cities

What is the best city in the world?

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The wonderful Adria hotel
Enjoying a coffee and a read at St Paul's Green
Hammersmith Bridge
Full English breakfast
Hammersmith
A sandwich bar
King Albert Memorial
Interesting architecture
Hampstead Parish Church
Mile marker
Royal Albert Hall

World traveler is not a description I would use for myself; I know a handful of them, and I am definitely not like them. Yes, I have traveled a bit, but, for example, I have never been to Asia or Africa. However, I have spent time in many major cities. This summer, I went to London for the first time in 22 years to visit a dear friend. The visit was short, only three days, but I know London, having lived there for four years during my secondary school, yes, back in the 80s.

Ranking, grading, or listing cities is, of course, highly subjective, but for me, London has to be the best city in the world. Ah, you scream, what about New York? Well, as much as I love New York, it obviously lacks London’s deep history, which dates back to Roman times and gives it a unique character that I find truly inspiring.

The question then becomes: what makes a city great? Sure, does it have great restaurants? But it goes beyond that: accessibility, especially for walking and cycling, beauty, green spaces, culture, education, safety, and the vibrant mix of attractions that make London so captivating for everyone.

While no city is perfect, London not only checks off all these boxes but also has a degree of sophistication enriched by immigration, the previously mentioned history, amazing parks and architecture, improved transportation (since I was last there), cycle paths, and the elusive ‘aura’ that makes it feel alive and special to those who visit.

London is a huge city, so it is impossible to know every little corner. I spent most of my time in Hammersmith, exploring its historic 19th-century bridge and the surrounding neighborhood. I also revisited Shepherd’s Bush and Camden, discovering (for me) St John-at-Hampstead Church, one of the oldest churches in London, with the last big renovation dating to 1740!

I spent most of my time visiting my friend, but I also took long walks, which allowed me to see these elements and led me to my conclusion: London is the best city in the world.

What do you think makes a city great? Is it history, food, or something else? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the best city in the world.

Which Camino: Francés, Norte, Primitivo or Aragonés?

/ antonioyrocinante / 2 Comments

Having just finished my 4th Camino, the Aragonés, here is a bit of a comparison between the Francés, Norte, Primitivo and Aragonés to build on my previous analysis of the Francés and Norte (click here for that post):

I loved the Aragonés! It is wild and beautiful, we were very few pilgrims on the trail -about a dozen or so, most days I did not bump into any pilgrims! There are very few albergues and they are stage distance apart (with few exceptions), so we were the same pilgrims every evening at the end of the stage.

At around 7 days before it joins the Francés at Puente la Reina, it is a bit short. That is the worst thing about the Aragonés.

My all time favorite so far is the Primitivo due to the rugged beauty and the three days right in the middle which are quite hilly and “uncivilized.” It lacks the “spiritual” component of the Francés but makes up for it in natural beauty. At around a dozen days from Oviedo to Santiago it is a perfect “full” Camino.

The Norte is canonically the most beautiful: beautiful beach, beautiful forest, San Sebastian, beautiful beach, beautiful forest, Bilbao, beautiful beach, beautiful forest, Santander, Gijón… you get the idea. Plus, the food. While popular, this route still has far fewer pilgrims than the Francés.

The Francés is like Classic Coke: the most popular, the best known, the oldest (not really, just in modern terms, it was the first one to be rehabilitated in the 80s), and it is the most spiritual: most churches are open -unlike other Caminos, the change of orography makes this Camino “feel” longer. And the cities, with their Gothic cathedrals are impressive: Pamplona, Burgos, and León.

So, my ranking for now is: 1, Primitivo, 2, Aragonés, 3, Norte, and 4, Francés. Of course, you could start your Camino with the Aragonés and then hook up with the Francés, but you would miss crossing the Pyrenees, and the Navarra hills to Pamplona. On the other hand, by then the early crowds will be a bit more spread out…

Yes silly, of course I am thinking of next year’s Camino, but you will have to stay tuned to this blog for more!

You should have a side gig. Tonxo Tours as a (paying) hobby

/ antonioyrocinante / 1 Comment

Years ago, I read an article by the great psychiatrist (who in 1981, New York City Mayor Edward Koch appointed Director of psychiatric and prison health services of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest public general hospital system in the United States.*) Dr. Luis Rojas Marcos. At any rate, Rojas Marcos mentioned that in order to have a healthy, stable life you needed three equal pillars, briefly: a loving relationship, an enriching job, and a hobby that had nothing to do with the other two pillars.

Today I am going to focus on that third pillar, your hobby. In my case one of my hobbies is the tour company I set up years ago when I was trying to make ends meet in Spain. Fortunately, now I do have that enriching, enjoyable job, but I never stopped doing tours when I came to Spain. It is something I love doing: sharing my passion for the history, culture, food, etc. of Madrid.

As much as I love the countryside and the outdoors, I must confess I am a city boy. I have always been fascinated by the energy generated by cities. Some of my fondest memories are of walking around cities. Add to that the fact that I have been blessed to live in many different cities (Madrid, New York, London, Boston, Paris, Lausanne, Geneva, etc.) and you get a bit of a city geek.

Of course, it is quite different seeing a job from the outside to being on the inside. We all have an idea of what a certain job is like, only to realize that the day to day of that work is vastly different.

This is what happened to me during my first year as a tour guide. Yes, there is the excitement of meeting and working with different people every time and with sharing your passion for the city. The rest is very much like any old job. There is a lot of psychology and salesmanship involved in getting visitors on board with your tour. There is also a small percentage of customers that are not satisfied and nothing you do is going to make them change their minds.

As you do more and more tours the city shares more and more secrets. The night before a tour, you review the itinerary and your notes and books. Invariably, you learn something new that you can incorporate into the tour. It is a very enriching. I also enjoy questions and requests from the customers.

This Christmas break I had a chance to do a few tours. One with a French family group, another with my old university the European School of Economics where we combine a tour with orientation teambuilding activities, I also did a couple of Prado Museum tours, although big chunks of the museum where closed due to lack of staff due to Covid.

In conclusion, if you don’t already have one, you should find a hobby that you love, and if it leaves you some green, even better!!

ESE did a great Instagram video of the tour which you can see here:

*From his website https://luisrojasmarcos.com/biography/