2019 Recap

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Is it just me, or did 2019 fly by? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was reflecting on 2018 and coming up with goals for 2019.  As I reminisce on the many places I visited in 2019, I can’t help but feel a little melancholy. As of now, I have no trips officially planned for 2020. That will likely change within the next few months, but what won’t change is this deep desire in me to see the world. Luckily, I crossed off a few bucket list items in 2019. Keep reading for a recap of an amazing year of travel! P.S. I got this idea from travel and lifestyle blogger Helene in Between so check out her post here!

Year in Review

Countries visited: 3

Cities visited: 15

January

The year started off rather sad with the death of my grandma. She was my last surviving grandparent and her passing was a huge loss to our family. The bright side was that I got to visit her in Arizona one last time with everyone else in our family. That trip made me realize that family is truly everything and that together, we can get through even the hardest times.

February

I booked a spontaneous trip to my favorite city ever, Paris, for a long weekend. I arrived on Valentine’s Day and because my sister’s flight didn’t arrive until a few hours later, I was able to wander around the city by myself and take in the sights. The area around Notre Dame was especially crowded, but drinking a glass of wine and soaking it all in was something I will always remember. Well, that and getting swindled by a caricature artist. Other highlights from this this trip included drinking wine in front of the Eiffel, having cocktails mid-day in a bar located on a boat on the Seine river, a sunset boat cruise, and seeing the umbrella installation at Le Village Royal.

March

For my birthday (the big 4-0), my sister and I visited my aunties in Texas. My cousin also joined and we got spoiled with home cooked meals, BBQ dinners, and a visit to see where JFK was assassinated. My aunts’ home was amazing and we also got to tour the Toyota headquarters, where they work.

April/May

I crossed off one of my bucket list destinations by visiting Switzerland during the end of April and beginning of May. I wrote a more in depth post here about that trip, but I still can’t get over the beauty that I saw throughout the country. The best part was being able to experience traveling around the country with my family.

May/June

Just a few weeks after returning from Switzerland, my sister and I were off to our next trip in Portugal and France. Typically, I like to space out my travels a bit more throughout the year. However, we had planned this particular trip around the anniversary of D-Day and the Switzerland trip was planned because of very inexpensive flight tickets during that specific time. Not only did I get to visit a new country (you can read about Portugal here), but I also got to cross off a major bucket list item by touring the Normandy area. The icing on the cake was that it was during the 75th anniversary of D-Day. I’ll be writing about this trip in more detail in the future. Also worth noting was a visit to the Monet gardens in Giverny and another few days in Paris.

November 2019

As you can see, I took a much needed break from travel after consecutive months of being away from home in the beginning of the year. When my cousin moved to Oregon in October, I knew I wanted to visit her in her new home and see the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We visited the Portland Japanese Garden and admired the fall foliage throughout the city and surrounding areas.

Best of 2019

Best Trip

Out of all of the places I visited above, the Switzerland trip stood out to me as being my favorite. To see the beautiful landscapes passing by as we rode on the trains to various cities was so breathtaking. I’d never seen so much green before. The air was so crisp and cool and we only had rain one of the days we were there.

Funniest Moment

In the Paris February trip, I mentioned above the story of being swindled by a caricature artist. As I was sitting in front of the Notre Dame by myself, a man came up to me. He paid me many compliments of how I looked like I was a local and how beautiful I was. After he asked if he could draw me for free, I allowed him to do so. He then told me to move to another location, to which I complied. Thank goodness it was only a few feet away but I noticed his friend was also there which made me nervous. As I continued to sit for his portrait I got more and more nervous and was texting my parents and sister to fake call me so I could leave. He asked me if I had a boyfriend and I gave him a fake name of Mark because I didn’t know what his intentions were. Then he asked me for 20 euros for the drawing to which I negotiated down to 10. So, now I have a really cute caricature drawing of me saying that I love Mark.

Favorite Moment(s)

I have a couple of favorite moments this year. The first one happened in Normandy at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. It was two days before the actual D-Day anniversary and it was crowded with tourists and people paying respects. All of a sudden, Taps was played over the loud speaker. All I could hear was the music and the birds chirping. It’s a moment I will never forget. See below for the video.

Another favorite moment happened in Switzerland. While in Zermatt, I was feeling pretty bummed that we hadn’t seen the Matterhorn yet because of the clouds. On our last night there, I looked out the skylight of my room at around midnight. It had been cloudy all day and even snowed a bit, but I noticed that the sky appeared to be clear at that particular time. I went out on our balcony and saw pitch black where the mountain would be, but I just had a gut feeling that the Matterhorn would be visible. My stepfather, who is a professional photographer, helped me set up my camera settings to get the best shot. At last, we had finally seen the Matterhorn!

Best Hotel

I stayed in many hotels this year, but the one that stood out to me was the Corpo Santo Lisbon hotel. The service was exceptional, the breakfast was tasty, and we got free unlimited water bottles and happy hour every day as well as free ice cream. In addition, the rooms were sizable for European standards and the air conditioning unit blasted the coldest air. This was necessary since it was scorching hot in Lisbon!

Best Meal

While my sister and I were in Paris in June, I took her to a restaurant I visited in 2010. Cafe Constant was recommended in one of Rick Steves’ books and I had one of the best meals of the year there. French onion soup, beef and potatoes, and profiteroles sound so simple but the heartiness of the meal hit the spot.

Goals for 2020

As I previously mentioned, I have no set plans to travel in 2020, but I tentatively have Prague and Budapest on my wish list for fall. I also want to go to more Christmas markets in Europe, such as Cologne and Nuremberg. I really enjoyed Germany when I visited last year and would love to see more of the country. So far, that itinerary looks like Nuremberg to Cologne to Bruges to Paris. Just thinking of these trips has me excited!

Another goal of mine is to promote my Etsy store more. Yes, I recently opened an Etsy store that features travel art prints and printable travel planners. I hope to eventually add my photographs to the shop as well. You can visit my Etsy shop by going here or through the ‘Shop’ tab at the top of this page.

I intend to focus on myself more. Improving my mental and physical health, enhancing photography skills, and learning new applications are what I want to accomplish. Here’s to 2020 and making it the best year yet!