My Favorite Place in the World!

If you were to walk into my office, you would find the travel theme on my walls speaks of some of my most favorite places in the world; in fact, you would quickly deduce that my favorite place in the world is Rome. I have spent more time here than any other international city, and will share some thoughts on the Eternal City in future writings. But surprisingly, perhaps, today’s commentary is not about Rome, and your question then, might rightfully be “Well, then, Steve, why would you title this post ‘My Favorite Place In The World’?”

Allow me a moment to defend the title and explain to you my rationale. I received my inspiration to write today’s commentary as I headed out of town on a recent business trip to Cleveland. While Cleveland is likely a favorite place of many people, prior to this trip, I had no previous experience with the city that sits on the shores of Lake Erie. My entire experience with Cleveland consisted of whatever stock footage the networks provided of the city when the Broncos traveled to play the Browns and the movie Major League. Oh, sure, I’ve heard many of the cruel jokes perpetrated on the city, but now, having visited, I can say that they seem to be misplaced, probably composed by out of work comedians who have never actually been there. I found Cleveland to be interesting and in the midst of an urban renewal; aside from the rain, my time there was very pleasant. But I digress.

In fact, I must backtrack a little, because the moment I got the inspiration to write this blog I was headed through Denver International Airport when the light bulb went on. As I looked down the seemingly endless row of gates on Concourse B running to my left and right, each gate’s digital sign proudly boasted the name of a city – cities located everywhere in the world: New York, Des Moines, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Dallas, Cleveland, London, Cancun, Paris, and on and on. Each one someone’s favorite city somewhere. And beneath each sign in the boarding area were a sea of faces running the gamut of emotions we each experience depending on why we are traveling to the place on the sign – excitement, smiles, tears, trepidation. I was suddenly aware, perhaps for the first time in my life, that while the things we all love about our favorite places – the location, buildings, history, culture, people – may vary greatly depending on our own individual interests, backgrounds and experiences, the airport is the place where strangers unite in a journey to a common destination. 

The airport is a figurative door to the world. When we walk through the door leading to the big, silver bird that patiently waits to spirit us away, endless possibilities greet us on the other side that can culminate anywhere on the planet. Breakfast in New York and dinner London? Done. Lunch in Denver and dinner in Los Angeles? No problem. Dinner in Miami and Breakfast in San Juan? Certainly. The world used to be a really big place. The airport makes it more like a big house – each door in the hall a gateway to a destination that holds endless possibilities to rediscover that we all share more in common with the people on the other side of the door than we could ever have imagined.

That is the reason the airport is my favorite place in the world.

Happy Walking!