What to Watch this weekend: ‘Queer Eye’ star Antoni Porowski takes travel beyond the guidebooks
· Citizen
The world is a wonderful place. Getting to travel, explore and drink in its sights, tastes and sounds is a privilege. Even when you can’t go yourself, there’s something almost as rewarding about seeing an iconic city through someone else’s eyes.
Emmy-winning television personality Antoni Porowski travels to Mexico City, Paris, London, and his hometown of New York City in Best of the World with Antoni Porowski.
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It’s a four-part National Geographic travel docuseries that takes viewers through food, culture, and local experiences.
Porowski goes beyond the typical tourist attractions to meet the people and discover the stories, flavours and hidden gems that give identity to each destination.
Porowski noted that while viewers may initially be drawn to famous destination travel, he was interested in understanding the people who dedicate their lives to preserving traditions and skills that most visitors never get to see.
“There’s always that human story behind. As deeply obsessed as I am with food and culture, art and all of that stuff, it’s always that human interaction to speak with an individual and to understand just a little bit for a brief moment what it’s like to be them and the thing that makes them tick.”
Always a human story behind it
It’s all about the human experience, but that also meant many of the people featured in the series were not media personalities and had little interest in being in front of a camera.
Porowski said his psychology background often helped him find common ground and build trust, and draw guests into opening up about their lives.
He recalled meeting a young Parisian artisan working on a commissioned piece that would take eight years to complete. Initially, she barely engaged with the crew.
“She was incredibly shy and kept her focus on the work while we were filming.”
Everything changed when he noticed her headphones. “I asked what music she was listening to, and she said, Taylor Swift. As soon as we started talking about our favourite albums, I got to see who she really was.”
The conversation soon turned to her career choice.
“Once she opened up, I could ask what led her to choose such a specialised craft. I have enormous respect for people who dedicate themselves to one trade and spend years mastering it.”
Sometimes, people are really shy
The Queer Eye star said one of the most memorable travel experiences during filming was stepping inside Big Ben in London and meeting the people responsible for keeping time ticking at one of Britain’s most famous institutions.
“Everyone knows it. We don’t even call it the right name, the Elizabeth Tower (renamed in 2012). Millions look at it to literally tell them the time every single day. But behind this massive iconic institution, there is a person. Well, there are three of them, but we found the cool young dude who’s keeping time for everyone,” he said.
Watch the trailer
Porowski said travelling to Mexico City exceeded even his high expectations. As a fan of brutalist architecture and food, he had always wanted to visit the Mexican capital, but what surprised him was the way nature seemed to coexist with the city’s urban environment.
“To see this cosmopolitan epicentre be overgrown with nature and as developed as it is, to know that it was built on a lake and how lush it is, to see root systems growing out of these concrete slabs and terracotta everywhere, it was so romantic and so beautiful.”
Closer to home, Porowski said an unexpected revelation came during the New York City Marathon. Despite living in the city for years, he had always avoided the event because of the crowds.
“I’ve always thought it’s just way too many people and way too overwhelming.”
Even New York had a surprise in store
His perspective changed when his partner took part, and the production team documented the experience.
“It was a reminder of why I moved to New York in the first place, because of the incredible diversity. Everyone just comes together irrespective of political beliefs or lifestyle. We’re there to cheer on these runners. What a beautiful thing to be a cheerleader for someone you don’t even know. To recognise their struggle and say we’re rooting for you.”
The series premieres on National Geographic (DStv 181) on 12 June at 8:30pm, with all episodes available to stream on Disney+ the following day.