Win One for The Six

Look, maybe my opinion is clouded by having spent a whole lot of time in Toronto these past three years - on two different projects. It is more clouded since I have been there off and on the past five months. But hot damn do I want to the Raptors to win the NBA Finals, because Toronto deserves it.

I was there when they crowded the streets to watch their Maple Leafs lose a second straight 7-game series to Boston. I have been there as their Raptors won a dramatic Game 7 against the 76ers with the most dramatic, most memorable, most picturesque of shots of all time.

I was there in a local Vaughan (northern suburb of Toronto) bar (Moose & Firkin) when they narrowly lost Game 1 to the Bucks, hearing the raucous noise in a quiet suburban outpost. I was there in spirit when Jurassic Park went crazy when they finished off the Bucks. I will be there next week (sadly, the week the games are in the Bay). I want to be there when that great city gets its just rewards.

I think people have Toronto all wrong. It is seen as an underdog, a challenger. No. This is one of the biggest cities in the World. If you go population within city limits, it is #4 in North America (behind just Mexico City, New York City and Los Angeles). If you go by within its Metro Area, it is #7 (those three, plus Chicago, Houston and Dallas). It is one of the world's leading financial and business capitals. It is a massive, massive city, home to mega corporations - two of whom jointly own the Raptors.

It is also a beautiful, multi-cultural, fun as hell city. I've spent a few weekends in Toronto during my various projects (and once, coincidentally, a few months before my first project there began) and loved it every time. Toronto is one of North America's great cities, and it deserves a title again.

It's been 26 years since Toronto won a title, with the Blue Jays winning their second of two straight World Series. The Blue Jays them immediately started to become annoyingly average, rarely bottoming out, but always winning between 75-85 games, swallowed up by the Yankees and Red Sox dominance.

The Maple Leafs have laughably gone 60+ years without a Stanley Cup, a failure that is all to well worn around the city of Toronto like an anchor dragging them down. Unlike Boston did with the Red Sox, they don't wear this infamous streak with pride. Hockey is Toronto. Toronto is Hockey - housing the Hall of Fame. But for too long Lord Stanley's Cup has escaped them.

The pressure then falls to the Raptors, a team that has grown so instrumental in the sports fabric of the city. It all started with the 'We The North' chant, a lasting gift of Game of Thrones. Maybe we should laugh that the team's name and nickname are both lifted from pop culture, but dammit does it work.

The Raptors are a great team. In any non-Warriors world, they are clearly good enough to win a title. They may end up doing so anyway, as the loss of Durant will be felt more here than in the prior round (of course, KD may come back). And hopefully even if they don't, they've done enough on this run to convince Kawhi to stay.

It bothered me so much when people just assumed Kawhi would ahte Toronto. Is it cold? Sure. But aside from that and the taxes (which wouldn't be so much better if he moves to the Lakers or Clippers), there is nothing to hate about Toronto. From what I've read, many NBA players love the road trip there.

The idea that Kawhi would hate Toronto because it's not a 'fun' place always grated on me (though this is not purely a Toronto idea - I hate the fact all warm weather people seem to think it is impossible to enjoy a cold-weather city). The idea that Kawhi couldn't make endorsement money or be as large a star was even dumber. Again, this is one of the 10-largest markets in North America by any definition, and with the Raptors being, to some degree, 'Canada's Team', the actual potential endorsements are ahead of maybe any US market.

Toronto deserved better, and they deserve this run to teh Finals. And hopefully, for their sake, they put up a great fight if not win the damn thing. Not because of how great it would be for little Canada to get a title, but because this megapolis deserves to be seen as one; as one of North America's best

The Nostalgia Diaries, Pt. 17: The 2008 Wimbledon Final

I'm not really going to talk about the match here too much. There's no point. Enough has been written. By me. By great sportswriters. By whole damn books and documentaries and the like. Really, there's no point in rehashing the match - back at a time when Roger Federer had 12 majors, Rafael Nadal had five, and Novak Djokovic had one (count since - including this match - is Federer = 8, Nadal = 12, Djokovic = 14). The match was amazing, sure, but I want to talk about how I watched the game. It was at my house, with my late Aunt visiting. I remember her (and her two sons, who both live in the US) watching the match with us, through the rain delays, through the madness. And I remember that this was one of my last memories of her, as she would die about two months later.

I've suffered more loss in my life than I should. Now, I've suffered less than most as well. My parents are both alive and well. My sister is alive and well. So my immediate family is fine.

But when you get past them, it gets a bit more grim. Both my grandfathers died before I was born, one way before (1973), and the other five years before (1986). I met my grandmothers many times, and still have memories of both of them, but my paternal grandmother died in 2002, two days before her 80th birthday, and my maternal grandmother, probably the grandparent I remembered the most, the one we called 'mummy', died in 2007, the year of her 75th birthday.

I had an uncle (my Mom's older brother) die in 1989 (before I was born). I had my dad's brother-in-law (my Autn's husband) die in 1996. I had my dad's brother die in 1999. So I've had to live with my fair share of loss - even if it wasn't my parents or my siblings, it was my parents' parents and my parent's siblings.

Putting aside my Aunt who this story is about, other than mummy (and my Aunt - Uncle's wife - who passed in 2014, after the time period of this story), none of these people I remember. But luckily then, I don't remember the loss either. I don't really remember losing my Uncle Bobby or my Uncle Silvie, and obviously have no memories of my two patriarchs, including the man whose name i still carry - Menezes.

But my Aunt Lolita I do remember. I remember the last time I met her in 2008, the last memory being Nadal's Wimbledon win. Because I remember that, I remember the previous times, be it 2003, or 2001, or in the 90's when we used her flat in Mumbai as a base. It's sad really that I love the fact I at least remember her death, because then I do remember her life with it.

I never knew Auntie Lolita was a sports fan, and I in truth have no idea if she was, but she was a tennis fan, and if memory serves, she rooted for Nadal that day. Of course, so did I, and watching Rafael Nadal conquer Wimbledon, conquer Federer, was such a thrilling experience. Even if Novak Djokovic ends up with 24 majors and is the best male player ever, in any tennis fan's heart (or tennis historian's heart), the 2008 Wimbledon Final will remain the pinnacle of the sport.

The only sporting event I can reasonably compare it to in terms of storylinges and drama was the 2006 AFC Championship Game with Manning's Colts finally beating Brady's Patriots (screw me that a good dozen years later, Brady is still winning Super Bowls!). The ridiculous storylines were similar, with the young buck finally beating the old champion (forget for a moment that Brady is younger than Manning in this analogy). It was a perfect confluence of story and drama in a pre-social media world.

2008 was a seminal year in my life in many ways, the year I finished Junior year with aplomb, and started senior year with drastic senioritis that may not have escaped me through to today. It was the year I was left alone for a summer and grew to love driving. It was the year I rented way too much for Blockbuster (talk about the past!). It was the year I grew to love the NFL more than ever, the year I grew to love soccer more than ever through Euro 2008, and the year that Nadal beat Federer., Not lost in all that wass it being the year that my Aunt came to visit.

She had come before, even recently enough that I remembered previous visits. But from the day she arrived, we all had an inkling it would sadly be her last. She was sick, that all we knew. She was so sick it was a mystery how she made it to the US in the first place. My dad tells a story that despite being warned of her condition, he was so taken aback when she arrived to our house, he immediately called his brother and they cried together. I can't imagine the feeling, the shock, the sadness.

But if anything defined my Aunt's life, it was trying to always see the bright side and experience the best in life. Despite being so ill, she came with us to Manhattan and brought my Dad out to the dance floor in a NYC lounge where an Eagles cover band was playing. The Eagles is the band that defines my family for some reason, and it is not lost on me the beauty of that show being one of her last nights with us.

Even the day of the final itself, she wanted to stay watching the match instaed of turning off the TV in the numerous rain delays. She always wanted to experience the great things in life, and in the Summer of 2008, Nadal v. Federe was about as great as it comes.

I don't know if it is a good thing that sports is the reason I have connections to so many events, that I can instantly go back in time to a memory. Be it the last memories of my Aunt, or my last MUN trip the next March, or the joy of driving when Kansas beat Memphis, or late nights in Bangalore huddled up against a TV.

This whole series, sixteen parts and two years in, has been a series in catharsis, but this is the first time I've connected sports to one of the darkest, saddest events in my life. Sadly, I can do that some more, be it my other Aunt's month's mind (one-month death anniversary) happening the same day here local Patriots beat the Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX, or a few others, but this one would always stand out. I don't know if I knew at the time that her days were numbered, but all I knew is I enjoyed watching my Aunt Lolita enjoying watching my favorite tennis player win Wimbledon.

The Nostalgia Diaries, Pt. 16: 2009 NFC Championship Game

Years later, after we realized what happened that day, and it became a central focus of one of the darkest (or strangest) scandals in NFL history. I still remember the day I heard of Bountygate. And that day, my mind immediately raced back to the Superdome, January, 2009, Saints vs. Vikings. Never was a stadium louder, never was a game more oppressive. In retrospect, never was a bounty scheme so obvious. But at the time, who knew about the bounties. All we saw was a mad rush defense trying to break the most unbreakable QB of his time, in front of a truly raucous crowd, playing out an epic.

