park” and sitting by that castle or castle like structure which can be found near a small lake in midtown Manhattan or watching it on board a fast moving train when ever traveling from one city to another in the hope of reproving to myself the worthiness of the words of the first mayor of Athens, Greece not Georgia, which were “all good things flow in to the city”.
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