Hello 2025! Another fresh, new year. But seriously, where did 2024 go? It feels like just yesterday I was ringing in the New Year in Hallstatt, Austria.
Every year (since 2013!) I’ve been writing Year in Review recaps that take a look at my life over the last 12 months. These are some of my favorite posts to write, as I really get to look back at the last year and relive some of my best memories. Check out my past year in reviews here if you’re interested!
And this year was an extraordinary one for sure – it somehow ended up being my most traveled year yet! By July, I had already been to 5 continents (wild considering I have a full-time job), and the traveling didn’t stop there! I aimed to skip visiting Mexico for a full year with hopes it’d motivate me to see other spots, and I think that definitely helped (although I dearly love the country and already have a trip booked there in early 2025, haha).
In 2024 I went skiing for the first time (so fun!), crossed off a new wonder of the world (Machu Picchu!), marveled at the Sydney Opera House and teared up at koalas in the wild in AUSTRALIA (!!!), ate tons of hot honey hotteok, kimbap, and black sesame ice cream in Asia, and spent over a month in Europe.
2024 was also the year I became the world’s newest Swiftie (and even tried to score a last minute ticket to her show in Dublin, but of course it was the hardest European destination to get because of the restrictive laws in Ireland!).
There were also some wonderful moments closer to home too. And one of the best ones? My sister had a beautiful baby girl (meaning I’m an auntie again!) and I swear she’s the cutest little thing. I got to meet her in October and I’m in love!
I also went to my first-ever travel blogging conference and had my first-ever $20k+ month from my blog (a huge milestone for me!).
It was also a big year for astronomy, with a full solar eclipse, Comet A3, AND the northern lights shining bright on SO much of America (twice – which I missed both times, just my luck).
A big realization I had this year is that I’m either away adventuring hard, or hanging at home doing a puzzle, reading, or scrapbooking – there’s no in between for me. I’m starting to enjoy being more of a homebody in California (and starting to find my community here), and that just tells me one thing – my body craves rest when I’m not traveling. Something I’m aiming to prioritize more in the new year (although I keep saying that and it never happens, haha).
2024 by the Numbers
- Countries Traveled To: 12 – Belgium, England (x2), USA, Australia, South Korea, Italy, San Marino, Ireland, Peru, Japan, France, Switzerland
- States Traveled To: 5 – California, Wyoming, Utah, New York (x2), Hawaii (x2)
- # of flights: 35
- Miles flown: 95k
- Books read: 72
- Candy Crush Level: 3954
- Duolingo Streak: 933
- Days traveling: 144 (39% of the year, which is pretty wild considering I work full time!)
- Solo travel days: 17 (in mostly Italy, San Marino, and Ireland)
Something I do wanna mention is that this post is coming out a few weeks later than my year-end recaps usually do. To be completely honest, blogging has sort of lost its excitement and sparkle. It just doesn’t feel as fun as it used to. Plus, I’m super overwhelmed with all the trips and destinations I have yet to write about. A good problem to have (I guess), but when the backlog is well over 50 posts long and 15 destinations deep, well, it feels like you’ll never catch up. We’ll see how much I write in 2025, but I’m not pressuring myself.
Enough about that, let’s get to it! Here’s my 2024 year in review!
January
Bruges, Belgium
We started off the year exploring a new country together – Belgium! I have to admit I knew literally nothing about Bruges (or Belgium in general) before booking our train tickets, but boy am I glad we made the effort to get over here.
The main reason we went? To soak up all the Christmas spirit in Bruges (and lucky us, they continue celebrating well into the new year!). I swear, the literal moment we arrived, I fell in love with the city, yes, even despite the initial heavy rain!
We spent a few days indulging in *all* the chocolate, *all* the waffles, some extremely decadent hot chocolate (mine tasted exactly like speculoos and it was glorious), and of course ate way too many fries (when in Belgium, am I right?).
So much of our time in Bruges was spent just wandering the cute storybook town, strolling along the canals (kinda a mix of Amsterdam and Venice!), checking out the quirky frietmuseum (and learned even more about potatoes!), popping into chocolate shops every 2 minutes, taking photos in front of the old guild houses in Market Square, and taste testing everything at the market.
There’s just something so magical and charming about Bruges, especially during Christmas. It seemed like every single shop, pharmacy, and building put up decorations – everyone was super into the Christmas spirit, creating so much positive and happy energy.
