Leopold Tech – A blog about travel, aviation and tech

Mumbai

I went to Mumbai a couple of times. I can still remember my first impression, first time to India, when going out of the airport. The people, the heat, the smell of spices, it was like in the books I had read. Mumbai was called Bombay under the Brits and it changed name in 1995, but the airport code remained BOM as a legacy and souvenir.

I only visit the iconic places with the tourists, around the Taj Mahal hotel and the Gateway of India. After reading Shantaram I had to look at the Léopold café. The intensity, the crowd, the contrasts are stunning. It’s impossible to summarize the city in a few words, it’s too big to have a feeling after only two visits. I must go a third time as soon as possible.

Barcelona

My oldest memories of Barcelona go back to the 1992 Olympics. As a big fan of the Dream Team I went to see the basketball games. There was no iPhone back in the days but I still remember seeing on the floor, in front of me (name dropping!): Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Pat Ewing, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone.

Another great memory is the visit of the FC Barcelona stadium where a private party was hosted. I could walk through the locker room and onto the pitch. I could almost feel the stress and the goosebumps of the players just before the game.

I also remember being there in October 2017, witnessing huge rallies pro-independence and pro-Spain. I was only a tourist watching from the sidewalk but I could feel the history and passion going into the movements.

Sunset on downtown Barcelona from a rooftop

Fast forward to today, I visited Barcelona countless times. The Sagrada familia, Las Ramblas, Mont Juic and the beachfront. I enjoyed the bars, the tapas, the restaurants and the night life.

Annecy

When looking for a good lifestyle, you need a lake and a mountain nearby, as well as an airfield. Annecy has it. I enjoyed running and cycling by the lake, and even wake-boarding on the lake. The mountains around the lake are the perfect spot for paragliders – still on my to-do list, and the mountains in the background are perfect for skiing and snowboarding. Add a few good restaurants and you found the right place to enjoy the lifestyle.

Mauritius

Mauritius island is one of those places that deserved to be called “paradise”. I went there several times as a tourist and cannot be disappointed. It has the beauty of the islands of the Indian Ocean, the food and the hospitality as well.

Jerusalem

I had the opportunity of visiting the holy city of Jerusalem a couple of times. Not many cities in the world carry as much history, in this case for three millenium, still visible and present in the daily life. Seeing in one place the synagogues, the churches and the mosques is not unique, but here it’s the “Western Wall” or “Wailing Wall”, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque. Only sacred places like this city can provide as much emotion.

Cyclades

The Cyclades, a group of islands in the Aegean sea between Greece and Turkey, recalls the Greek mythology and the poems by Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. I went for the first time to Mykonos for Easter 2019, it was off season and a good timing to enjoy the calm and beauty of the island, its beaches and villages. A couple of years before I visited Santorini, an island which is actually formed by the top of a volcano crater.

Corsica

I may be biased but I’d include Corsica in the list of most beautiful islands. It combines the sea, the beach, the mountain, the villages, the food and sunshine most of the time. While the south of the island is more touristic, between Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio, the north remains a little wild, between Calvi and Saint-Florent.

Seoul

I went to Seoul a couple of times and I feel that I’m still scratching the surface of the city. The first time I was stuck by the modern city, the barbecue, and the karaoke until the end of the night. The second time I walked by the Han River, visited the old and historical part of town, Bukchon Hanok, and strolled in style in the Gangnam-Gu district, from where was inspired the hit “Gangnam style”. I wish I could go a third time.

New York

New York has a special place in the list because I lived there for almost 2 years, and because it’s unlike any other city in this world. The most impressive is the mix of people coming from all over the world with the same dream. I like going to New York, get the energy and come back with it.

At the end of the 1990’s I lived in Soho, on Broome St, and worked Midtown, on Broadway. I came back in 2019, twenty years later, as a tourist. Things had changed, like the new Shake Shack burger restaurants, and some things will never change, like a walk in Times Square or in Central Park. Our trip was designed as an experience, as we saw Travis Scott on stage at a Rolling Loud festival at Citi Field in Queens, maybe our last concert in a while.

Rolling Loud festival at Citi Fields in Queens, NY

Bangkok

I finally visited Bangkok in 2019 after years of hearing about the energy and crowd of this major city in Asia. I was not disappointed by the mix of experience that this city can offer. The Chao Phraya river, the main one in Thailand, flows through Bankgok, along temples like Wat Arun. The city has several hotels with bars on the top, offering a stunning view of the city, especially at night. The famous Thai food, in the streets and in good restaurants, definitely tastes better than in the rest of the world. Maybe I should add a book shelf about world cuisine.