Spring, summer, and winter. Apart from the year of quarantine during the pandemic, I cannot recall a single time in which I’ve spent my break at home. Growing up in a family that loves traveling, school breaks meant adventure, not rest. Having lived in the suburbs my entire life, the vacations I enjoyed the most were always ones where we visited cities. From a week-long trip I could already envision myself living in these different places, and often spent the long, monotonous plane rides back home picturing the details of my imaginary future urban life. Over the years I’ve definitely picked a couple favorites, so here are my top two cities, for each of the three continents I’ve been to.
Europe:
Amsterdam
I visited Amsterdam only once when I was twelve, but instantly fell in love with the culture and architecture. It is large and populated enough to feel metropolitan, but t
he lifestyle of the people allows for it to feel slower paced. The colorful buildings and the small boats floating slowly through the river constructed a warm and welcoming impression. The air quality was also surprisingly high for a city, probably because most of the people we saw there rode bikes instead of cars or buses. Overall, a warm and relaxing city. I would very much like to live here long term, if ever given the opportunity to.
Paris
Paris is a classic. Yes, it isn’t as lovely and dreamlike as photos and movies picture it to be, but I overall still enjoyed the trip. Every place I went to in Paris, the Eiffel Tower, Louv
re, Versailles etc. all gave me the feeling of “it’s good, but not as good as I expected”. I’ve been there twice, and I think after the first visit drew me out of the media and back into reality, I liked my second trip a lot more. For people that love sweets, the desserts don’t disappoint. If you can only go to one city in Europe, I would recommend Paris. All the European cities are very different, but out of the seven countries I’ve visited I think Paris best captures the ambience.
Asia:
Singapore
I went to Singapore this June, and my family’s overall impression was that it’s very nice. Modern, luxurious, and considering 
that most cities aren’t, we were pleasantly surprised that Singapore is actually really clean. The food and culture was also amazing, it was a mix of the three largest ethnic groups that live there: Indian, Malaysian, and Chinese. I think Singapore is a beautiful spot for vacation, but living there long-term might be a struggle with the outrageously high prices.
Chengdu
Chengdu is among my favorite cities in China, and top on my list for revisiting. I went there when I was twelve, before I built up a decent spice tolerance. Chengdu is part of Sichuan, famous for spicy foods. This meant that every meal we ate I sat in the corner with my sister sharing KFC, McDonald’s, or Pizza Hut. The Chinese versions of these fast food restaurants
are a lot better than their American counterparts, but it was still pretty sad that I missed out on half the cultural experience by not eating any of the food. The food there looks, and probably also tastes, amazing. I’m definitely going back, and I would recommend Chengdu to anyone visiting China second after you’ve seen one of the classics – Beijing or Shanghai.
North America:
Honolulu
Honolulu is in Hawaii, and that I think is enough of a reason for it to make it on the list. With the row of buildings along the coast of Oahu island, each one with a direct view of the beach, the scenery is stunning. Additionally, the activities, shopping, food, and culture are all top tier. Especially with the weather getting so cold around here, I miss Honolulu, and hope my family also does so we can go back again soon. Honolulu is a must see, other warm places like California or Florida are not a replacement, it’s truly different from any place in the mainland U.S.
Vancouver
Vancouver is seemingly boring, but after visiting I feel like it’s the ideal place to live long-term. The beach on one side, and mountains on the other, the scenery is beautiful. The weather is more neutral, but it still experiences all four seasons. Perfect for skiing in the winter and enjoying the outdoors in the summer. Nothing about the food stood out to me, but the Chinese food earned my dad’s approval. I think that means it’s pretty authentic, because his top search on Google Maps is “Chinese food near me” and goes on a hunt for it no matter which country we’re traveling in. It wasn’t the most interesting vacation spot, but seems like an amazing place to live.
These are some of my favorites so far, but I can foresee the list changing as I travel more in the future. I hope I am able to include all seven continents some day. To anyone who’s traveling in the upcoming months, remember to take pictures in case the trip becomes a future blog post. I failed to foresee that I would need them for my blog, and am struggling to find photos from a couple of these cities right now.
WOW! You are quite the international traveler. You passport has to be full. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful cities. They definitely appear to be places to visit. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures as well. This was a fun read.
I’m so jealous you’ve been able to travel to so many different places! My family tends to go to the same place, Colorado, because my dad loves the mountains (my mom, sister, and I do too, but we like some variety). It’s so cool that you’ve visited cities on a lot of continents. I think that the best way to learn about different cultures is to experience them firsthand, and it sounds like you’ve been able to do just that through your travels. Apart from the US, I’ve only been to Italy, but I did love visiting Florence, Rome, and Venice. From your list, I think I would be most interested in visiting Vancouver. Having both the mountains and the beach near each other sounds wonderful! Obviously you enjoy city life from your travels, so I’m wondering what your top pick would be if you were to live in a city when you’re older.
I’m so jealous that you’ve been to so many places! I’ve only been to 3 countries outside of the US and would love to visit some more. When you talked about your dad always searching for chinese food during your travels I realize my parents are the same way. We must always eat at atleast one nepali or south asian restaurant everytime we go somewhere. Although truthfully I kind of love the feeling of home even when you are at a new place. From what you’ve said about Amsterdam I would love to visit. I have soon realized that I like peaceful places more rather than the hustle and bustle of a city environment. Fast food chains from America are always better in another country. I went to a Mcdonalds in India once and the food had so much more flavor with a tiny hit of spice.