Ten on Tuesday - Cities I Love

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is kind of timely. It's our '10 Favorite Cities' and this came up over the weekend when Hubbo and I were watching CBS Sunday Morning. They did a segment on my number 1 favorite city and I felt a little resentful because I'd hate to see my fave become a hot spot. It would spoil it. What is my favorite city? Here's the list:

1. Asheville, NC - It's artsy, it's got character and I just love stopping here every summer. I've told friends that if I ever leave the DC area it would be to move to Asheville. It's just a place that makes me smile.
2. Washington, DC - I think that I've already documented my great affection for my adopted home.
3. NYC - I'm really happy that I don't have to live here but it's a great place to visit. The hustle and bustle that prevents me from comfortably living here (I dormed here in college) is exactly the thing that makes it exciting to visit. It truly is the city that never sleeps.
4. Toronto, Canada - We took a family trip here in 2002 and it was fabulous. We went to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the CN Tower. We toured the ROM with my cousins and generally hung out. It was too much fun.
5. Ottawa, Canada - This is another great Canadian city. My Aunt and Uncle live in Ottawa so we've visited many times. It's got great museums and beautiful spaces.
6. San Francisco, CA - Visiting here in December of 2004 I was smitten. We did a walking tour of the city on Christmas Day and it felt like the city was ours alone until we got to China Town and found people milling about and having fun. It was so obvious that I adored everything about San Francisco that a much younger DQ felt it necessary to remind me that we were not moving there. She was rather emphatic on that point.
7. Boston, MA - I spent a summer here when my dad was living nearby. I wandered the city mostly on my own and had a lot of fun. I remember the huge thrill my dad got seeing his book on sale at the Harvard Coop. Actually, most of my memories of Boston are tied to my dad.
8. Charlottesville, VA - I guess this is more of a town than a city but I'm going with it. This would be the scene of yet another family vacation. You can just feel the history in the air and downtown is so quaint.
9. Jerusalem, Israel - I was here on a teen tour as a kid in the 80's. Yes, there are lots of very important things to see here and I saw most of them. It's all very wonderful but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that my most vivid memory is of drinking Long Island Iced Teas with a bunch of friends. I was 16.
10. Eilat, Israel - I was here on the same teen tour. It's the southernmost point in Israel and it's mostly a resort city. Three words - deep blue sea. Need I say more?

Here's a picture to pretty this post up a bit. This is a close up shot of the petals of my Heart of Darkness iris. These flowers are nearly black and they're so hard to capture but they look amazing in person.