Despite our original flight to London getting canceled and sitting behind a lady who literally coughed the entire 10-hour flight home (and refused to wear a mask… cue the eye rolls), we had *such* a good trip. Europe in the winter is it – especially around the holidays.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know I plan birthday trips for myself every year. It’s a goal I’ve been keeping up with for quite a few years (I’ve spent past birthdays in Mexico City, Todos Santos, San Luis Obispo, Oahu, etc).
Since I’m currently on my way to visiting all 50 states, I decided a snowy long weekend in Jackson, Wyoming would be it for my 37th!
And what a great idea that was! The trip started off great with free mimosas at the airport and then six moose sightings within 5 minutes of leaving the airport! Despite the Tetons hiding for most of our trip, the landscapes were still incredible.
Over the long weekend we met the cutest misfit doggies while dog sledding, took the tram up 10k feet to get waffles and hot cocoa at Corbet’s Cabin, watched the skiers sitting by the fire with some hot apple cider, spent an epic morning snowmobiling to hot springs (by far one of the coolest things we’ve done!), tried so many great restaurants, and searched for wildlife in Grand Teton National Park (watched a bunch of moose graze in the snow, bighorn sheep on the mountain tops, the cutest fluffy red fox, mule deer, and more).
We also explored the tiny town filled with an eclectic mix of cowboy shops and ski shops, and even got to see the very beginning of an actual dog sled race that only happens once a year!
To say we loved our hotel is a massive understatement (it was definitely a splurge for my birthday)! Hot cocoa bar and cookies every afternoon, great service, and the perfect location right in the middle of town.
I also got to see a childhood friend I hadn’t spent time with in forever which was extra special (hi Li!)! We loved reminiscing – hope we can plan another reunion soon!
And I finally got to fly over the Golden Gate Bridge (with no fog!) – weird that it took this long, haha.
And when I wasn’t traveling? I was listening to audiobooks, doing 1,000 piece puzzles, relaxing on the couch with Kona, and planning lots of future travels. Honestly, it felt really good to kinda hibernate, especially with all the rain we had.
February
The beginning of the month was dedicated to rest, and boy it felt amazing to sleep in, stay in PJs all day, and just RELAX – I think I’m finally understanding all the hype about hygge, haha.
Australia
But I couldn’t sit still for too long, because in the middle of the month I was off to Australia for almost 2 weeks (an absolute dream of mine for far too long). I was originally gonna travel solo, but ended up having Kristen join me (same gal I went to Guatemala with last February!)
And about an hour before boarding, my sister told me she’s PREGNANT! Such a shock and happy surprise! I’m gonna be such a cool aunt!
I got so lucky with an empty seat next to me for the (very long) 15 hour flight, and slept for 11 hours – practically unheard of for me. And zero jet lag; what a dream! Was somehow so much easier than going to Europe.
Sydney
First stop of the trip – spectacular Sydney! We hit the ground running at 6am right after landing – super impressed we made it to 9pm! We spent a full day wandering around the CBD finding all the best views of the Sydney Opera House, walked across the Harbor Bridge, wandered Circular Quay, had cocktails at one of the top 50 bars in the world (Maybe Sammy – so fun!), watched fireworks at Darling Harbour, perused all the little stalls at the Rocks Market, hung around the Royal Botanic Gardens, sipped drinks at the iconic Opera Bar, and watched the most beautiful sunset at Ms Macquaries Chair.
And oh, all the rumors are true – Aussies are oh so friendly!
Taking a day trip to the Australian Reptile Park to feed kangaroos and cuddle some koalas was a major highlight – such a dream (where we met the cutest baby Koala named Pete). Plus a true Aussie BBQ (including shrimp on the barbie) and a (very unsuccessful) attempt at boomerang throwing.
Another morning we ferried over to Manly for beach boutiques, more acai, street art, and lots of sandy beach time. Safe to say I fell hard for this little town!
And then we spent a few nights over by Bondi Beach (loved it is an understatement), admired the Bondi Icebergs about a dozen times (it was a 10 min walk from our hotel), spent so much time just laying on the beach watching the surfers, browsed all the cool surf boutiques, ate so many açaí bowls and avocado toasts (I swear they taste better in Australia), and watched an epic sunset chatting with some locals.
Of course we did the stunning (yet disgustingly sticky) Bondi to Coogee walk in about 90 degree weather, and now understand why ppl rave about Sydney’s beaches so much!
Unfortunately we had to cancel our day trip to the Blue Mountains because of a freak thunder and lightning storm – it was downpouring for hours, but I thankfully still made it on my tour of the Opera House! And then of course we feasted on dumplings and buns while watching love is blind in bed (which became our thing in Australia).