Like many Greek epics, there was tragedy and comedy, and it mostly came down to a series of mistakes the Vikings made to take a game they thoroughly dominated on the statsheet (they outgained the Saints 475-257 - despite them never touching the ball in OT) into a tight game and ultimately a loss. The Vikings know heartbreak, be it the throttling the Giants or Eagles gave them in modern-day title games, or the Blair Walsh FG miss, but the only thing that compares would probably be the Gary Anderson FG miss. The Vikings spent so many years building a perfectly balanced team, and saw it all fall apart.

Some games have an outward energy that defines itself from the beginning. This was one of them, starting with it being so damn loud it was hard to hear Brad Childress during his pre-game interview. I still remember him saying that 'we're pretty good too', and why not? They went 12-4, outscored opponents by 180 points. Favre was the third best QB in the NFL (behind Manning and Brees), with Peterson, Sidney Rice (when he was good), Bernard Berrian (ditto), Percy Harvin (even more ditto), a great Visanthe Shiancoe, and great OL with future hall of famer Steve Hutchinson, two potential HOFers on the DL (Jared Allen, Kevin Williams), three good LBers and great players in teh secondary. That was one of the most talented rosters constructed.

So were the Saints, staring with Brees and his crew of Colston, Moore, Henderson, Meachem and Shockey, with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush. The defense was still Will Smith and co, but Gregg Williams had them blitzing and burning in his usual mad scientist way. That was such a damn good matchup. The Colts may have ultimately been the favorite in the Super Bowl (smh), but these were the best two teams in teh NFL. And the wrong one won.

The first half was fairly even. The first three drives were all TDs, with two by the Vikings, both an imposing display of power. The whole game was for the Vikings. Their team was defined by their size and power, and on offense they bullied the Saints, and on defense they swallowed the Saints normally great OL and got Brees off hsi spot to the tune of a 17-31 day. The only way the Saints could get in? Well, the bounties had something to do with it.

I remember watching that game in my living room with my parents. I didn't meet friends that day because I nervously watched Peyton lead a comeback against Rex Ryan's Jets a few hours before. Nightfall descended. Martin Lurther King Day was the following day. It was us sitting in an increasingly pitch-black room with the superpower of the Superdome lightening the room.

That whole season for the Saints was a revelation. It will probably never get 'beetter' than the 2006 season, the first one back after Katrina. But they were better in 2009, starting 13-0, with so many memorable games in that dome. The first one probably was their dismantling of a 5-0 Giants team 48-27. But nothing was better than their 38-17 humiliation of the Patriots.

I could probably do my own piece on that game, maybe the worst game the Patriots have played in the Belichick era on National TV, letting Brees go nuclear against them. Belichick pulled his guys late. It was beautiful, it was special, it was 'the Saints in the Superdome'. The only team that seemed unnerved by that? The Vikings.

The Vikings took that game in a dominant manner I've never seen. Their second half is on one hand hte most dominant half I've seen a team play, and the most heartbreakingly stupid. Four turnovers, all big. One was on their own 15-yard line, setting up an easy Saints TD to take a 28-21 lead. One of the Saints 10-yard line, taking away at least a field goal (probably more, this was not a game for field goals until the final one). Two Favre interceptions, the first probably should have been negated by one of the many uncalled bounty-infused hits, and the second being that interception. In between that, the Vikings scored two TDs. Each play seemed angry, seemed annoyed that they had to drive and drive and drive. But they did.

The Saints unleashed hell with the pass rush because they couldn't match the Viikings physicality. It was so weird seeing the Saints so neutered in that game, so amazingly less physical. But on the whole, this game was about the bounties and the experience of that dome. The experience of that game was the hits, time and time again Favre pulling himself out of the turf. One time it took it so long that you could hear a Saints player later saying 'Favre is done, pay me!'.

Weirdly, the only person who thought something was off was my Mom, who becomes something of a football fan every playoffs (especially if the Giants are involved). Maybe after the first hit, she exclaimed 'they're being too rough with Favre.' That refrain was repeated time and time again... and she was right. But in the moment, taht added to the intensity of one of the most intense, emotional games I've ever seen.

It ended with a Field Goal - the last OT playoff game when a field goal on the first drive could win the game. But even that drive had drama - a 4th down where Pierre Thomas seemed to fumble on a HB_dive/jump; an easy dropped interception, a laughably bad DPI call on 3rd down. Even on that drive, the Vikings dominated; the Saints persisted.

The Saints persisted for years, through palying in San Antonio, to building something special in 2006, to two less-than seasons, and finally to their success. It was hard to feel too sorry given how great that strory was, but at the end, it was fun just to see another insane, epic, NFL playoff game. The amazing part is no one saw it more clearly than my Mom.

Celebrating Count the Dings

In some ways, little had changed. It was a lot of familiar faces - beyond just those we all came to see on stage. It was a lot of new faces too, expanding the universe of people that have shared this particular fascination in person after months/years/eons of doing so over audio.

But in the ten weeks since the last Count the Dings Live Show, so much had changed as well. Nothing more than the state of the podcast itself, this being the first show since they moved the basketball-focused half of their operation to The Athletic. But that half was not present. This was not about that. This was celebrating the half left separately, the half that we're all invested in, from a literal sense (Patreon and the like) to a communal one. This was a celebration of the past twenty months since they left ESPN's protective umbrella, and waded out into the ever expanding Podcast world alone. There is no better indication of how well that worked than hundreds of people coming to watch that independence in full display.

Count the Dings is a community. In some ways, I've always known this, but while I got my first upfront view at their Boston live show, it was reinforced over and over again this past weekend in Chicago. From the meet-ups, to a booze cruise featuring us huddling under the duress of a 48-degree rainy night, to bar trips thereafter, to the show, and finally the aftershow late into the Chicago night. In name only was this a Live Show - it was a weekend-long Live Experience.

It was better the second time for myriad reasons. It was better because I was able to meet people I knew. The faces that slowly etch further in the mind, moving rapidly from online acquaintances shrouded behind a online name, to in person friends, joyously sharing in this shared love for something uniquely special. Selfishly, it was better because I was slightly known as well - it truly is great to catch up with people who share a deep interest, randomly in random cities at random times.

It was better because no matter how well the show has done and will continue to do under the Athletic umbrella, the focus of the weekend was on the still independent, more loose, hilarious and personal half - a true celebration of everything that makes this community great. Count the Dings is still alive, producing so much non-basketball content, with an ever-expanding set of podcasts that are all still as funny and inventive as they've ever been.

It was better, let's be honest, because May in Chicago (despite having to evade, at various points, hail, rain and lightning) is a better time of year and city to celebrate than March in Boston. It was better because the stories shared were potentially better, the secrets and laughs more enjoyable, more personal.

It was better because it felt more like a joyous coronation of this particular community - the show ending with an impromptu rap session with Black Tray and Mariano (every bit as cool in person as expected) holding the mic. The show ended with great stories (Amin's tale of the Chicago police inside a city Marriott a particular late highlight), and as it ended it exploded with an energy that wouldn't dampen for three or four more hours.

In front of the stage with a DJ still belting out bangers and MC Tray and Mari going at it, was Zach Harper with his parents, and an ebullient Jade Hoye hugging a series of fans. It says a lot about Jade that in these interactions, it is clear he loves each fan as much as they love him.

The show was more meaningful this time because I was also a bit more at ease - having run through this once before, having met most of these folks. Even if they don't remember me by name, they're open enough, cool enough, and interested in their fans enough for that to be a circumstance of time spent with them, not because they are closed off. There are no barriers with the Count The Dings crew. Hell, half the 'crew' at this point are fans that have become more and more ingrained and assisting in the rise of the show.

It is astonishing to see where this show, this community, has come - even from a fairly outside-in perspective. To think so much of its roots (both the people on the show, and the fans) still trace themselves back to ESPN. If not for how original, how different, how unvarnished it was under the most corporate of hosts, it probably doesn't survive on its own. That's a credit to Jade Hoye, the master, and so many others. From the long timers still plugging away like Amin Elhassan, 'Big Wos' Wosney Lambrey, Zach Harper, Tom Haberstroh, Ethan Sherwood Strauss, Mariano Bivins, to those like Kevin Pelton (who is game to show up and hang in both Boston and here), Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontempts, Tim McMahon who are still left behind at ESPN but played such pivotal roles into building it in the first places.

But to some degree, us listeners, who went from loudly cheering on an ESPN production, to moving through name changes and Patreon pledges, deserve some credit too because we want to support this little engine that could so damn much. I've been on the receiving end of countless hours of podcasts and dings, I'm still way in debt even after experiencing the fun first-hand twice.

