DEAR GOD,

Forgive me for being fickle. I changed it to Top 20 cities (from 17) to break the ties. There would’ve been 3 cities sharing the fifth spot but I reckoned it’s silly so I broke ‘em. Hehe. It’s your fault! Why did you have to make this world so beautiful, anyway? And why did you have to make me such an ambitious, discontent, sad person?

God, I’m telling you, I’m not going to heaven before I’m done with all these cities, aright? Oh, I’m sure you want me in heaven. Hell won’t accept me. They’re not ready for a new ruler yet. Hahaha.

If you haven’t seen the first half of this list, click here. Anyway, moving on…

8. MADRID, Spain*

“There has to be a Spanish city,” I demanded from myself. I was thinking Barcelona initially. But suddenly, Penelope Cruz Jose Rizal showed up somewhere on my mind, and I changed it to Madrid.

I’m soooo in love with Rizal. Had he been alive, I would’ve stalked him. Really.

I just want to go to the places he had been — the universities where he studied at, the streets he walked, the room he started writing Noli Me Tangere in, the places he frequented… I saw on TV that there is actually a “Walk with Rizal” tour in Madrid. I am so gonna sign up for that someday. Someday. <cue: Nina - Someday>

*For my great grandmother and the rest of the Zaragoza clan.

7. AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands

If I were a city, I would have to be Amsterdam. Not because it’s beautiful (but why not? haha) but because it is often dubbed “the most socially liberal city in the world.” The Netherlands stands for everything I value and fight for. Social liberalism. Freedom. Tolerance. Choice.

If ever I get married, it’ll be here in Amsterdam. The keyword there is “if.”

6. WARSAW, Poland

Warsaw is the most destructed city after World War II. (Manila, second.) That said, wouldn’t it be nice to see how much Poland has resurrected from ashes?

The truth is, what I really want to visit isn’t in Warsaw. It’s south of the capital, near Krakow. AUSCHWITZ. I want to be there. In the middle of the concentration camps. Be haunted by the gloomy atmosphere. Be awed by the silence left from the suffering that once was there. Be moved to tears by how humanity fell yet again.

Auschwitz is a constant reminder that we are fragile as a species. And that too often in history, power has corrupted many of us and has forced the others to extinction, which makes us almost no different from other animals. And that’s just sad.

5. BERLIN, Germany

For personal, ethnic reasons, a part of me will FOREVER love Deutschland. But I only know so much about Germany. I wanna learn more. And Berlin, the capital, is the best place to get started.

Here are two of the sites that will surely make me cry like a battered baby once I lay eyes on them.


The Holocaust Memorial Park


The Brandenburg Gate

I may not speak the language, but I am quite familiar with its history. It may not be a very pleasant history for Germany (yes, they made terrible mistakes in the past) but it is still worth looking back to. After all, it is through these mistakes that we learn and move forward. Char!

4. SOFIA, Bulgaria

If you really know me, you know why I would do just about anything to fly to Sofia or Targovishte in Bulgaria.

No, I will not elaborate.

3. PARIS, France

Every human being wants to see Paris.

Well, I’m human. At least, I believe so. (I might be a Cylon for all you know. Or a god. Hahaha.) And if the above statement is true, then I’m VERY human. Hehe. Francophile.

And let’s just say that two years ago, I made a pact with someone. We promised each other that whatever happens, we’d be at Le Bouquet de Grenelle Cafe in Paris on May 23, 2015 at 7pm. That’s seven years from now. And I will not break that promise.

I’ll be there. ;)

2. MUNICH, Germany


This is where my love for football comes in. Haha. Bayern Munich is probably my most loved team. (The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are at a close second. Hehe. What? I know my priorities!)

This is my idea of heaven: Allianz Arena. Bayern Munchen or German National Team winning. Miroslav Klose playing. World Cup, Euro, or Olympics. Me watching it live. Oh God, I’ll have an orgasm.

Football is my religion. Munich is my Holy Land.

1. JERUSALEM, Israel

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a religious person. Absolutely not. But the reason I want to see this is more historical than spiritual. Jerusalem is sacred to all three major world religions — Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Precisely the reason it has endured a number of terrible events in the past.

Countless people have died just to seize or protect this city. And I think, if mankind won’t shape up, countless others will shed blood in the future. In fact, many experts claim that Jerusalem is most likely to cause World War III. Whether I buy that or not doesn’t matter. I just wanna be there (before it gets totally burned down).

The city that mankind has lived, fought, and died for. The Great Jerusalem.

There you have it. The Top 20 cities I’m dying to visit. Funny, though. Almost every city on this list reminds me of how cruel man has become. And I don’t think God is to blame for that.

images courtesy of cbc.ca, traveldk.com, hotelsbycity.net, about.com, wikimedia.org, hiero.ru, virtualtourist.com, globusjourneys.com, allianz.com, jerusalemshots.com

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