2016 was great, and 2017 will be better!
This year was the year we outdid ourselves, with plans to travel even more next year. Our goals for 2017 are to do more trips around Oregon and the US in addition to travelling internationally. We already have some plans in motion for next year including some real bucket list places as well as visiting places we travel quite a bit, and doing something new every time!
Travel plans for ’17 so far include:
Las Vegas
New Zealand (Auckland/Hamilton/Rotorua/Wellington/Christchurch/Queenstown/Milford Sound)
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
San Diego
Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur, Napa Valley Shasta, Crater Lake
New York City
10. San Diego, CA
There’s so much more to San Diego than SeaWorld or the party-central Gaslamp district! If you’re looking for a chill city with great food, culture and history, good beaches and activity on the West Coast San Diego is definitely recommended. Visiting with one of my best friends was a blast, some highlights were our brewery hop, Balboa Park and the Museum of Man, and checking out the Little Italy farmers market.
9. Vienna, Austria
I’ve been wanting to visit Vienna for years basically my whole life and one of my childhood hobbies was the piano, so I learned quite a bit of classical music. I still wasn’t prepared for Mozart being everywhere…on chocolate balls, walking around in costume, and on posters and souveniers throughout the city! While Vienna was slightly less walkable due to being so large, their Autobahn (metro) was amazing and got us around promptly.
8. Solvang, California
I was born close-by and lived about 2 hours south for a few years but never made the leap to visit this historical Danish town. Not only was I happy to have visited but am now hoping to come back eventually and stay the weekend for some serious wine tasting. I came with two of my college friends and we hit up a couple different wineries (there are plenty around the Santa Ynez Valley) and checked out the seriously awesome shops and bakeries. Next time I would love to bike around, check out the Hans Christian Andersen museum or Santa Inez Mission, and visit one of the animal farms!
(Picture courtesy of Solvang USA.com)
7. Amsterdam
Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world for food, culture, and history and our second time visiting the one regret was not having more time! This trip I visited the Van Gogh Museum and Vondelpark and we went back to one of our favorite restaurants Indrapura for some delicious food with a couple locals!
6. Maui, Hawai’i
While our friends and family were shivering away Thanksgiving on the mainland, we were enjoying 80 degree weather on the beach! Of course we still missed everyone but we did celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family and friends and prior to dinner spent some time in the sand at Wailea Beach. We made sure to check out all the breweries on the island- well, all two breweries Maui Brewing Company and Kohala Brewing. We also enjoyed snorkeling, hiking, shopping, day trips to Moloka’i and Lana’i and all the poke Hawai’i has to offer.
5. Reykjavik, Iceland
Neither my husband nor I expected Reykjavik to be such a fun party city! Reykjavik is peppered with statues of mythology and history that borders Faxa Bay with some of the bluest waters I’ve ever seen. It was more green than icey and chilly even in May but the city was lively having about 3 hours of darkness and midnight sun. Reykjavik was fun to visit and next time we’ll be checking out the countryside of Iceland with its natural geyers, volcanoes, and waterfalls. We made sure to spend our last day before our departing flight soaking in the famous Blue Lagoon.
4. Swiss Alps
A major bucket list item, we took the Bernina Express starting in Chur, Switzerland, and connecting in Tirano, Italy to pass Lake Como concluding in Milan. We chose first class, and the scenic train was the nicest train we’ve ever been on. There’s a guide to read about the different towns, an area to open the window and and the views were spectacular. We spent a night in the lovely town of Chur (pronounced Coor) where the air was crisp and the town was beautiful.
3. Verona, Italy
This gem of a town is walkable with tons of history and amazing architecture. We had to pick and choose sights to see since there were so many and we only had a day to spend here. Activities include many historical churches/duomos, tower to see views around Verona, a restored Medieval castle museum, and of course the famous Juliet’s balcony. That day pretty much convinced me that Verona is one of the best towns in Italy and everyone should go visit and stay longer.
2. Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver reminded me of a child of Seattle and London- just too amazing to pass up. Good and fresh food? Check. Amazing beer (and wine)? Check. Outdoor activities? Check. Simply having the nicest people I’ve ever come across and some of the tallest trees next to the Redwood forests make British Columbia worth a trip. Next time in Vancouver, I would like to head further North to the Sunshine Coast!
1. Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is now one of my favorite places in the world, and an inspiration to see more of Central and Eastern Europe. While Prague’s history can sometimes be forgotten being in between popular Berlin and Vienna its the most reminiscent of Medieval Europe with its castle still intact and charming old town streets and shops. With that being said, its a modern city and you can find everything here- good food, beer, clubs, shopping, museums, and friendly locals.
