Madison Taylor

I have a new favorite American city. Its name is San Antonio.

No foolin’.

Yes, forget the headline. I was just in San Antonio last week for another in a series of conferences involving the future of the newspaper business. I learned the following two things:

1. San Antonio is quite possibly the best American city to visit if visiting is what’s on your mind. And that Riverwalk pictured above is pretty damned cool. Even Charles Barkley has to be right every now and again.

and 2. Newspapers are not exactly deader than that fake coonskin Davy Crockett replica hat I purchased on my quick run-through the Alamo but on serious life support. For the record, no, I did not buy the hat for myself or the wife. It looked, however, like the perfect gift for my brother. By the way, the wife got a nifty box of Alamo crackers for those dying to know.

I’ll write about the once slow but now rapidly alarming and inexorable demise of American newspapers over the next few days. Right now it’s still too depressing to actually put into words. But check back on Tuesday or Wednesday and I promise we’ll talk about it at length.

Anyway, over four days I absolutely fell in love with San Antonio. Not because it’s a place I’d want to live or anything. It’s pretty congested for a small-town kid like me. No, I simply had a great time prowling the riverwalk for food and drinks, checking out the music and enjoying the downtown architecture — a combination of Spanish, Mexican and good ol’ American know-how.

San Antonio has everything a great city needs: History that makes you stop and ponder the nature of life — or that can be advertised on a key chain; a diverse population, a signature social scene such as the riverwalk; drop-dead gorgeous people; enough art to shake a stick at; bars with more than Budweiser on tap; museums out the ying-yang and food from everywhere.

Now to be fair, my favorite American city is generally the last one I visited. In this case San Antonio beat out Miami, which is where I parked for a day or two in November. And I like to say “American” city because it makes me sound like a seasoned world traveler of some contiental repute. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you take away a two-hour jaunt to a beach in Cozumel, Mexico last year, I ain’t never been outside the U.S.

I’m not proud of this.

Anyway, here — in no particular order — are my current favorite cities to visit.

San Antonio: Bright lights, a thriving nightlife and history everywhere. Good beer on tap at Maddog’s British Pub made my week.

Chicago: Museums, art, high-rise buildings, the Chicago Tribune and the Cubs make this a great place to go. My wife and I took our own Ferris Bueller tour a few years ago — we even borrowed her brother’s Corvette — and it was well worth it. I’m deeply saddened though, that I never tried to pass myself as Abe Frohman, the “Sausage King of Chicago.” Maybe next time.

Miami: Has it’s own tremendous riverwalk area in downtown, scenic vistas of Biscayne Bay and the hottest women in the world. When it comes to food there’s an international feast everywhere you turn. The art-deco look downtown is way cool, too.

Springfield, Ill. OK, it may seem like a weird choice but any city that actually wants to be known as the inspiration for “The Simpsons” has to rank up there. The capital of Illinois has great buildings and history stacked upon history. It’s the home of Abraham Lincoln after all. There’s a restored historic area just as it was when Lincoln lived there with his house intact and the former state legislature building when Lincoln served there is still around. If that’s not enough, it’s also his burial place. Other sites to see include a great home built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Visit during the Illinois State Fair to get a pork chop on a stick.  If not, try the horsehoe at any local diner. It’s more gross than that smothered, covered, gagged and crapped thing they sell at the Waffle House.

New York: It’s the absolute and undisputed Mecca for museums, major sports and weirdos on this or any planet. There’s no better place to see or do most anything than New York. It’s still the greatest city in the world, bar none.

Washington D.C.: It’s impossible to list everything there is to do in D.C. and almost all of them are pretty cool –  well, delete “Have a friendly drink with Dick Cheney.” I’m going back in June to check out the new ballpark where the Washington Nationals play. Everything else from there will be gravy.

Beaufort/Swansboro: OK, this is close to home and neither are worlld class cities (about the only diversity is between fishermen and shellfishermen) but there are few places to go better than these two fishing villages on the North Carolina coast if you just want to get away from it all, booze it up a little, catch a few fish and eat a few more. Lots of great restaurants, interesting shopping and historic sites on every corner. Beaufort has better bars and more restaurants but otherwise it’s a toss up. If you go to Swansboro check out Hammocks Beach State Park. It’s the best beach in North Carolina.

Tempe, Ariz: I love drinking Corona in the dry night air. Just can’t help myself.

Las Vegas: You can go to Vegas, not gamble a dime for four days and still have the time of your life. So many rides, attractions and shows that they simply can’t be accurately counted. And lots of free stuff to simply stand and watch in stunned disbelief. That water show at the Bellagio — everything on the strip stops when it starts. And for some real old-style neon Vegas, head off the main strip and go back in time.  Speaking of Vegas, I saw this way cool web site last week at our meeting. Enjoy.

Sorry Dallas and Atlanta. I’ve been to both and neither make the list. They suffer from behing too much like Charlotte. And hey, a topless bar for every 100 males may be entertaining but it ain’t the arts.

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