The pace and frequency of these shows will potentially slow down - in part due to their relationship with The Athletic, in part because it's damn tough to put these together. That added to the riotous energy of the weekend - a last chance to enjoy and immerse in Count the Dings for a while. It was a true celebration of what was built, how great it still is more than six years in, how wide it has grown, how deep our love for this band of crazies (both the hosts and the fans) is and will always be.

It is hard to pick out my favorite moments of the weekend. So many blur together in a whirlwind, as so often happens when you experience wall to wall great times. But in the end, while the show itself is great, and gives us all a purpose for descending on that town for that weekend, it is the smaller moments that will stand out.

Maybe it was asking Amin a few questions about Ramadan. Or it was meeting Mariano for the first time and sharing my favorite past Monta Monday. Then again, It was every time I met a familiar face who prior to Boston I knew nothing about except we all like this podcast. It was about getting a few kudos for rocking my Blackhawks Hossa jersey, doing so because I know I can't stack up to the rest of the crew or fans on basketball gear. It was trading favorite craft stouts with Kevin Pelton. It was meeting Tray's cousin, or talking TV momentarily with Mayes. It was chatting with Eden, Nitz, Jane and the rest of the awesome women in the CTD crew. It was telling Tom, again, how much I loved Pack the Knives. But it all comes back to Jade.

One memory stands out. My first run-in with Jade was on the booze cruise, both fighting off shivers on the roof as we tried to pretend to not be cold (Northeast people hate admitting they're cold). After a quick hug and 'how are you', Jade asked me "what are you going to write this time?" Well, Jade, this is what I've written this time. Hope it is half as good for you as the show and weekend and the Count The Dings community and podcast is for me.

Game of Thrones Losing Itself, Pt. 2

A great HBO landmark ended. It ended after a rough couple last seasons when the original creative influence left after five seasons. That show, however, redeemed itself with a great finale, one that was everything great about the original show, if a little broader than it was at its peak.

I'm talking about Veep - a pantheon level comedy - every bit Game of Throne's equal. That show ended last night, something that should have gotten a huge HBO marketing push, and fanfare that the show so readily deserved. Instead, it got swallowed up by Game of Thrones, which is becoming increasingly unlikely to pull of the good finish that Veep did.

At this point, I think I've largely come to terms with Game of Thrones' disappointing end. Not that it will make me feel better, but I largely believe the events we saw play out in yesterday's episode, with Dany taking King's Landing but veering into 'Mad Queen' territory is largely what would ahve happened in the books. The problem is George would tell that story across thousands of pages. Benioff & Weiss decided to tell it in less episodes.

I will never forgive them, really, for shortening the show. I won't forget HBO for allowing it (they were reportedly pushing for 10 seasons of 10 episodes, and then at least 10 episodes through). I will, most of all, never forgive Benioff & Weiss for getting their wish and reducing the episodes, and then clearly not giving a shit, introducing so many plot contrivances, deus ex machina's, and scenes that so nakedly sacrificed character for spectacle.

Even if the final outcome is the same, there was no nuance in what they put on TV, there was no story. Sure, at a high level you can buy Dany going mad after losing advisor after advisor, friend after friend and dragon after dragon, but not so quick, and not sacrificing all character for nothing. Seeing her fry Cersei and the red keep? That would be somewaht 'mad' but also great. Seeing her mercilessly torch the city? That was too much.

What I hate the most is the most effort Benioff & Weiss put into to telling us about Dany's mental failings was people like Tyrion and Varys predicting it, though at that point she really hadn't done anything all together that bad for this world. Certainly nothing even approaching Cersei blowing up the Sept and killing so many major figures in effort to win the throne - an effort that worked of course.

In the end, Game of Thrones was a spectacular, groundbreaking show for six seasons. The sixth season finale, with that same sept blowing up, Dany finally crossing the narrow sea with three dragons, unsullied, dothraki and the armies of Dorne and Highgarden, and Jon being named King of the North. That was how the show should have ended.

Instead we got a rushed, two season character piece that took all the worst aspects of a Breaking Bad and shoved it stupidly down or throat. And for that, it is truly unforgiveable.

Oh Barca

We thought it couldn't get worse than losing 7-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich, but that time Lionel Messi was injured throughout. We thought it couldn't get worse than losing 3-0 to Juventus and drawing blankly into the Camp Nou night in 2017, the same year Real Madrid took their domestic supremacy away.

We definitely thought the worst it would ever get is in 2018, when Roma of all teams, nowhere near the Seria A title race, won 3-0, winning the tie 4-4 on away goals, beating them on an unholy night in Rome, the third straight year Barcelona would fail to make the Semifinals.

No, no, and no. There is a new worst, and it may never get worst-er. Barcelona just lost 4-0 to Liverpool, missing two of their four best players (and two of their primary offensive forces), losing the tie 3-4. Yes, this is about Liverpool's incredible resolve, the continuation of Jurgen Klopp's mastery of this particular tournament (at least as much someone who has never won it). But it is very much about Barcelona's continuation to suffer incredible defeats in this most incredible tournament in increasingly incredible ways.

Some of this is also the realization that it is damn hard to win this trophy. The same luck that takes to win it, makes sure you don't win it - making Real Madrid's incredible three-peat more and more sensational of a result. Barcelona has won this tournament as recently as 2015. They've also suffered some of the greatest defeats in the years surrounding that win - none more so when they set foot in Liverpool, in a stadium right up their with the Camp Nou and the Bernabeu and the San Siro of having so many ridiculous Champions League moments.

Anfield rocked like I hadn't heard it in eons (or maybe last year when they thrashed Manchester City by the same score...). That stadium regained its place as a true cathedral of the sport, getting there by jutting away the sports most domineering power.

What Barcelona has not been able to do away from its cavernous Camp Nou in recent years is staggering. Their knockout results in away legs are a series of pathetic performances lopped on top of one another, this going right up there with the 3-0 humiliation in Rome, or the 4-0 loss in Paris (which, yes, they turned around) or the flaccid 3-0 in Turin, or on and on and on. The team goes to shit, Messi goes quiet - his road goalscoring record shockingly meager in knockout legs.

It's also the realization that after years of Spanish Reign (the run of five straight CL titles will come to an end), the best league in the world is once again the Premier League, which should could give us an all-English final for the first time in eleven years. Liverpool is a better team than Barcelona. No, the version without Salah or Firminho is not - which contributes to the ridiculousness of the result - but the healthy team - the one that lost the first leg 3-0, is better. Their season in England is insane - and it says more about the depth of the league than anything else that Man City may still win.

A few years back, when Klopp took over Liverpool, joining Guardiola at Man City, and Mourinho and Man U (oops), and Pochettino at Tottenham, and Conte at Chelsea (oops again), the EPL was given its greates set of quality managers since the 'Big-4' era of Sir Alex, Wenger, Mou and Rafa. This was supposed to user in a new era of Enlgish domestic dominance, and despite the inconsistencies of Man U and Chelsea, it more or less has.

In the end, we can leave making all the same jokes at Barcelona, but watching them throw away a chance at another UCL title was almost depressingly evil. In the past when they let UCL's slip away, they at least controlled possession and could trick many watchers into calling them 'unlucky' and what-not. It seemed like a true revelation when they lost - such as when Mourinho sprinted across the field when Inter beat them in 2010, or the still ridiculousness of Chelsea's miracle 2-2 draw in 2012. But slowly it morphed into teams just beating them, and while last year was a true shock (and again given the people NOT playing in Liverpool this year), this can join the Juventus loss in 2017, and the pair of losses to Atletico Madrid in 2014 and 2016 in times when Barcelona just looked second best.

Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona can play comfortably now without the ball, but seeing them barely get 50% of the possession in the first leg was jarring, even when they escaped with a 3-0 win. This is a different Barcelona, but if anything, they have the same poor (for them) results in the Champions League.

When Real Madrid won its third straight last year, despite having a dreadful (for them) domestic campaign, we hailed them as kind of lucky, and certainly they were. They escaped Juventus in the Quarterfinals 4-3 with a penalty in the 90th minute of the second leg. They escaped Bayern, again 4-3, with Muller barely missing a goal at the death that would ahve given Bayern the tie. They got two howlers in the final. But do you know what that Madrid team did? They won three road legs in the knockout stage, the first team to do that. They won 3-1 in Paris. They won 3-0 in Turin. They won 2-1 in Munich. They were the first team ever to win three straight road legs - something even the prime Guardiola era Barcelona teams did not manage.

The year before, they won two of the road legs, before losing their road leg to Atletico 2-1, after winning the first leg 3-0 in the Bernabeu. The best aspect of Zidane's run was their ability to never have a truly bad game, to never get blasted, and to play well away from Madrid. The most important aspect of any Champions League run is to get decent results away - something Barcelona has become uniquely incapable of doing.

I may be being unfair to Barcelona, who still have won three Champions Leagues in the Messi Era (can we stop giving him credit for 2006 when he barely played, btw?). But only one since 2012, with the losses in that period being of such harrowing variety. What's startling is in their now seven losses since 2012, they've lost their seven road legs by a combined 0-17; that is not a typo. Their play in the Camp Nou is as peerless as any result ever, but it is shocking how terrible they have been away from their home. To win Europe, you have to conquer foreign stadiums, and it warms my heart how terrible they've been at doing that, year after increasingly incredible year.

