I am sure that if I tell you Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Dublin, Goa, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Istanbul, La Havana, London, Madrid, Montreal, Paris, Rio, Roma, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Timbuktu, Venice or Vienna you have some stories that popped in your head.
This is the list of the most sexy-cities in the world, and no one can argue. You might want to add an extra one, or remove one in which you associate a bad memory with, but this list is undoubtedly universal and suffer no contestation on which one should be there or not. You might put them in different order, and I encourage you to do so, but these cities are there in the list on wont drop out.
How do you recognize a sexy-city from another one?
It is quite easy in fact.
It's the number of second between the answer and the next question.
Example 1:
Bob: Where are you going in vacation for Christmas?
Kim: Rio de Janeiro
[Insert 4 seconds here]
Bob: Ah Rio! Lucky you!
Kim: Have ever been?
Bob: No...never...I wish...
[...]
You never have to say from which country the city is, everybody knows where the city is exactly. Except maybe Timbuktu, but it's there precisely because it's far away from everything and you can only imagine being in this city when you want to get way from every where. This is the almost the lost city for lost soul.
Example 2:
Bob: Where are you going in vacation for Christmas?
Kim: Rio de Janeiro
[Insert 4 seconds here]
Bob: Rio from where?
Kim: You are kidding me, right?
[...]
While traveling, and when I am staying long enough in one place, I try to personify the city I am in. let me explain, I associate a person, a job, a story with the place I live. I start making a full story about where I am living, the social status, her or his past, the exact age and what happen to her/him before that make her/him the way (s)he is.
For example Amsterdam is for me an old lady who has been all around the world in 70's, but when back home after a long trip and could not reconnect to what is the real world. She can only work for non-profit organization yet still want a lot of money for it. Smokes cigarette hand made and drinks low fat soy milk. Rides a bicycle to work, but calls a cab when rainy day. Wears grey outfit, with purple socks. Long hair in the front but short in the back. She is a perpetual contrast, tired of fighting, enjoying good company.
Barcelona is for me an eccentric young man, 30ish, artist, living during the night, sleeping during the day…
Bangkok is for me a young Asian woman, small skirt, small girl, small money, small hope ... big dream
Buenos Aires is for me an old man, cigar, Panama hat, a face that tells stories without speaking, been everywhere, knows everything, came back to his city to enjoy the last breath he could have peacefully with his friends.
And I can go on an on for each city and try to see who they are, what they do. One day if I have enough time, I will probably try to do so.
I can also imagine later on a big party with Ms. Paris, and Mr. Buenos Aires drinking together and trying to talk about what would be the bright future of Ms. Hong Kong if she could only speaks English properly, or asking some news about the always missing absent the famous Mr. Timbuktu who everybody knows, but a handful of old people saw actually.
The party will be hold in a not so secret place where food will be provide but the greatest artist in the world and where beauty will echo to pleasure.
My neo-gods-Greek theater play will not be dramatic at all, funny I suspect with a grain of cockiness.
Missing the one, the one that is for me on the top of the generic of my no-Greek-gods movie, nominated many time for a leading role in major blockbuster movies ...
Did you guess?