Melbourne
Next up was Melbourne, such an eclectic and colorful city, with such good food and even better coffee. And so much greenery!
I took way too many photos at the Brighton Beach bathing boxes, went searching for seashells, did a hot and sticky walk over to St. Kilda (but the views were OMG), and saw the iconic Luna Park entrance.
And of course thoroughly explored the CBD – we photographed a whole slew of Melbourne’s famous laneways (covered in funky street art), tried a bunch of gelato spots, wandered through some actually cool (and free!) modern museums, tried Melbourne’s famous croissant at Lune, admired the leafy gardens, walked along the Yarra River a bit, headed up the dome at The State Library of Victoria, and browsed the airy Queen Victoria Market. Spending an afternoon in Fitzroy popping into thrift stores, boutiques, and people watching was another highlight, too!
One of my favorites? Road tripping the Great Ocean Road, stopping at all the famous viewpoints (those 12 apostles reminded me so much of the Algarve in Portugal!), having some delicious fish n chips, and hiking down to a waterfall in the rainforest. Such a fun time with fun people – our guide was seriously the cutest and we saw kangaroos hanging out on a golf course (which is apparently so normal here!)
We spotted koalas in the wild (!!!) on a day trip to French Island, then spent the rest of the night watching the most adorable tiny penguins waddle their way out of the ocean on Phillip Island during the nightly Penguin Parade (plus saw dozens of wallabies – plus a baby wallaby in a pouch too!) So much wildlife I could not believe it.
Our day on the Mornington Peninsula was filled with epic views, colorful bathing boxes, and a relaxing boat ride around Sorrento. Think I’ll be back to Australia sooner than later, and still can’t believe I made it down under in 2024!
March
Another low-key start to the month. Guess you can say I’m really loving spending time at home with Kona, lol. I was in a slow season of life (hanging at home on the weekends in my PJs) and that’s ok!
The rain finally ended, and we got some lovely early spring weather – plus the cherry blossoms in our neighborhood started to bloom and we had tons of hummingbirds on our balcony (which I always love)!
I fell hard for Australia in February, and spent loads of time writing blog posts on Melbourne and Sydney, and finally started (and finished) a Bill Bryson novel I bought 10+ years ago!
Unfortunately my Facebook account got disabled, so I spent loads of time trying to sort that out. Eventually I just gave up and was sans Facebook for a long while. Still never recovered that account… and all those photos unfortunately.
Busan, South Korea
We ended the month with a spring break/cherry blossom trip to Korea! The first few days were spent in the seaside city of Busan.
We had our first Korean street foods at BIFF square (where we discovered our love for kimbap and hotteok), rode the colorful IG famous sky capsules, watched a drone show at Gwangalli beach, checked out the colorful Gamcheon Village, wandered around Huinnyeoul Culture Village, had breakfast/snacks at cafes overlooking the sea, saw the skyline lit up at night, got some nature at Taejongdae Resort Park, wandered around the lively Haeundae Beach, and rode the cute locals tram up the mosaic steps.
Other highlights were catching the most beautiful sunset with the most perfect view of the sky capsules, checking out Yonggungsa Temple, the beautiful temple by the sea (and the only one in all of Korea!), and our authentic seafood BBQ of clams and jumbo prawns.
We also INCREDIBLY loved how everyone is obsessed with their dog – tons of cute outfits on each and every one (jackets and dresses and little shoes). All so, so cute!
Plus the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae! It was busy, busy, busy (of course!), but well worth the struggle to get photos, haha. We totally lucked out with the most gorgeous sunny day and couldn’t believe how many cherry trees there were! And naturally, ate as many festive foods as we could – so many strawberry things, and my first (of many!) strawberry milks!
April
Seoul, South Korea
After a few days in Busan and Jinhae, we spent almost a week in Seoul, and wow, what a vibrant, busy city it is! Truly a city that never sleeps. Was definitely a nice change of pace from the slower life in Busan.
We really lucked out with both the weather and cherry blossoms! No rain at all and peak bloom our entire trip, which I’m SUPER grateful for after so many missed out on the late blossoms in Japan.
We explored different neighborhoods every day; there’s so much to see and do here it’s insane! Our days were spent exploring the traditional area of Ikseondong with tons of old school architecture, running up and down the escalators at the Coex Mall a few too many times (haha), dancing to Gangnam style in Gangnam, and making perfume and getting (our first-ever) facials in Hongdae.
