Happy New Year! As we start the new year, I wanted to take the opportunity to review the year of travel and the travel resolutions that I had made at the beginning of 2018.
Despite not writing or publishing as much as I had hoped and planned to last year, there has been plenty of travel both for work and pleasure, so here is an overview of my top trips from 2018. Pleased to see that I met 2 of the 5 that I had planned at the beginning of year. Other places which have not made this list but were still visited in 2018 included Spain, Lanzarote, Madeira, Gran Canaria, Japan and Morocco. The theme for the year seemed to be Christopher Columbus as so many of the places that I visited in 2018 made some reference to the famed explorer - even in Shanghai!
Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland Early in the year, my best friend and I planned our very long-awaited trip to the Emerald Isle (we have been talking about visiting the Giants Causeway since high school). We hired a car and over the space of 3 days travelled a lovely 1000km across the Wild Atlantic Way, taking in some beautiful scenery along the route and plenty of castles of all types. If you missed my previous blog, you can check it out here. Now I still need to visit the geologically interesting north and Giants Causeway, but there is always this year!
Prague, Czech Republic Prague has been on my list to visit for a number of years, and it certainly did not disappoint. Unbeknown to me at the time, I ended up visiting on the weekend of the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia and there were plenty of activities around the place. 16,000 steps later, there was a LOT of walking around the old town all while trying to keep the bitter cold at bay. There is so much to see and do in one weekend in this lovely capital city. A highlight for me and a definite recommendation for a visit.
Baltimore & Washington, USA This year has certainly been one of unexpected and unplanned travels. I managed to tag on an extra day to explore Washington DC after a week-long work trip to Baltimore. It was so easy hopping on a train to Washington and I spent the whole day walking in the sun - having run out of water pretty early in the day! I walked a grand total of 17km on that day - a whopping 23,732 steps to be precise. A slight killer without the water, but I definitely enjoyed walking along the Reflecting Pool and visiting all of the memorials. You definitely need more than one day to explore Washington, but I’m happy with what I managed to see.
Shanghai, China I don’t think that I can truly say that I visited Shanghai properly as I did not get the opportunity to visit in the way that I like to explore places, but it still needed an honourable mention. For me one of the most interesting experiences in China was the food which is like nothing which I have experienced before now. That, and the flights! There really is no concept of keeping your seat belt on during taxing and landing despite the picture of the seat belt sign which I would have thought traverses any language barrier!
Wales, UK I love Wales! It doesn’t matter whether it is the Pembroke coast down in the south, the castles in the north, Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons or the lovely coastline near Aberystwyth in the middle, I love it all. We took my little cousin around the castles in the north of Wales for a week in the summer, enjoying 4 of the castles and a number of activities including a spot of archery. A lovely and relaxing week. If you have time, I recommend visiting this beautiful part of the world!
So what about the plans for this coming year, I hear you say! There is bound to be travel on the cards and I love this time of year as the dust settles from the New Year festivities to plan the year’s activities. So here goes….what do you think, maybe it’s a bit ambitious?
1. Iceland
This is a repeat from last year particularly as I didn’t get a chance to go in 2018. One of the tricky things in organising a trip to Iceland is deciding on when to go…..winter to see the Northern Lights, or summer to take in the Midnight Sun and see even more of the stunning landscape? Decisions, decisions! Whichever time of year I know that it will still be impressive, so I just need to book it.
2. Albania A close family friend is currently in discussions to move to Albania for a year-long work placement. While it is still in the discussion phase, I was thinking what a fantastic opportunity to pay Albania a visit. I must admit that I had never really thought about this part of the world. After a bit of research, there is plenty to see and some stunning unspoilt sceneries to pay attention to, particularly the national park just outside the capital Tirana.
3. Santorini Now I have already had the great fortune of visiting Santorini many years ago as part of a cruise, but I would love to go back and spend a long weekend on this beautiful volcano. Photos will not do it justice, but I am just picturing a lovely view over the caldera while watching the sun sink into the Mediterranean. Utter and relaxing bliss. Yes please!
4. Thailand It has been some time since I’ve been on an overland tour and my feet are starting to get a slight itch with the need to explore. Temples, floating markets and underwater national parks. Yup, I think that Thailand offers a beautiful mixture for all tastes and there is plenty for everyone. Can I squeeze in a trip to Thailand this year?
5. Balkans Now I have visited a lot of Europe, but I am yet to visit the Balkans or Eastern Europe. We spend our lives trying to travel as far as possible, but I have decided to spend this year exploring places slightly closer to home that are practically on my doorstep. Seems like a wasted opportunity if not. First up will be Montenegro which seems to be one of the up-and-coming tourist destinations of the year. I’ll keep you posted!
So there you go! A balance of travel highlights from 2018 while planning for 2019. Where are you planning on travelling to this year? Here’s to another year of travelling. Keep travelling Ladybugs!
xxx