My Top 5 Cities

In my last post, I mentioned that I have favorite cities that I like to visit. I've never really, truly sat down and listed out what those cities are. So, I'm going to give it my best shot to write out a list of my top 5 all-time favorite places to go. I'm going to do this without any research and see what I come up with!

5. Paris, France
Okay, so I've only been to Paris once. However, my 4 days there were all I needed to fall madly, head over heels in love with the city! It's such a dream and it is as romantic as it seems. I went with my mom back in 2005. When I was about 5 years old, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany. My mom promised her that when she got married, we would go and visit her. So guess what shows up in summer of '05? Yup. Her wedding invitation. That August, we were on our way to Germany! My mom said "If we're going all the way to Europe, then I'm going to Paris!" We took a train from Germany to Paris and enjoyed the rest of our "European Vacation" there. Funny enough, we stayed at the Paris Hilton. It was recommended being Americans, that we stay in an American hotel. So, tip, if you are traveling international, try to find an American owned hotel! Before I started doing this "I gotta see something everywhere I go" business, it was instilled in me! I remember before we visited that I looked up where Princess Diana died. Diana crashed into the Pont de l'Alma tunnel and above the tunnel is a replica of the flame from the Statue of Liberty which is unofficially a memorial to the late Princess. When I go back to Paris, one of the biggest things that I want to see is where Jim Morrison of The Doors is buried!

4. New York, New York
I've tried so, so hard to not fall in love with this city. It's just impossible! It's so busy and there's so much to see! Every single street in this city has some kind of something to it! Whether it is the location of an infamous murder, a movie location, a scene from Sex and the City, there's just so much to see! I've been twice. Once on my own for the day where I visited the Empire State Building and stood in line for what felt like HOURS. The second time was with my family in the summer of 2013. With my family, I saw so many different sights and really amped up my tourism skills! I don't want to reveal too much, because I hope to later make the places I visited into future blog posts! Tip for traveling to NYC; Stay on the island!!! Do NOT stay in a neighboring city. My brother and I stayed in New Jersey the first few nights and it was awful. The cab fare to get back and forth to the city was ridiculous and we would of saved so much money by staying in the city and paying more for a hotel and walking everywhere. Stay in Manhattan.

3. San Francisco, California
This is the only city on my list that is in my home state! I do love visiting Los Angeles, but San Francisco has more of a hippie, techie feel, which I feel I am more than anything! The music scene was/is so big here and the demographics of the city is just so different than anywhere else I've ever been. The landmarks in this city such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Coit Tower and Fisherman's Wharf are just so gorgeous and iconic in American cities. I love this city and could go on forever about it. Fun fact: "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship is about San Francisco stating that "We build this city on rock and roll!" Also, the band Journey is from San Francisco! Go Giants!

2. Memphis, Tennessee
Elvis, Elvis, Elvis! I love Elvis! Graceland! Sun Studio! Beale Street! The Peabody! The Civil Rights Museum! I love Memphis! I used to only live about 45 minutes from Memphis so naturally, I visited often! What an amazing city. I don't want to give away too much right now about Memphis because I have BIG plans to write about Memphis in the future! If you are an old, classic rock and roll fan, Memphis is for you. You can just feel the old rock and gospel in the air when you are in Memphis. You know that song "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn? Listen to it. That's exactly what it's like when you are there. Fun fact: Memphis is the most mentioned city in all of music!!! Ah! Just writing this is making me so eager to go back!

1. Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is my home away from home. I love anything and everything about this city. To me, it's the most wonderful place on this earth. Yes, I've been to Disneyland. Vegas tops everything for me. Honestly, I'm not a big partier, gambler, or anything like that. I just love Las Vegas. There's not many infamous events that happen in Vegas, no one too famous is buried there, I just love this city. I try to visit at least 3 times a year. I have a cousin who lives there and I love visiting her and there have been times I've visited and not even gone on the strip. Vegas gives me this rush and so much energy when I am there. The oasis out in the desert has grown so much in the past 50 years that it's remarkable to me. To think, this little town was started by gangsters during the prohibition as a place to escape! If you ever go to Vegas and need recommendations about anything, I'm your girl! I have a few trips planned in the future and I'll post accordingly when I visit and share about some of my travels! For the record, my FAVORITE hotel to visit on the strip has to be Flamingo. Yes, Flamingo. I feel like it has that combination of the old, vintage Las Vegas feel mixed with all that is happening today in Las Vegas! Everyone should visit Vegas at least 5-6 times in their life.

John Lennon, New York City, New York

Last summer I traveled with my family to the East Coast and I saw so many wonderful opportunities for future blog posts! I didn't know at the time that I would be composing this blog, but I still had the curiosity to visit all of these amazing sites. I will do my best to get as many of them up as possible.

John Lennon. When I say his name, what do you think of? The Beatles? That boyish look? Those round glasses, long hair, and Yoko Ono? John Lennon is an icon in history that will remain with us forever.

On the evening of December 8, 1980, John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, were returning back to their residence at The Dakota Building in New York City to say good night to their 5 year old son, Sean. Lennon was approached by a man named Mark David Chapman. Lennon had recognized him from earlier in the evening when he was signing autographs for fans outside of the famous apartment building. Seconds later, Chapman pulled out a .38 and shot towards Lennon 5 times. One passed over his head and went into a window and then two more were lodged into his back and two into his shoulder. Lennon staggered up the stairs and into the lobby of the building proclaiming "I'm shot. I'm shot." A couple of police officers rushed him to Roosevelt Hospital where Lennon was pronounced "dead on arrival." Lennon was cremated two days later and his ashes given to Ono. She then decided to spread his ashes across the street in Central Park. The area that she spread his ashes in is now called Strawberry Fields and there is a memorial to Lennon with the words "Imagine" in a large circular design.

The Dakota Building located on West 72nd Street

Lennon went through these gates after being shot. Ask the guards standing at the gate for more information. They get asked a lot! While you are also here, take it in for a moment that along the sidewalk is where Mark David Chapman paced back and forth after he shot Lennon.

Directly across the street is the Imagine memorial. There are many fans there daily paying their respects.

A view of the Dakota from Strawberry Fields.