Game of Thrones Losing Itself

Can't believe I'm writing about it again, but that is how bad I felt that last episode of Game of Thrones (S08E04) was. More than just the episode itself, it comes on the heels of a strange 'Battle of Winterfell', coming itself on the heels of an iffy last couple seasons. It all comes down, for me, to two central issues with the show:

1.) The creators (and potentially actors and the rest) are just tired of doing this show, so they shortened the last two seasons to seven and then six episodes, which created incredible plot straing

2.) The creators never signed up to create plot and have to finish this story; they had full belief they would be adapting George RR Martin's source material throughout

I'm actually quite sympathetic to the second point - I truly believe David Benioff and DB Weiss (D&D) expected the books to be done, and be adapting source material. They did not sign up to complete Martin's story, and whether or not they are using Martin's bullet points, they clearly don't ahve the rich material that Martin presented them with initially.

The first point however? That one is all on the shows creators and production, and it truly is maddening. The last cultural touchstone show that I remember was Breaking Bad. While I have my own issues with the plot contrivances of the final season of Breaking Bad, you can tell the care and effort that went into that final season. That was a great end to a great show. This? This is the opposite, a HIMYM level fall from grace.

My issues with the final season come down to both the ridiculous pacing (which was an issue last season as well), and now the bizarre plot devices and conveniences that are littered in every episode. Such as all of these:

- Euron Greyjoy can kill one of Dany's dragons by hitting it with three perfectly accurate shots from miles away, but then somehow they all miss Drogon who was closer?

- Dany doesn't see the Iron Fleet despite being way up in the air.

- The Iron Fleet knows Dany will be coming (though this could be explained by Dany having a traitor I guess

- Cersei does not try to kill Tyrion or Dany despite having every ability to

- Jaime just gives up on Brienne, who him having sex with anyway seemed like pure fan service

- The whole world gangs up against Dany despite little proof she's actually 'mad' the way her father was (more on this later)

I could go on and on and on. Beyond just last episodes, there are larger questions, like why we ever needed a White Walker plot, or what the hell Bran is actually doing the whole time, or was Sansa is so unnaturally untrusting of Dany. There's kjust so much going wrong, and it all really boils down to them fast-forwarding the end-game at the very time they had to take over the pen.

There are still things Game of Thrones does better than any other show - namely creating spectacle, but in spectacle has never really been the key strength of the show. When I think back to the earlier heights, I don't think of Hardhome or Battle of the Bastards; I think of the Red Wedding, or Tyrion's trail, or any of Tywin's small council sessions. That's what made this show so special and great at its peak.

THe last two seasons saw the show become a normal TV show - one becoming increasingly about touchstone plot moments that are driven out of desire to put on spectacle rather than the national progression of a rational plot. We all wanted Jaime and Brienne to bang, so they did. We all wanted a dragon v. dragon fight, so we got one (somehow those damn arrows could take down a dragon, but not another dragon). We all want the Clegane-bowl, so we will get one. Earlier seasons, we didn't know what we wanted, but we got great moment after great moment.

The only other issue I put squarely on the creators is the pace, and this almost two-season sprint to the end. They clearly had the ending written a long time ago, and needed so many ridiculous plot contrivances to get there - namely how to quickly make Dany vs. Cersei even. Think back to the end of Season 6, the last great season the show had, and you had Cersei becoming queen but hated by killing thousands by blowing up King's Landing. At the same time, Dany was finally crossing the Narrow Sea with the following: the dothraki, the unsullied, the combined armies of Dorne and Highgarden, and three fucking dragons.

Two seasons later, shes down to one dragon and a few unsullied and dothraki. This whole ridiculous set of eleven episodes was done just to make Dany weak. The whole northern quest, the whole series of Tyrion becoming increasingly stupid. All of it. The show sacrificed itself by making arguably the strongest written character (arguable) in Dany into a badly written one overnight, just to service plot.

Maybe this is how George RR Martin wanted it anyway. Maybe this is mostly his script, just done at rapid pace - but that pace issue is also a problem. The show chewed enough plot development in the last twenty minutes of last night's episode to take about three or four episodes a few seasons ago. Everything is happening way too fast, way too quick, and way too foreign for this show.

Game of Thrones established itself as one of the shows of all time because of how incredible it was at its peak, telling a sprawling story mixing the fantasy of Lord of the Rings with teh political drama of The Wire. It will end its run doing neither of these things, which is a shame.

I mentioned How I Met Your Mother earlier as a show that just ruined its legacy by missing its ending so badly. Game of Thrones is probably too good and too popular to have that type of fate, but there is one interesting similarity in my mind. How I Met Your Mother came very close to ending after its second season, with at-the-time middling ratings (in reality, the ratings it got then would be seen as a miracle by its end). The second season ended with Robin and Ted breaking up, and Barney mid-sentence. From a plot persepctive, that would have been a disappointing ending, but it would have left behind two seasons of an all-time great sitcom (truly, those first two seasons were awesome).

For Game of Thrones, it was never in any fear of cancellation, obviously, but in my mind, if I ever choose to rewatch it, I'm stopping after Season 6. That was basically the last point the show was at all influenced by the source material. That ended with a truly great final episode, with Cersei blowing up the sept, 'winning' the throne, and Dany finally crossing the sea. Up North, Jon was named King of the North, with Sansa by her side, and Arya was finding her way back to Westeros. That was a perfect point to end the show, and truly, I wish that is when it did end.

MCU and GOT at the Death

This was an incredible weekend for cultural milestones of art, as two of the most beloved, most commonly shared pieces of entertainment, simultaneously hit ridiculous highs of importance. Avengers: Endgame on the way to shattering all time box office records. Game of Thrones ushering iin on of their most anticipated episodes, and battle conflicts, of all time. Both were interesting, both were fan-service-ey, but in very different ways. Ways that ultimately made me feel way more connected to the MCU, and more upset, or at the very least confused, by Game of Thrones.

Granted, the comparison is a bit unfair given that we haven't seen how Game of Thrones ends, but this was seen as a monumental episode, one that would have the living and the dead finally fight - something taht was teased in literally the first scene of the show in season 1. Of course, that fight is now, seemingly, over (the living won!). Personally I'm happy the final few episodes of this classic show will focus on the human interactions that have long been the best part of the show (no matter how many epic battles they film). But that said, I was left with a feeling of 'what the hell was the point of it all' with the White Walkers. On the other hand, I can see the point of every decision made in Endgame.

Now, both pieces of entertainment strained reality (for what 'reality' is worth) way too much. For Endgame, it was the entire idea of time-travel, which was explained away way too quickly, and though they made fun of the common pitfalls of time travel shows, they faced some of the same challenges. For Game of Thrones, it was the convenience of basically only ten characters surviving the battle all being the people we care about - with Jaime, Brienne and the rest literally fighting off true death in increasingly ridiculous ways. But plot contrivances have never not been there in both shows/series.

No, what gets me about Game of Thrones is that I have a sinking thought that the entire White Walker plot was kind of useless. The only purpose it seems to have truly servcd was to (1) bring a disparate group together behind a common enemy and (2) weaken that disparate group to make the fight vs. Cersei (basically going at it alone) a fair fight. But that's not what the White Walkers was supposed to be.

Ironically, I never cared about teh White Walkers because we never learned their desires, their history, their damn reason for being, until like two episodes ago - but that said we invested a lot of time in them. All the actions of the last two seasons, when the human players were increasingly dying, it seemed like the overarchign story of the show. Instead, it is all preamble.

I don't know at this point if Game of Thrones will stick the landing, and how much of their playbook these last ~2 seasons deviates from what George RR Martin would want to do. There are parts of the show taht are still incredible. They still do spectacle way better than any other show maybe ever, but the plot has, sadly, gone to relative shit after the source material went away. That can be seen as a criticism of Benioff & Weiss, but in reality they signed up to this thinking they'll have source material the whole time, not be led by simple plot notes in their attempt to stick the landing.

For the MCU, however, my word did they stick the landing. Yes, there was a whole lot of fan service in that movie, but given I am a fan, I loved all of it. I loved the trips back to past movies, all the little moments like Cap in the elevator, Rene Russo's appearance shining some light on the seemingly agreed upon worst MCU movie, even a return to maybe the MCU's pinnacle in the fight for New York. It was all well done. Yes, there are a , that moment didn't feel as earned. lot of questions around the plot even outside of time travel (like why is Spiderman & Co still high-schoolers, and is every present-day MCU installment going to live on with the idea half the population disappeared for five years?). Yes, it was weird to see the effects of a snap seemingyl change at random. But at a high level, it was a perfect way to end eleven years of cinematic history.

