You know that feeling when you are throwing a big party at your place? You’ve got friends coming over, and friends of friends, and you know they are going to judge. The carpet, the furniture, the walls, the kitchen and especially the bathroom, since they have a moment alone there to reflect. So you worry, right? What will they think of this place, and by extension, think of me? Will they think I’m a slob, that my taste is all in my mouth, that I’m color blind?

It’s a worry, ya know?

Well that’s the feeling I had when the tour came to Cincinnati. We’ve been to a lot of cities. Some great, some well, let’s call it “interesting”. How would Cincinnati measure up? Would there be a lot of awkward silences when I was around, I mean more than usual? Would there be whispered conversations while people glanced in my direction? I’m the guy from this berg. I actually sent a primer on “all things Cincinnati”. Skyline, Graeters, Finley Market, OTR, Union Terminal, etc… We were here for 2 weeks, Would people get tired of this town?

Nope. Cincinnati, you came through with flying colors.

First of all, you cheated. We had just come off of several chilly locations, and our first couple days in town were “Chamber of Commerce” days. Sunny days, temps in the 70’s. We were starved for a little warmth and sun. Well played Cincinnati, well played.

But it didn’t stop there. Our first weekend was Asian Food Fest, There was music at Fountain Square, Finley Market was a popular stop. We have some friends in the “Chicago”tour, who were here a few weeks before us. They recommended a few OTR bars, which had MUCH more effect than my info sheet ( young people….ya know). Then there was an afternoon Reds game on a Thursday, which a group of us went to. Cincy Cinco was this past weekend, which was a big favorite. And of course the Flying Pig Marathon weekend. One of my castmates asked “Is there always so much going on here?”.

I’ve heard that a lot of people who live in New York have never gone up on the Empire State Building. Some people in L.A. never go to the beach. In 35 years there I only went to Disneyland twice. Actually, that doesn’t count, because I only went twice because I don’t like Disney, and they never hired me to work there ;-).

I think it can take the eyes of a non-native to give you an unbiased perspective of a place. And these non-natives LOVED our little city on the Ohio. People went out of their way to stop and tell me how much they enjoyed their time here. People who don’t really talk to me much had things to say. So, Cincinnati, it’s not me, it’s YOU.

The riverfront, Fountain Square, OTR, the Banks, Finley Market, Eden Park, the Art Museum, Krohn, Newport / Covington, Union Terminal, or whatever they are calling it these days. And that’s just to name a few. They all loved Graeters, a lot of them tried and liked Skyline. I tried to influence folks to try goetta, but that may just remain a “me” thing in this cast.

Yeah, I know we’ve got issues. Downtown crime, political unrest, the Bengals defense. But in these past 2 weeks I’ve had a look at the Queen City through fresh, objective eyes. And I gotta tell you, the view is pretty darn good.

Talk Later,

Bob