And OF COURSE we ate all the street food in Myeongdong (egg bread! roasted marshmallows! tteokbokki), customized so much Nike clothing and sneakers!, perfected the Korean Photo Booth, ate at tons of popular cafes (Mil toast! Cheongsudong! Salt bread! Nudake!), got silly caricatures drawn up, sipped tea in a traditional tea house, sent letters to our future selves, had ramen and fried chicken by the Han River under the cherry blossoms, and ate our fair share of KBBQ. Plus midnight fried chicken (in bed!) two nights in a row – totally our style!
One of my favorite experiences?! Renting traditional hanbok for a day and feeling like a Korean princess! We admired the beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace, watched the changing of the guards, and wandered Bukchon Hanok Village – so many photos!
One night we had fried chicken and cheered on the Twins at a baseball game (Koreans love the sport), and another we took a market food tour of Gwangjang Market – where we tried famous hand cut noodles and met the famous Netflix chef, plus learned a few Korean drinking games (and had our first sochecks)!
Plus, the best welcome home surprise! We walked off the plane and through customs, and our good friend Mel was waiting for us to say hi!!! 💕
Utah for WITS!
Oh WITS Utah, you were truly something special. I had been toying with the idea of attending WITS for a few years (and even bought tickets the year before but ended up selling them!), so finally attending was super memorable!
The weekend was spent meeting the most inspiring, authentic, courageous, welcoming, and motivated women. And I’m grateful to call a bunch of them good friends already 💕 and even have inside jokes with a bunch (#bus4). It was so easy to create real connections – No competition, just uplifting encouragement and deep conversations. The whole weekend felt so wholesome and nourishing – something I’m looking for more of in 2025.
Some key messages I don’t wanna forget from the creator sessions:
- I am an expert, AND I don’t know a lot.
- NOT an influencer, a BUSINESS OWNER
- My biggest competitor & hindrance to my success is Myself and my fear
- Think of yourself as an investor in the travel ecosystem
- “Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
And of course there was lots of fun, too! The tourism board treated us to a Welcome Party/night at the museum with dirty sodas, spinning photo booths, and dinosaur exhibits all to ourselves. We had a full day out in Park City – where I skied for my first time ever (and actually loved going down the bunny slopes, minus the gear and boot situation, haha), wandered around downtown Park City, and indulged in a Swiss-style dinner party with fondue and fireplaces by the snow. I’ll never forget the wildly unexpected night out line dancing with Marissa and Caroline!
The perfect ending to the perfect weekend with so many new friends? Creating content at the stunning Bonneville Salt Flats at sunset!
It wasn’t the business sessions, the parties, the outdoor activities, the fireside dining, etc. The strong connections and late night laughs are what really made the weekend so ridiculously special. My heart left so, so full. A true highlight of the entire year (easily). 💕 Until WITS 2025 in NYC!
I also got my passport renewed in April and it somehow only took a few days to get (guess that’s why they call it expedited!).
May
May was a low-key month at home besides a few fun weekend trips. I also desperately went looking for the northern lights in my backyard during the crazy geomagnetic storm where the lights were visible in so much of the US! I think I saw the absolute faintest ones – just a pink and purple hue in the sky?! Still not checked off my bucket list though. I also had my first $20k+ month from my blog! So proud of myself!
Universal Studios!
We spent SUCH a fun weekend in SoCal at Universal Studios Hollywood! It was our first time visiting, and actually our first major amusement park together (which is honestly kinda wild).
Early access to Super Nintendo World was way worth it – we rode Mario Kart (easily the most sought after ride in the park) twice in less than a half hour! We of course went on every single ride in the park (including the Studio Tour), many multiple times! Our faves were The Mummy, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Transformers, and the Minions. Thankfully we got so lucky with wait times and don’t think we spent more than 25 minutes waiting for a ride!
Having two days in the park meant we could eat all the treats as well (including multiple frozen butter beers, a giant pink donut from the Simpsons, minion banana pudding, ? Block tiramisu from Toadstool Cafe, and lots more).
The attention to detail in all the themed spaces were super impressive – including the replica dinosaurs (whoa that triceratops and the baby raptor, plus Blue!), all the moving video game components at Super Mario World, Harry Potter World, and Simpsons. WE LOVED IT ALL!
And of course we ended the trip with our favorite ice cream from Handels on the drive back home! All in all, SUCH a fun weekend and don’t think we’ll wait 20+ years until our next major amusement park together!
Santa Barbara
Later in the month, we popped down to Santa Barbara for a quick weekend at the beach. Although Mother Nature had other plans and there was NO sun and way chillier than we anticipated, so we didn’t relax at the beach like we hoped (which was the complete opposite of our last time here when it was stiflingly hot and unbearably sticky). Definitely wasn’t the SB weekend we had in mind, but ya win some and ya lose some!
