You are missing a post on Mexico which has already happened and a post for Jamaica (which will happen in a month) but before all this happens… I have big news to share.

Last year I applied to IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge and got in on a wait list. The trip never materialized. I was approached for 2 cities but the timing was off for our family commitments so I didn’t participate. Well, come 2015 – and I applied again and this time go time for sure !. On May 11, the cities that received the IBM grant were selected and announced – so I was on the edge since then – what city am I going to go to and when?

The kids were heavily engaged in the selection (they have nothing to do with it, IBM selects where I go) but they were lobbying me left and right, as if I was to pick it myself. Santiago de Chile was the #1 choice.

… but the winner is Allahabad, India !! … where is it you ask?

I have to be honest, I have never heard of the city until the announcement. My Indian friends told me that it was a very cultural and religious city, so I was secretly hoping that if India – then Allahabad. In my 5 minutes of research, it looks amazing – the colors, the Gangi river, the Kumbh Mela festival which I will not see… so super excited to go and learn more about this city. More info to come soon….