It was a love letter to these movies, and more than that, the characters that made them. It allowed us to see Cap dance with Peggy, to see Tony reprise his 'I am Iron Man' line in the most dramatic way, to see the whole entire gang there at Tony's funeral. It was amazing to see them steer even further into the idea that Thor is way better as a comedic character than dramatic one (and sign me the eff up for the idea of a Thor + Guardians movie). The movie was about as good as I could have ever imagined it to be.

Everything they did, with maybe the exception of how strangely under-utilized Captain Marvel was, was note perfect. Their short 'Leftovers' type 30-minutes or so was gripping. The moments on  Vormir, making people care about Hawkeye for likely the first time, was great. That moment when the snapped characters all come abck en-masse through Dr. Strange's worm-holes gave me chills like no Marvel scene in a long-long time.

That might be the best comparison point, really. Game of Thrones had their cheer-inducing moment, when Arya slays the Night King. While I applaud GoT on theri choice of using Arya for that, that moment didn't feel as earned, didn't feel as special. Yes, it's nice the living won, but it shouldn't have been that easy. The dying returning to the living the Avengers was perfect on the other hand.

This isn't a way just to play up my previously establish view that the MCU is a greater achievement than Game of Thrones - and that I woudl rather watch Endgame than the final season of Game of Thrones if forced to make the choice. That's all true, but more than anything, when it comes to facing and fighting strange alien beasts, the MCU has that locked down.

My Top 50 Favorite International Cities, #20-1

20.) Vienna (2000 & 2009)

The 2^nd time I went to Vienna was on my high school’s Orchestra’s tour of Austria during my Senior year, and much of my high ranking for Vienna is based on that trip. There is a ton of history in Vienna, with the music scene being located there (Mozart and Beethoven’s houses), with the adjoining arts scene with a bevy of theatres. If you like classical music, then Vienna is heaven. I am including the adorable little town of …… where we performed, which was half an hour outside Vienna. The best part of Vienna is how modern it is. The city center has some of the largest streets and public squares of anywhere in Europe, with grand architecture all around. The food isn’t great, but it is no worse than Germany and Switzerland, and Austria is generally less expensive. It took a second trip to get acclimated with Vienna’s charms, but they are there, and plentiful.



19.) Bangkok (2003, 2013, 2019)

Here’s the gist of what I remember from Bangkok: nice Wats to see, incredible food, up all night, eating all the time. Bangkok is a food-lover’s paradise, especially for those who like Thai food. Bangkok is also close to areas where you can do all those Asia type things like ride elephants and see the jungle. The weather is surprisingly decent for a city in Southeast Asia, and from what I remember it is pretty easy to navigate. My thoughts regarding Bangkok have indeed changed with my one-plus day visit. The city is better than I remembered, with sprawling malls, an advanced metro system, and new urban centers. The weather isn’t quite as good, as it is still hard to get to different parts of the city, but the city center of Bangkok is about as good as any I’ve seen in Asia. ** After going again for a few days in 2018, my opinion of Bangkok is largely unchanged, but improved in a way. The food is great, particularly the soon to be closed Gaggan. There are some really nice districts. But what it lacks is the cleanliness and constant modernity of a Singapore.

18.) Goa (2011 & 2013)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, my initial ranking of Goa was a little ridiculous. It was built off of an admittedly awesome trip to Goa in 2011, but that was a perfect storm. We were staying in the best part of Goa for a first timer who loves food on beaches at 2 AM. I was fresh off of an alcohol cleanse (which of course came after the opposite of an alcohol cleanse), and was greeted with $0.50 beer. Goa still has all those things, but I quickly realized upon my second visit that the area of Goa you stay in makes a huge difference. Stay too far South and you get isolated beaches, which I am sure are nice to some, but they don't have the same nightlife and food options littering the beach. Instead, they have litter littering the beach. Stay in the right part of Goa and it is amazing, the wrong part and it is merely OK. Still, it is unlike anything else in India, and for that it will always be in my part.


17.) Granada (2001)

I'll admit, I have very limited memory of Granada - like I do with most of my trip to Spain and Portugal in 2001 (otherwise, Lisbon would probably be on this list). But from what I do remember of Granada, mainly around the magic that is the Alhambra. Granada also has great food (as does most of Andalusia), including amazing seafood and lamb. Spain itself is probably my favorite country to visit, and a large part of that is even outside is major metropoloses (which are good enough to both be in Top-10 for me) it has incredible gems with incredible history and culture.


16.) Mexico City (2014, 2018)

I put 2014 there, but I went to Mexico City two different times, staying in two different areas of that expansive, massive, festive city. Far safer than most areas of Mexico, La Cuidad is incredibly impressive. There are tons of historical sites, like the entire Zocalo, the Chapultepec, and La Reforma. Mexico City also has a wealth of food options, with incredibly authentic Mexican fare from around the country, including the incredible Oaxacan food. Really fun night spot as well. Mexico City blew me away also with its strange, mysterious beer culture. The City is a sprawling testament to how secretly, behind the dangerous cartels that line the exterior, the soft interior of Mexico is a gorgeous, cultural attraction that is bettered by so few cities. **After going again in 2018, I realize how much I missed out of Mexico City's overwhelming culture. The neighborhoods of Polanco and Condesa may some of the most cultured and serene in North America. The food scene is incredible, be it world class Pujol or the street taco vendors. Just an amazing city.


15.) Dubrovnik (2017)

My expectations were raised on Dubrovnik from a number of friends and families had already visited, and oh man was it great - matching everything I would have hoped for. Dubrovnik, like many cities that line my top half of the list, aren't huge sprawling metropolises, instead smaller, untouched little power-packs of culture and beauty. The actual structure of the town reminds me of a European Cape Town, with the old town and fort replacing the V&A Waterfront area, and the hills of the newer part of the city similar to East Cape Town, and the hills in hte background, fixed with their own version of Table Mountain, being, well, Cape Town's Table Mountain. The history in Dubrovnik is amazing, with the old town such a beautiful array of nooks and crannies, with steep stairs on alleys down to the water. Within it contains history, and amazing restaurants, and, of course, Game of Thrones. Dubrovnik is one of the gems of the Adriatic Sea, right there with the other great ports of the Mediterranean.


14.) London (1999, 2000, 2010, 2017 & 2018)

I probably should just go to London more, because both my Dad and my Sister, who lived there, swear by London as an incredible city. But again, I’m not ranking this by how livable they are, but how good they are as tourist destinations. London definitely has enough to see, including the nicely compact Royal stuff (palace, parliament, other stuff), and a neatly packed city center (West End, Trafalgar Square, other stuff I’m forgetting), but it is a little too big. It’s subway system is clean, but doesn’t have the expansiveness that it needs (something I give huge credit to the NYC Subway System for, no matter how dirty it is). Of course, it is damn expensive, and the weather is mostly lousy. It may get better with more trips, but I think London is too big for its own good, and a little too confused, as it tries to be both Rome and New York. **So I went here in 2017, and really have nothing more to add. I think what I wrote back then is more or less accurate. In the end, being in any English speaking city outside of the US just doesn't seem as foreign & exciting.


13.) Cusco (2016)

Full disclosure, I'm cheating by including Machu Picchu as one of the associated sites of Cusco, which is a large part of the reason it places so high. Machu Picchu is a spectacular tourist attraction, from teh never-ending views of Hauranya Picchu's face, to the cascaiding hills on every side, to the great hikes. When you peel back to Cusco proper, it remains a great secondary city, a South American, high altitude version of Krakow (next on the list). The food is great, with so many small, but fine quality, restaurants. It has a vibrant restaurant and bar scene, and quite a bit of tourism locally, including other Incan ruins near the city limits. Finally, the altitude, as Cusco us probably the highest city that is easily and heavily visited. Plus, I owe a lot to the Loki Hostel, a wondrous place of Blood Bombs and fun.


12.) Krakow (2014)

By rule I like smaller cities over sprawling ones. Well, while there are expanses to Krakow that extend in all directions, almost everything worth seeing in the city is in a 10x10 block radius circling the best city square (Rynek Glowny) I have seen in Europe. When you get a city that has (their claim) more bars per capita than any in the world, combine that with amazing open space and roadside/streetside restaurants, and an economy that does not use the Euro and is far cheaper than comparale cities in Western Europe, you get a pretty fantastic city. Also, you want history near its borders, you get Auschwitz about 2 hours away. Krakow is an incredible secondary city, arguably the best secondary city I've ever been to. The beer, food and endless beautiful women makes it Top-25; the sites, easily walkable goegraphy, and amazing history (Copernicus lived there too) makes it Top-10.


11.) Jerusalem (2018)

Religion's most important city remains the best new city I've been to since I last wrote this piece. I'm floored by how much I enjoyed every aspect of Jerusalem. The obvious important religious sites were incredible, but the food spots in the city, the areas in the old town that are disconnected to religion, the great beer bar tucked inside the great Mahane Yehuda market. All of it was excellent. If I spend more time in Tel Aviv, maybe I add that to the list to, but for Jerusalem, it was a perfect mix of history and culture.


