2014 is coming to an end and each year I’ve vowed to write a review of my year in travel. Everything I’ve seen, done, experienced and learned. Also I wanted to leave off where this website is heading for 2015. Looking for last years post, I wanted to take this a little more personal, so bare with me.
January
Last year at this time, I was preparing for a trip to very cold Québec, where I would spend New Years in Montréal and Québec City. My boyfriend also came along and we would meet up a friend I had met while living in France who now lived in Montréal. I thought it was the perfect chance to get to see Québec!
13 hours driving hours later from Chicago, my boyfriend and I arrived in very cold Québec. Temperatures for the entire trip hovered between -15 to -35 F. If anything this trip will be remembered for just the fight not to be frozen and how painful these kind of temperature actually are.
Let’s get one thing straight though, Québec is beautiful in the winter and it should be your moral obligation to go even if it’s cold. This is what I was talking about earlier this year on seasonal travel. It is possible to enjoy cold, even extreme cold, and people shouldn’t shy away from a challenge. It was tough but looking back, it was also an experience that was exciting and spontaneous. Plus I have many great photos, check out my 2 postings on Montréal and Québec.
February
In January I decided to book a last-minute trip for my boyfriend to sunny Puerto Vallarta, México. It was very much a last-minute deal that I just booked at the spur of the moment. It’s rare I do something like that but I thought it would be fun.
And it was! By far, my favorite Mexican city is now Puerto Vallarta. Fun fact, Puerto Vallarta is by far the most Mexican city out of all of México. You want to know why? All of the things we consider Mexican, like tequila and sombreros come from Jalisco, the state which Puerto Vallarta is in!
Make sure to do the food tour, zip lining, and tour the city. For the gays out there, this city is very gay friendly with its own part of the beach for gays. It’s one of the few Mexican cities that is friendly towards gays. Check out my post on Puerto Vallarta.
April
In April I headed south to Dallas and New Orleans only I didn’t know I was going to New Orleans. My parents at the last-minute booked a flight from Dallas to New Orleans for one day to celebrate my birthday and my twins. They also surprised my boyfriend to fly down from Chicago, where my whole family celebrated.
Perfect day! We couldn’t have asked for a better day and we got to see much of old New Orleans, including Le Café Monde, a real voodoo shop, alcohol of course and real Louisiana sea food. To top it off we had dinner at a renowned restaurant called Commanders Palace. It was truly a special birthday and one of the best I’ve had! You can check the full in-depth post here!
May
In May, my boyfriend and I decided to head to Las Vegas to visit his sister and a chance to see a bit of Las Vegas. I’ve been to Las Vegas 2 times prior and liked it but I don’t think it’s necessary to go every year!
For me the highlight of going to Las Vegas are the shows. Last time I went to Las Vegas I saw Céline Dion and the Lion King and they were both expensive but both amazing. This year we saw Le Rêve, a show playing at the Wynn Hotel that is probably one of the best in the strip. The stadium is shaped in a circle and the show is mixed with water and acrobats!
June & July
In the summer my boyfriend decided to take a trip to Europe visiting Belgium, Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, and Germany!
Okay let’s just say this, Europe is expensive and I think we were a little optimistic. We ended up spending way more money then intended and felt a little bad about it. But there is so much to do in all the countries during summer. Feel free to click on the links below for more info but I’m going to give a bit about what we did in each place.
Bruges, Belgium – A charming and unique city that is one of the best preserved in Europe. Beer, chocolate, and waffles, what more could you ask for?!
Amsterdam, Netherlands – One of the most liberal and friendly cities I’ve ever visited. Oh and bicycles every where plus regulated prostitution and drugs. Honestly this city has way more to offer than that though!
Paris, France – This is my 4th or 5th time to Paris and I can’t ever get enough of this city. It’s a European city that everybody must visit once in their life. The sad part is that there is so much to discover that it’s impossible to do it all, even 10 times around. There are 2 posts on my time in Paris. Arts, Cafes, and Shopping or Arrondissements, Joie de Vivre, and Versailles.
Luxembourg, Luxembourg – The surprising little city in a little country between Germany and France. This rich nation isn’t cheap but surprisingly very untouristy. There isn’t much to do but who cares when it’s so beautiful!
Germany – We crossed into Germany only for a short bit to catch our flight from Düsseldorf back to Chicago. Not much to say about it although the country is quite beautiful!
October
Come October and we are back in the air, this time to New England. I’ve always wanted to see more of the east coast and I really needed an excuse to go and do it. One of my old goals was to travel to all 5o states plus DC so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to see all the New England states.
And you know what’s crazy about this trip! It was exactly like I expected it would be a more. New England was exactly what I had thought it would be in my head. The wooden houses in tiny villages with rolling fog. Not sure we could ask for a better scenery and weather. I visited Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine in that order.
For me Vermont has to be the prettiest state out of all of them but Maine and New Hampshire don’t fall too far behind. You can read more about my time there through a series a blogs I published in October.
November
In late November I decided to rent a car and head up to Wisconsin for a day with my boyfriend. First we head west and then up north to the city of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. The capital building is totally worth visiting as well as the farmers market they have on the weekends.
From there we headed north to Devils Lake State Park. Real Wisconsin scenery that was totally worth it, even in the winter time. Actually it may be worth it more to visit in the winter since nobody was there. We got to see rare Swans from the north taking a rest on the lake. This was some of the most still scenery I’ve witnessed in a while. You can read a more in-depth post here.
December
I am actually traveling to San Juan tomorrow and I will have a post about my cruise and the countries I visit once I get back. I’m hitting up Puerto Rico, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and USVI. That is 2 more countries added to my overall list and it will bring me up to 41 total countries visited!
*Edited with pictures
Start here to read about my time in the Caribbean
Typing this back, it’s clear to me now how lucky I am and how much I have actually traveled. It feels like I haven’t but the truth is that I’ve done and seen a lot and I think it’s because of the promise I held to myself back in 2013; that I would travel more. I plan to hold the same promise for 2015.
I also wanted to say that I’ve pushed myself into exhaustion at some points this year. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself and for better or worse these are the results of it all. I think something has to change next year. I need to have that passion again and I need to not put so much stress on myself about this whole thing.
Be ready for website changes to. I will probalby end up removing pages and adding new ones with hopefully better ideas. My idea for this website is to push myself into something where I can improve the lives of the everyday travelers. To help and to inspire.
I want to say to all of you readers who continue to follow, comment and support; thank you a lot. It really does mean a lot. To everybody struggling to buy a plane ticket; do it. Contact me or go to my start planning page to get started. After all I have been through this year and looking back at the many happy moments because of travel, I can tell you that it’s a thousand times worth it. Travel is worth any sacrifice and it will change you in unimaginable ways. Here is to a great 2014 year and on to a new chapter in my life.
images by: shawnvoyage
