This past year was one of the most exciting and definitely the most travel-filled I’ve ever experienced. My husband and I lived in Barcelona, Spain for 8 months and made the most of our time there by journeying all over Europe. During our time abroad I visited 18 countries and over 60 cities/towns and while I wouldn’t change a thing, I feel like the more you travel and see, the more you want to see. So even though I tried to get the travel bug out of my system, my future travel wish list seems to have grown.
We absolutely loved Barcelona and living there was a dream. I could tell you all of my favorite things about Barcelona, but today’s post will focus on all the other travels we did. If you’re thinking about where you want to go in 2019, I hope this post serves as some inspiration. Without further ado, here are (some!) of my favorite travel moments of 2018.
Travel Recap: Favorite adventures from 2018
Most Beautiful Beaches: Mallorca
Specifically, Calo Des Moro. It was hands down the most beautiful, clear water I’ve ever seen. We were told to get there early because it fills up. I kept saying it would probably be fine whenever we got there, I mean is it really possible that they will run out of space in the sand? Turns out, they do! Literally every single inch of sand and rock gets taken up by 11am. So really, get there early. Felt like a hidden gem, but one that lots of other people know about too.
Best Hike: Cinque Terre
I wrote all about our hike through the 5 towns in Italy. I found the hike to be a bit more treacherous than I expected but it wasn’t anything too crazy. Just a lot of cliff-sides which always make me nervous. It was a long day of hiking (and eating and drinking) and it’s the perfect combo of exploration, exercise and enjoying Italy. Second favorite hike of 2018 goes to Cassis, France.
Most Incredible Moment: Seeing the Northern Lights in Norway
This was an indescribable experience. It’s impossible to know if you’ll see the Northern Lights, no matter how perfect the spot you choose, but I’m so thankful we went really far out of our way, all the way to Tromso, Norway (and then an hour and a half outside of that tiny town) and saw an amazing show. If you’re considering a Northern Lights chase, I highly recommend our itinerary, which you can read about here.
Foreign City I’d Love to Move To: Copenhagen
Even though I went in the winter and was freezing, I still fell in love with this city. The overall vibe felt super friendly, safe and seemed to be the perfect place to raise a family and lead a happy life. It’s hard to explain it, but one way to show this is everyone bikes everywhere, there are tons of bikes just propped up at against buildings, bridges, streets, etc. I rarely saw a bike lock because everyone just trusted everyone else. In America in many cities you can lock up your bike and it still might get stolen. That told me a lot about Copenhagen. While I may not move there anytime soon, I’d love to go back in the Spring or Summer.
Most Out of my Comfort Zone: Marrakech
Marrakech was one of the most interesting trips we took in 2018. I’d never been anywhere like it and from the donkeys to the snake charmers to the families of 4 (including infants) riding on one moped through the city, this place opened my eyes to a totally different lifestyle. If you want to get far away from your comfort zone, this is a great place to visit. You can read more about our trip here.
Best Vacation Spot: Greek Islands
Ok, so every place on this list is an incredible vacation spot, as are many places we visited that I’m not even covering today. But the Greek Islands are THE vacation spot. We went on a trip with 4 friends and visited 2 islands (Santorini & Paros), but this would also be the perfect couples, honeymoon, babymooon, friend, family, literally any excuse for a vacation kind of place.
Best Views: Switzerland
It’s a pretty broad superlative, but every viewpoint in Switzerland was incredible. We visited Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Lucerne and Geneva. Of all those spots, Wengen was the most unique, it’s a small car-less town that you have to take a train (or hike) up to. And the very best views go to our trip up to those at the top of Mount Pilatus. I’m not sure this photo does it justice but every outlook is better than the next.
Best Hidden Gem: Annecy, France
We made a quick one-night stop in Annecy as we made our way to Geneva (they are only 45 minutes apart) and this town is the cutest. It’s like a fairy tale land and it’s just adorable. I haven’t gotten around to posting about it yet, but this guide from Bon Traveler was a great resource. My second favorite hidden gem was Biarritz, France, a beautiful beach town that borders northern Spain.
Now that we’re back in the US, I’m guessing 2019 won’t hold quite as much travel as 2018 did, but what a year it was! Living abroad was a dream come true. There’s nothing like the accessibility to easily travel to a different country each weekend. I’ll always hold very fond memories of the adventure that was this past year. I’m sad our expat experience came and went, but am so thankful it was such a great and interesting time for both of us.
I hope you also had an adventure and travel filled 2018, and here’s to new adventures in 2019!