10.) Kyoto (2013)

Kyoto is the 3rd biggest City in Japan, but resembles so little of Tokyo (the biggest city) that makes it seem like a different country. Sure, the food options and the bustle is still there, but Kyoto, in some ways, is like a supersized Siem Reap. The real highlight of Kyoto is the ridiculous amounts of Temples and historical Japanese buildings. All of these are encircling the downtown area of Kyoto. Of course, that downtown is quite large, with beautiful malls, tall buildings with summer beer gardens (umlimited beer buffets for $30) and plentiful up-scale food options. Kyoto even has the most expansive Geisha area of Japan. Kyoto is the perfect city to experience what people's idea of Japan is, temples and pagodas and sushi, oh my!


9.) Rome (2003)

Speaking of Rome, history’s most famous city checks in next. I haven’t spent any time in Rome as an adult, but I don’t think Rome is the type of city that would change much from an adult’s perspective. It is good for its history and sites first, and if you like Italian cuisine, the food second. If you include the Vatican, and as a Catholic I do, in Rome, then there is even more to see, as you have two different parts of history, the formation of the Catholic Church in the awe-inspiring Vatican grounds near and inside St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Roman history which is very well kept up. I can’t remember how their public transport was, and we went in December, so the weather was bad, but I don’t think it is a very big city. And then there is that food. I don’t want personal biases like my ambivalence towards Italian food to sway this. Many do like Italian food, and the city is even better for those people. That said, what hurts Rome in my book is I think it is too dependent on the sites, and if you aren’t there on a religious pilgrimage, I can’t imagine the allure of going to Rome more than once.

8.) Athens (2010)

So Athens is very much like its historical partner, Rome, with a few less sites, a lot less crowds, less expensive, and with better weather. So does that whole equation spit out a better city? In my mind, it does. Part of this has to do with visiting Athens at the perfect time (19, during March) and Rome not (13, during December), but Athens has it all. It has a lot to see, but not so much that sightseeing takes over the trip. It has a city that is hard to navigate by car and by walking, but has an adequate subway system. It has excellent food, and a great environment that bursts with fun and enjoyment. Just a grand old time in Athens, as I’m sure it was 2,500 years ago.


7.) Singapore (2012 & 2013)

Singapore is one of those places that has to be seen to be believed. There is no city any cleaner. There is no city as tightly situated while having enough external attractions. There is no city better built for a short stay. What doesn’t Singapore have? It has a theme park for kids. A bird park (highly recommended) and a night safari for kids and adults. It has a brand new casino for adults. It has a centralized bar/pub/club area near the waterfront. It has a preponderance of food from really, really cheap to really expensive. It has livable weather year-round. It also has the most interesting and enjoyable airport I’ve ever been to (there is a pool and gym that everyone can use for free in it!), and the cleanest, best organized subway system I’ve seen. So why is Singapore only #3? Because there isn’t that much to do, and Singapore’s not cheap enough to just sit around and eat/drink/do nothing. The sights have no historical resonance, and are replicated in other cities. Still, for a period less than a week, there is no better city to visit.


6.) Santiago (2018)

Midway through my second day in Santiago, I started debating how high it would go. Honestly, on the initial drive to the airport, through beautiful underground tunnels and well manicured streets, it earned its place on the list. Many great meals, multiple vibrant and differing neighborhoods, enough sites to last you days, and a cleanliness of Europe and culture of the Americas, and Santiago morphed into a truly special city. You have views, like at the top of Santa Lucia Hill. You have museums. You have regal government buildings. The restaurants are amazing, going from good street food to world class tasting menus. The competing Barrio Italia, with its Portland-esque vibe, and Barrio Bellavista, with fun bar after fun bar, add the neighborhood vibe as well. It all mixed to a truly brilliant city.


5.) Sydney (2013) 

Take the weather and leisurely attitude of Australia, combine the waterfront facade of a Chicago, add some pub and club nightlife of any city in Europe and you get Sydney, a city that combines the great aspects of every major city I have been too. It doesn't have a true culture of its own which hurts it in my mind. What I really mean by that is, much like the problems I have with England, there are too many similarities to the US. You don't really feel you are in a foreign city too much. Of course, that all changes when you walk towards the Opera House, or go to the night spots with the Australians out partying, or eat great meats. Sydney is a wonderful city, probably the most livable of any in the Top-10 (of course, it is helped by being English-Speaking), but sometimes I would sacrifice livability for uniqueness, which is why it isn't any higher.


4.) Barcelona (2007)

I really want to go to Barcelona again, because it could easily be #1. All the ingredients are there. Pristine weather. A people who don’t care about life, making the tourist experience more fun. Good beaches within reach. Stuff to see. An airport that is easily reachable and a city that is easily maneuverable. My issues with Barcelona (other than my dislike for the Blaugrana) are simple. There isn’t a lot to see in terms of history, mainly because the Catalans want their own history so they destroyed or shunned any Spanish national history. Barcelona is a nice city in terms of seeing the sights for a day or two and then doing nothing the rest of the time, but I do want more from my cities. 

3.) Istanbul (2007)

Istanbul is kind of a secret still, but there is really nothing to complain about. It has a waterfront, an easily accessible city center, a lot to see (the palaces, the Bosphuros, the Red & Blue Mosques). Istanbul also has a brilliant food scene, with both Muslim and Meditterannean influences but all sorts of bases (including a ton of seafood). There is little to separate any of the cities this high in the list. My only knock on Istanbul would be the public transport is lacking without a proper Subway (this could have changed since my last visit). Overall, Istanbul combines the palate and affordability of Asia, with the energy and cleanliness of Europe, the best of both worlds.


2.) Cape Town (2013)

I've been wondering whether doing Cape Town first helped increase my perceptions of it. I was at my most curious and excited at the start of the trip. Then, I remember everything amazing about Cape Town, like the incredible scenery and breathtaking views, the active harbor and Long Street areas (for the youngsters among us), the great food of every type and the wine region to one side with the Cape of Good Hope below it. Cape Town is a special place on the total other side of the word (laterally speaking). I've really never been any place quite like it, which is why I want to go back there more than any place in the world.


1.) Madrid (2001 & 2010)

I’ll never forget Madrid. It was where I turned 10 years old, in April of 2001. It was where I saw my first naked woman in real life, as I saw two nude woman near the pool in Madrid (given my age and their age, this wasn’t a good thing). It was where I first traveled alone, and where I learned the inherent joy of visiting a place a 2^nd time. Barcelona might be more ‘fun’, but I can’t think of a place that combines everything I want from a city more than Madrid. Madrid has a dependable airport, and a dependable subway system. More than that, the city is small enough in its center that you can easily walk from the Prado side on the East, to the Palace on the West and not break a sweat. It has some of Spain’s best museums. There is more than enough to see. And, of course, you are still very much in Spain. It isn’t as relaxed as Barcelona, but is just as Spanish, with open squares, easy food and drink,  a lot of youngsters (and a lively area for them at night). This wasn’t a criteria, but a lot of people speak English there to boot. Madrid is basically a perfect city. Small enough to walk, with enough sites to not get bored, enough food to not go hungry, and a relaxed, but not too relaxed nature that you won’t ever get tired of doing nothing for an afternoon or two.

My Top 50 Favorite International Cities, #50-21

I like that this is a living, breathing document since I first wrote my Top-20 cities back in 2013. Anyway, we're up to 50-now, and in reality, if I remembered more about my trips in 1999-2001 to Europe, I probably could have added quite a bit more.

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The last time I did this was in 2015, and since then I've added a few more cities to the list. Not as many as you would think, but enough to warrant another go at it. I didn't have 5 more to add, but a couple and I'm really opposed to dropping anything off, so I'm just going to go to 32.

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The last time I did this was late in 2013, following my Round the Trip world. I don't know why I'm choosing now to update the list, but it is now expanded to 30 cities, and adds four new places that I've visited the last two years, and then an additional forgotten gem from my Round the World Trip.

I’m going to rank my top-32 cities to visit that I have been to. Take this more of a recommendation list, as in I would recommend the cities in the following order to someone who hasn’t visited them based on my experience visiting them. With that, obviously, only cities I have visited make the list, and visited means more than two days. I’m rating them on the following criteria: the places to see in the city, the ease of access of the city (public transport – much more important internationally when renting a car is more of a precarious idea – and the city’s airport or entrance system), their joi de vievre (a fancy way of saying ‘how would this city be to just chill out in), their weather and overall appearance, and some other factors. There’s no formula here, though.

This is heavily weighted by the amount of time I’ve spent in a city, and what age I was when I visited there. These rules hurt London, while help Madrid, because I’ve spent all of three days in London as a person of legal age, while spent more time in Madrid. It really hurts some other European cities, like Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome, Milan, places I’ve been to as a kid of 9-11.

Again, these are ranked as cities I would visit (all of them I have visited), not where I would live. I would live in Geneva, but probably not visit again because there isn’t much to do, it is cold, and some other reasons. There are places that I wish I could rank because from what I’ve heard from family/friends that have been there they seem really good, like Moscow, Berlin and Hamburg, and when I visit them, I will update this list. Also irrelevant is the ease of getting to this city. Singapore isn’t hurt because it is the farthest commonly visited location from NYC than any other place, and London isn’t helped because it is 6 hours away.

