My Top 10 Favorite Places in the World
Of the many places I have travelled to, I decided to just pick 10:
10. Tayamaan Cove in Mamburao, Mindoro – white sand and the most perfect spot in the world to snorkel and dive. I hope tourists never discover it and putting this up on the internet is just so wrong.
9. Napa Valley, California – there are magical elements about vineyards and wineries that just seem to whisper romance.
8. Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and Intramuros, Manila – similar in so many ways, they are old walled cities with narrow cobblestone streets and formerly established to be military strongholds. In its modern day transformation, both cities reverberate with rich history.
7. My bedroom in my parent’s house in the Philippines where I have a clear view of the Manila Bay, where the horizon is often dotted with sailboats and at dusk, a great big ball of orange sunset gently seemingly sinks into the waters.
6. Washington, DC – the city is dotted with many historically significant buildings where the masters of politics come to worship and yet is not a steel and concrete jungle. The buildings remain low enough that you can see the sky and each grand edifice stands as an island surrounded by shrubbery or some kind of greenery. To me it sort of softens the image and it is just perfectly beautiful in early spring when the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin are in bloom. And also, just nearby, the quaint little university town of Georgetown.
5. The Rose Garden at the United Nations, New York – in the spring it is just the most beautiful place in the world for me, surrounded by the burst of colors from the cherry blossoms that forms a grand arch on its west side and then the scent of the many roses in bloom on its south end. It looks out to the East River and in the summer it is the best location to enjoy the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks.
4. Sanibel Island, Florida – the thunderstorms may have scared the soul out of me but I loved the beach which was littered with millions of sea shells. It is a paradise where parrots would perch on trees oblivious to the human activity below them.
3. Vieux Lyon, France – another old city, another great favorite. The ambiance of this city just draws me to wish I could live here in my next life. Secret passages called tramboules weaves through its back alleys, previously used to safely transport silk from one location to another at a time when the city was the main centre for its production and trade. I loved the small plazas and its fountains and the Fourviere which is its upper city where a majestic ancient Catholic Church stands alongside convents, and the residence of the Archbishop and can be reached by a ride on the funicular.
2. Italy – “…..fairytales can come true, it can happen to you…”
1. Central Park, New York – this is my backyard in the city. I love coming here any time of the year : in the spring when it is bursting with colorful blooms, in the summer when it offers a reprieve from the heat and humidity, in the autumn when it is painted in yellow, red and gold and in the winter when it is veiled with pristine white snow. And the tennis courts are so definitely a great plus!
10. Tayamaan Cove in Mamburao, Mindoro – white sand and the most perfect spot in the world to snorkel and dive. I hope tourists never discover it and putting this up on the internet is just so wrong.
9. Napa Valley, California – there are magical elements about vineyards and wineries that just seem to whisper romance.
8. Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and Intramuros, Manila – similar in so many ways, they are old walled cities with narrow cobblestone streets and formerly established to be military strongholds. In its modern day transformation, both cities reverberate with rich history.
7. My bedroom in my parent’s house in the Philippines where I have a clear view of the Manila Bay, where the horizon is often dotted with sailboats and at dusk, a great big ball of orange sunset gently seemingly sinks into the waters.
6. Washington, DC – the city is dotted with many historically significant buildings where the masters of politics come to worship and yet is not a steel and concrete jungle. The buildings remain low enough that you can see the sky and each grand edifice stands as an island surrounded by shrubbery or some kind of greenery. To me it sort of softens the image and it is just perfectly beautiful in early spring when the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin are in bloom. And also, just nearby, the quaint little university town of Georgetown.
5. The Rose Garden at the United Nations, New York – in the spring it is just the most beautiful place in the world for me, surrounded by the burst of colors from the cherry blossoms that forms a grand arch on its west side and then the scent of the many roses in bloom on its south end. It looks out to the East River and in the summer it is the best location to enjoy the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks.
4. Sanibel Island, Florida – the thunderstorms may have scared the soul out of me but I loved the beach which was littered with millions of sea shells. It is a paradise where parrots would perch on trees oblivious to the human activity below them.
3. Vieux Lyon, France – another old city, another great favorite. The ambiance of this city just draws me to wish I could live here in my next life. Secret passages called tramboules weaves through its back alleys, previously used to safely transport silk from one location to another at a time when the city was the main centre for its production and trade. I loved the small plazas and its fountains and the Fourviere which is its upper city where a majestic ancient Catholic Church stands alongside convents, and the residence of the Archbishop and can be reached by a ride on the funicular.
2. Italy – “…..fairytales can come true, it can happen to you…”
1. Central Park, New York – this is my backyard in the city. I love coming here any time of the year : in the spring when it is bursting with colorful blooms, in the summer when it offers a reprieve from the heat and humidity, in the autumn when it is painted in yellow, red and gold and in the winter when it is veiled with pristine white snow. And the tennis courts are so definitely a great plus!