I just watched Anthony Bourdain’s new show, The Layover. The concept had me hooked from the start. To begin with, it’s a show with Anthony Bourdain. My love for that graying, crotchety, rock star chef is borderline creepy. My mother, when referring to him, often calls him my “boyfriend.” Right off the bat I knew I’d love this show. The basic gist is, “This is what you do if you only have 24 hours in a city.” Even at my best I am still the most impatient and ADD person I know. Even the cities I love most in the world have a hard time holding my attention-span after a day or two. This is the show for me. I thought I’d share with you my a few cities I’d love to visit for a day. It’s not comprehensive, but it’s a start.
The newest city added to my list (thanks entirely to my boyfriend and his new show) is Singapore. I love ethnic food and apparently Singapore is chock full of immigrants and thus boasts some of the best ethnic food in the world, according to Anthony Bourdain. Because Singapore is anally clean, they rounded up all their street vendors and corralled them into open-air but cleaned up areas. That means I can have all the steamed, stick’ed and fried meats I wanted without having to worry if I’m going to end up with salmonella. Dream come true. Literally. Also, as the ex-wife of a DAAP student, I have an appreciation for architecture and from what I saw on The Layover, Singapore has all sorts of amazing buildings. From one that looks like a lotus flower to a surfboard shaped bar that features an infinity pool and is stretched across three skyscrapers, there are plenty of brand new, glorious buildings to take in and more appearing almost monthly. I also have a love for airports and Tony just said that Singapore has the best airport in the world. That man has spent time in far more airports than I have, so he ought to know.
I’d also like to visit Berlin for a day or two. One of my earliest memories involves sitting on my aunt’s big bed when I was around four years old and watching as they tore down the Berlin Wall. Because of that one tiny memory, I’ve always had a minor obsession with Germany. These days, I can’t imagine there is much there to catch my interest. But I’d love to visit the museum dedicated to the Berlin wall, as well as walk the cobblestone line where the Berlin Wall once stood. I honestly feel like everyone should. We keep putting up walls and fences, like the one in Ireland (is it still there?) and the one in Texas that they keep threatening to make taller, thicker, stronger. I imagine if everyone walked the cobblestone markings of the Berlin Wall, spent time in the museum, asked a German or two what they thought of that awful situation that maybe people would stop trying to separate and start trying to come together. Or maybe that’s just my inner-John Lennon shining through. Berlin always seems like a really grey town, so I think I’d grow sick of it pretty fast.
Speaking of grey, there’s a small fishing town on one of the Scottish Isles called Stornoway. The average high temperature in July is a balmy 60 degrees, which already makes it sound pretty awesome to me. But, goat head is apparently a delicacy there. I want to try it. I also think it’s interesting that with only 9,000 people it’s the largest town in the Western Isles. Can you imagine? That seems so tiny compared to the towns I’ve lived in-my high school actually had 4,500 students during my junior year. There isn’t a whole lot to do in Stornoway. But, there is a castle. Plus, I’m a sucker for marinas, damp air and colorful boats.
Granted, I doubt I’ll ever have a layover in Stornoway, so this will require an actual trip. But, when I’m making my way through Ireland, Scotland & England…this will be an easy stop over. I imagine myself hulled up in a tiny room overlooking the water. I’ll probably spend one day wandering and another day staring out the window and/or writing. It’s kind of perfect for me, really.
I’m sure there are more. These are my top picks, though. Up tomorrow (or maybe just later): Panama City or possibly a list of my dream places to escape the world and write for awhile (once I’m rich enough to be able to take a month off and spend it in some place other than my apartment).
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