A city includes sites and destinations that are a reasonable distance away, so Barcelona won’t get credit for the Playas that are 2-3 hours away (and are closer to Valencia), and Athens won’t get credit for Ephesus which is 3 hours away, but London would get credit for Stratford (or whatever it’s called where Shakespeare is from, or Oxford – and Rome gets credit for the Vatican, which for being a different country, is totally part of Rome) which is reasonably close.

50.) Avignon (2018)

In reality, not sure if this deserves a spot, but I wanted the list to have a nice round number, and didn' want to put on a city that I only spent a layover in (e.g. Dubai, Buenos Aires). Avignon was a great city, that had nice architecture (including a nice palace/castle structure), really good food, a perfect little beer bar among a sea of wine spots. Nice city, one I really want to go back to as all of Provance is really quite nice.


49.) Belgrade (2017)

In 20 years, Belgrade may deserve a spot well up this list, but for now for a city on the rise it gets on. For advantages, Belgrade is cheap, it houses some nice history, really good restaurants, and a great bar and club scene. For negatives, none of these things are marketed well enough. Belgrade should continue to grow, and as it does it will replace dirty streets with cleaner ones, complete the renovation on its main church, and just overall work on the edges. Then again, I kind of like a city that can still have cool ass floating clubs with affordable bottle service.


48.) Da Lat (2013)

The little hamlet high above the Vietnamese hills, Da Lat was probably the most pleasant surprise of any place on my trip. The city itself is modeled after European cities, with parks, downtown circles and even a model Eiffel Tower. The surrounding areas houses more traditional Vietnamese fair, like temples, Buddhas, waterfalls and even roller coasters, all underneath a cool mountain air. Da Lat's hills hide many nice restaurants, bars and clubs. It isn't nearly as loud or as famous as Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang or Hanoi, but Da Lat may be the most pure mix of Asia and Europe that I have seen. Also, it has an incredibly nice airport given the just six flights that fly there each day.


47.) Penang (2013)

There are positives and negatives to Penang, and depending how important the positives are relative to the negatives to you, Penang could rise or fall on your rankings. Personally, food and culture are really important to me, and Penang has both in spades. It may be a little overrated with food, but the seafood night markets that litter both Georgetown (the main city) and the beaches (all within an hour or so from Georgetown) are wonderful. The Nyonya food in Penang is far better than that in Kuala Lumpur. There is enough to see, including a nice little trek in Georgetown to some interesting historical buildings (the Cheong Fat Tze is a nice highlight). Of course, Penang is also very crowded, slightly dirty and the beaches themselves are quite barren. In the end, I find this fair for what I still consider a great eating spot.


46.) Warsaw (2014)

Warsaw may have gone higher had I spent more time there, but like many other European countries, the capital is often a bit too commercial, a bit too gray, than the smaller pearls of cities (like Krakow, for Poland). Warsaw has some great sites, like its main street and clock tower, the palace, and I'm sure a whole host of others I forgot about or didn't have time to visit, but it is a bit lost in a city a bit too big for its own good. The food is decent, but what I really want to commend is its bar scene. There were some great gastropubs and beer bars that littered across the Warszawa Central district.


45.) Positano (2019)

Positano may have ranked differently if we went a week later - after the start of their 'busy season'. Maybe it would have ended up higher because that's how most people see Positano, or maybe lower because the crowds and prices would have been unbearable. Anyway, Positano might be one of the prettiest towns I've ever visted, with incredible views from all directions, whether up top looking down and across, or down at sea level looking up to waves and waves of houses. Positano also had a slew of nice restaurants, shops and tourism fare, be it hikes or boating. Positano is also well connected to a bunch of other Amalfi Coast towns, be it Amalfi or Sorrento or otherwise. Nice town, but a bit too overpriced and popular (in the busy season, at least).


44.) Hong Kong (2003)

Hong Kong has little to do in terms of historical sights. With a couple countries claiming ownership of Hong Kong, they have done a nice job removing any ties to any country. Still, it has arguably the best skyline in the world (though after the new WTC complex is finished in all its glory, NYC will have a good claim to that spot), and being situated in front of and on a mountain gives it some excellent views. Their airport in universally hailed as great, and the gambling capital of Asia (Macau) is just a ferry ride away. But still, picking a place to be higher than 15^th given its total lack of history, or its lack of any particular brand of brilliance other than its propensity to build really tall buildings just feels wrong.


43.) Cairo (2018)

My ranking of Cairo definitely includes Giza (about 30-60 min away, depending on traffic), and Saqqara, and adding to those two pyramid and druin complexes, if you add in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo has some truly top notch sites. Of course, my view of cities go beyond sites, and that is where Cairo starts to struggle, be it the lack of truly great food, the restrictive nightlife that puts most fun places out of the reach of solo travelers (the old 'couples only' rule). These things are important to me, particularly the food aspect, and Cairo doesn't stack up. It does with key sites though, and when you add in some nice neighborhoods, there is a chance I am being unfair here.


42.) Jaipur (2013)

I hated traveling in India in my limited tourist experience in India prior to Rajasthan. First was Agra, where the Taj was nice but completely offset by the filth of Agra. Kerala was a mess. Given those two, was not too excited to be going to Rajasthan, but I have to say it was great. Jaipur is slightly too touristy, with most of the city, at least as far as I could tell, built off Forts, Palaces, strange Astronomical objects, and of course shopping. For pure tourism, it is probably the best city in India, even if it gets a bit too hot at times.


41.) Johannesburg (2016, 2018)

I've flown into and out of Johannesburg three different times, but spent a total of one night and about two days in the city, seeing a few of the main sites, but in reality not enough to get a real true sense of the city. What Joburg does have are some nice sites like the Apartheid Museum, a few gentrified neighborhoods, some classy foods and areas, the nice lion safari on its outskirts. The negatives are its sheer size (it takes forever to get from place to place), and the danger. Now, that danger part is being unfair - Cape Town has a higher murder rate, though most of that is localized into slums - but when you drive through posh districts and suburbs and every street has barbed wire it gives a less than stellar impression.


40.) Siem Reap (2013)

Siem Reap is a one-stop town, in that the only real thing to see there is Angkor Wat, but do you know what (excuse the pun), that is enough to get it a spot on the list. Looking back at my time there, even the town itself of Siem Reap is quite nice - good restaurants, nice bars, enough to do when not lollygagging around the Angkor Wat complex. Anyway, that's not to say that it would be ranked had Angkor Wat been there. Angkor Wat is one of the better two day tourism sites I've ever been to, a parade of amazing history. It's an added bonus that they've developed the town enough to make the nights fun as well.


39.) Punta Arenas (2017)

It's odd that none of the Patagonia cities are that close to the sites that surround those areas, so they were hard to judge. Punta Arenas is probably the most substantial town of the three we visited, with an actual down-town, with nice ornate buildings and squares, The best part of the city is an unexplainable sense of being so far away from home, from anywhere, with Punta Arenas being the Southernmost city of more than 50,000 people. There are of course some nice restaurants and bars, and a good mix of locals and tourists, which created a nice atmosphere as well. Of course, with the Tierra del Fuego and Isla Magdalena Penguins within driving distance, the tourism isn't too bad either.


38.) Florence (2003)

I’ll admit that Florence should probably be higher on this list, but it is my list of favorite cities that I would recommend. This is a strange combination, because personal favorites are wholly subjective, while cities that you recommend should be somewhat objective. Anyway, my problem with Florence is I’m not really into art, and if you aren’t than there is little to do in Florence. If you like art, specifically really detailed portraits from the renaissance era, then you will love Florence. If you don’t, then it will be something of a bore to a disappointment.

37.) Munich (2000 & 2009)

I have a strange history with quite a few international cities, and Munich is another one. I had both my 9^th and 18^th Birthday in Munich (in related news, I’m pretty sure where you can find me on April 7^th, 2018). The first during my initial trip to that part of the world, and the 2^nd on the penultimate day of our Orchestra’s tour of Austria (we flew out of Munich). Berlin is supposedly a great, modern city, but out of all the cities I have been to in Germany, Munich is by far the best. It is incredibly modern, and getting increasingly so, with modern architecture abound. It is the only European city with a skyline that can compare to those in the US (not a crucial factor, but still nice). The downside is there is little to see and that German food isn’t that good. Either way, Munich will always be the place to spend any birthday that is a multiple of nine, and for that alone, it gets on the list.


