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My all-time favorite city is Paris. I don’t need to think about it, I know. The winding streets, the delightful architecture, the beautiful trees and thoughtfully-placed gardens, the fantastic food and the endless list of things to do, in addition to the magic feel, is what puts Paris at the top of my list. Thus, when I visit other cities, I’m not expecting to find a new favorite. I’m open and curious about the adventure in front of me, the possibilities the city hides in its neighborhoods and the opportunities to learn something new about the culture. But I rarely expect to fall in love with a city the way I fell in love with the City of Lights. But then I visited Hong Kong. On a whim, my husband and I joined two of our friends on a cruise that started and ended in Hong Kong. We decided to stay on a few extra days in Hong Kong. What started as a trip that I invested very little emotional energy into turned out to be one of the best I’ve made in my life. For some, Hong Kong is one of those metropolitan cities you name when you’re trying to make a point about the worldliness of something. But it’s not often that we stop to consider, “What is Hong Kong really like?” Aside from being a bustling Asian city that’s unbelievably hot during the summer, there’s a surprisingly wide variety of things to do and see in Hong Kong. Every day you spend there can be completely unique. We visited Hong Kong Island via the Star Ferry several times (which offers a delightful breeze in the midst of the oppressive summer heat). One day we found ourselves taking cover from the rain under one of the many covered, above-ground walkways before, in almost the blink of an eye, we discovered we were in the middle of a massive pro-China government protest group slowly making their way to the pier. Another day we took the trolley to the top of Victoria Peak where we marveled at the views from the top as sweat dripped from every part of our bodies. But that was nothing compared to when we made our way to the top of the longest escalator in the world. I mistakenly thought there would be two escalators side-by-side; one going up and one going down. It was only when we arrived at the top that I realized my horrible mistake. There was a moment of silence in the group before we burst out laughing and stopped at the first pub during our descent to enjoy ice-cold happy hour beers. Another day we went north and visited the Hong Kong Museum, featuring a delightful exhibit of one of the most well-known Hong Kongers: Bruce Lee. After posing mid-kick in front of his massive statue, we sweated our way up hundreds of steps, past hundreds of life-sized golden Buddhas in all forms to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. We made it to the top just as the sky opened up and a torrent of rain soaked the area. Of course, our trip to this city wouldn’t be complete without delighting in over-priced cocktails at a swanky sky bar overlooking Hong Kong Island. We watched the nightly Symphony of Lights in the harbor in the comfort of crisp A/C. We also haggled and shopped in the famous night market, picking up “one-of-a-kind” trinkets as gifts. The variety of things to do, the hustle of the locals, and the electrifying feel of a city at a political crossroads made me feel a magic entirely different from that of Paris. In Hong Kong, there truly is something for everyone. As we prepared to leave, I found myself mentally making plans to return one day. There were still so many places I wanted to explore, other areas I wanted to see again in a different season and so much more Dim Sum I wanted to try. I realized as my plane took off that the longing in my heart was for a city that I didn't expect to love but is now one of my favorites (just behind Paris).