36.) Udaipur (2013)

Our first new city on the list is my 2nd Indian city on the list. As somehow who hated traveling in India, picking a city that is in one of the hottest areas in the country, and a city I visited during their hot dry season, this high might seem surprising. Well, I can't recommend Udaipur, along with Rajasthan as a hole, enough. The city has some beautiful scenery being built on a far more hilly area of the country than you would expect. They have famous lakes that hold famous hotels built on famous castles. They have nice food and street shows that line the corridors of the inner city. THere's the strange love for the movie Octopussy, where screenings are shown nightly. There's a beautiful palace inside the city. And I'll stretch my 'sites withing 1.5 hours count' rule by saying that the Jain Temple at Ranakpur was incredible - and in any modern country it would be within 1.5 hours.


35.) Split (2017)

Both of my two new cities are coastal Croatian outposts, and first comes the bigger of the two cities, in Split. There is so much to like about Split, be it the sprawling old town with enough sites and small alleys lined with shops and restaurant to keep you busy way too long, or the modern clubs and restaurants, or the sites from its hills. I guess in theory I can include the island of Hvar as well as that is within a 1-hour boat ride away, which adds beautiful beaches and mountains to this as well. Split as a whole might be a little too commercialized - they had a lot of stalls selling the normal tourist fares that aren't always appreciated, but the city truly is a beautiful slice of culture deep in Croatia. I do love how varied the drink and food scene is there as well.


34.) Lima (2016)

Lima has a few things going for it. First, its culinary brilliance, with two restaurants ranking in the Top 10 in the World per San Pelligrino's list (the most accepted of that type of list), one being Maido, a Japanese-Peruvian sensation. The sites aren't the best, few major cities are in retrospect, with a few museums and halls. The real sites of Lima are the whisping cliffs, the shops and the eclectic nightlife. The best South American cities combine Andean views with European charms, and few big ones do it better than Lima.


33.) El Calafate (2017)

I have a few inexplicable choices on this list, and El Calafate, a more or less one-road town, might be at the top of those odd choices. I mean, literally 95% of the restaurants and shops are either on, or right off of, the main road. Of course, those restaurants and shops are fantastic, a great number of restaurants with fine Argentinean fare (Parilla's, and more earthern restraurants). Of course, the bars are great as well, from chic library-style cocktails, to an American craft beer oasis. However, none of that would place it on this list, but the irreplaceable Perito Moreno does. One of the greatest tourist joys of my life was walking around and then on that amazing, stunning glacier. A perfect mix of blues and whites, cascading chalks of ice, and the hoth-like conditions when traversing its face. All of it special.


32.) Aswan (2018)

Sadly, I can't list 'The Nile Cruise' as a city, because combining Luxor, Esna, Edfu and Aswan would probably deserve quite a higher spot. However, only the last of those (Edfu) is probably within the 90 minute range. Aswan is a nice city, with open streets, nice restaurants and hotels off of the Nile, architectural marvels both new (the Aswan Dam) and old (Phillae temple complex and Elephantine Island). When you add in the sites within its radius, it starts to glow as Egypt's less cluttered jewel.



31 & 30.) Prague/Budapest (2000)

These two are kind of blended together for me. I visited them essentially right after each other, both 13 years ago so my memory of each is a little hazy. I remember both for mainly positives. They are both beautiful cities, with lovely rivers running through them. They have some stuff to see, but not a whole lot. They are more affordable than the major cities in Western Europe, which is a plus (but also English –at least then – is not very transferrable to there). Budapest has some great food (Goulash!), while Prague is a pilgrimage for Catholics.


29.) Melbourne (2013)

Melbourne could be a Top-10 city to spend four or five days in. There is not too much to do, but enough to keep you occupied. If you like sports, which I do, then it is even better. Melbourne tries to lay claim to the Sporting Capital of the World, and when you mix together one of Tennis' four main tournaments with the 2nd most famous Cricket Ground (and most famous Aussie Rules ground) in the world right next door, it is hard to argue. Melbourne's riverfront is a beautiful area, with amazing views of the city around it. It's food options are endless, with really good Asian cuisine throughout the city. The nightlife seemed nice enough. It also has some really beautiful scenery around an hour of its boundaries, with beautiful parks, wine regions and the Great Ocean Road. Add into that Philipp Island, which just hits the cutoff to be included with Melbourne, and you get a solid, Top-15 city.


28.) Turin (2015)

I was close to picking Parma, as then I could include the Parma cheese factories, but picking Turin allows me to count the Piedmont wine country, and those little towns that dot it. Turin the city though, is a understated version of how incredible Italy is. It has the requisite churches and squares, but also has the open palacial squares and river-fronts that you normally associate with other countries in Europe. It has some incredible little hamlets of food, with great options for eating throughout the day (some excellent tea joints). My favorite place in Turin actually wasn't one of the two main squares, but Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one that borders the river with an amazing view of the city behind it. It was the last place we went to in Turin, an incredible capper to an unexpected amazing day in a great city.


27.) Phnom Penh (2013)

I lied when I said that Da Lat was the biggest surprise of the trip. Phnom Penh was. I wasn't expecting too much from Canbodia's capital, but the mix of history, good and bad, food, nightlife and surprising urbanity made Phnom Penh a real highlight for me. I really loved Cambodian food, and it was at its best in Phnom Penh, a perfect mix of Malay and Thai cuisine. Phnom Penh itself embraced its own history, not shying away from the terrible acts of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, maintaining multiple areas in the city to pay tribute to those who died. The rest of the city pays tribute to the rich culture of Cambodia that preceded the destruction, with large pagodas in beautiful parks and nice museums. Phnom Penh also has a nice riverfront area that is really, really lively at night. Add into all of this that the currency of choice in the Dollar, and you get a really nice, underrated city.


26.) Panama City (2012)

My highest ranking Caribbean city probably could be higher, but I’ve been to a lot of great European cities so I don’t want to get crazy. I went to Panama with really low expectations, and I was blown away. It has a really impressive skyline, one that holds its own even if you forget that it is a poor latin country. It has great food of different cuisines. It has a ton to see, with the Panama Canal and the rainforest both falling into its sights. Other than Calgary (which I talked about in the last list) I don’t know if any trip I’ve gone on has been such a surprise as Panama, the Caribbean’s only truly modern city.


25.) Palermo (2019)

There's a few cities on this list I like for hard to describe reasons - be it Turin, or Krakow. Add Palermo to that list. The sites can basically be visited in barely more than a day, but the atmosphere and culture of Palermo can last a good week. The old town is one of the nicer ones I've gotten lost in, with so many bars and restaurants that spill out into the streets. As you approach the water, you get fancier, more upscale restuarants that could fit in Rome, Milan or any fancier city - but at small town prices. Palermo is also relatively untouched by tourism, the last vestige of true Italia.


24.) Paris (2006, 2018) 

There’s obviously a ton to see in Paris, and the city center around the Eifel Tower, on either side of River Sein, is beautiful. Paris is a probably a city that certain people would love, but I am not one of them. Of course, I liked it enough to put ahead of some damn good cities, mostly on the ridiculous amounts of things to see alone. I actually don’t remember much of my Paris trip, which is strange given its relative recency, but I do remember thinking one day in the Louvre was far from enough, and the city center of Paris containing some of the best architecture of any European city. **After going back in 2018, I can say I might be being harsh on Paris, but to me it is a slightly less great version of the other great European capitals like London, Madrid, Rome - unsurprisingly all higher up the rankings.

23.) Amman (2019)

If you really want to stretch the 90 minute rule, Amman includes all things from the amazing ruins of Jerash, to the edge of the Dead Sea. Between those things, you have a fantastic city, one of the more modern in the Arab world. It has one of the nicer market areas, a beautiful little stretch with a Roman Amphiteater behind a large, open square, to some great food. Amman is a large city, but surprisingly easy to get around, and is the one place within Jordan's limits that modernity reign.


22.) Berlin (2014)

Berlin is the only German city I've gone to as an adult, and from what I read it was a good one to pick. The city is sprawling, and has covered it's whole 'we had a giant wall' thing with some really modern buildings and a few nice memorials. But what it also hides is an incredible city. The main squares, or platzes are all incredible, including that entire stretch between the Brandenburg Gate, through the Tiergarten, and ending with the Berlin Island. There are various areas of the city with incredible churches, restaurants, bars (and bars, and bars) and historical buildings. The city houses some fascinating museums that touch on the long, varying history of Germany is a country. Berlin as a city is too big to do in 3 days like I did, but it is definitely alluring enough to go back.


21.) Tokyo (2013)

As a tourist, I don't care what the work and life culture are of the people in the city, and good thing, because if I did I may hate Tokyo. To see people in full suit in the subway at 11 PM coming home from work is jarring. But this isn't about any of that, it is about Tokyo the city, and it is a really fabulous metropolis. Tokyo is sprawling, in a way that makes New York seem small. There are really bustling regions like Shinjuku, really fun late night spots like Roppongi. There is a ton to see, and great food options. The food may be more corporate than traditional and homestyle in Tokyo, but that isn't all bad. The biggest complaint with Tokyo is just the size. It is so big that it is tiring to navigate at times, getting from one end to the other. Even with the reliability and the local JR Train lines, it takes time to get around. Good thing that most regions have enough to do to spend half a day there anyway. One last point, I thought Times Square was bright, until I went to Ginza.