Instead we ate at our favorite restaurants (Secret Bao!) and tried some new ones (Bettina! La Super Rica Taquería!), and took long walks in downtown SB and some new-to-us parks overlooking the beach. But the best part was seeing some friends of ours we hadn’t seen since our last visit to SB (hey Lena and Bassam!) at the botanical gardens! Plus their two adorable little kiddos!
Our few days there finally prompted me to write a weekend guide to Santa Barbara – a few years in the making (go peep the post – photos from past trips are gorgeous)! Too bad we had shitty weather this time!
June
New York
As soon as work finished up for the school year, I was off to New York to visit my sister! AND have her BABY SHOWER, which was absolutely perfect. Including tons of cute details like flavored champagne for giveaways, itty bitty baby clothes as decorations, and tons of fun baby games. It definitely was so wild seeing my sister pregnant!
The rest of the time was spent purely relaxing, hanging out with family (plus time in Port Jeff), lots of sister chats, and going through tons of baby stuff!
Puglia, Italy
A few days after getting home from NY (okay fine, only 2 days – told you summer is always jam packed!), I was off on a FANTASTIC 10 day Puglia road trip down in Southern Italy with Noah.
We saw plenty (and plenty) of charming Italian towns, historic UNESCO World Heritage sites, and beautiful beaches along the stunning coastline. We gazed at endless olive groves (and of course tried so much olive oil!), wandered hilltop towns, ate gelato every single day, plus TONS of orecchiette pasta, fresh mozzarella cheeses, torrali, and focaccia (easily the best one in Polignano a Mare).
Every day was spent exploring all the towns by the sea – Polignano a Mare, Otranto (our absolute favorite), Monopoli, and Gallipoli, plus the hilltop towns of Locorotondo, Cisternino, and Alberobello. Heck, we hardly woke up before 8am, and if it weren’t for all the crazy drivers, it would’ve felt like a real vacation, haha.
Some of my favorite experiences were sleeping in an authentic trulli, having a farm to table romantic dinner on a masseria, and the cheese tasting/demonstration on a local farm (where we not only feasted on way too much cheese, but learned and saw exactly how burrata is made).
Before leaving the area, we also spent a few nights in magical Matera – we slept in the most epic cave hotel (with an epic cave spa included), watched sunset over the sassi every night, pet so many cute kitties, and thoroughly explored the sassi (old town) and all the ancient rock churches. When we weren’t dripping with sweat and navigating the sassi maze, we were loving it, haha.
There were far too many tourists for our liking (especially after coming from southern Puglia), but glad we got to experience the town before it gets even more popular! We also stopped at the famous bridge in the latest James Bond movie (in Gravina in Puglia), indulged in bread made in 750+ year old ovens (in Altamura), and watched the nonnas make the pasta in Bari!
We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds in early June – the complete opposite of other areas of Italy we’ve been to, like Venice, Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence, and of course the Amalfi Coast. The whole area seems kinda undiscovered, and we mostly encountered Italian tourists (with a handful of Americans thrown in).
It was hard not to fall hard for Puglia, especially since we stuffed our faces with way too much pasta, had gelato every single day (whoops), took plenty of dips in the sparkling sea, saw half a dozen Italian towns, neither of us got drastically sunburned, and we only got one parking ticket! Come soon – I’d say most of our trip was 85% Italian tourists or so, BUT I see that changing sooner than later. Such a special place 🇮🇹💕
Florence, Italy
Before booking my trip to Italy with Noah, I knew I wanted to stay a bit longer to explore more of the country. And I hadn’t even realized I’d been to Florence before (about 8 years ago for only a day on a group tour). Despite the 90F muggy days, I truly loved this city!
I saw so much impressive art, like Michaelangelos’ David at the Accademia Gallery and The Birth of Venus and Medusa at the Uffizi (I’m not normally an art person but I just had to see these oh-so-famous pieces in person). I climbed up not one, not two, but three towers – the cupola dome (by far the hardest), the clock tower, and Al Forno Tower for direct views of the duomo). And I watched a gorgeous sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo with thousands of my newest friends (the crowds were beyond insane).
I also took a day trip to the Italian countryside, and loved the small towns in Tuscany (Siena, Colle di Val d’Elsa, and San Gimignano – where I of course had to try what was claimed to be the best gelato in the world). My pasta making and tiramisu cooking class in Florence was a highlight as well, where I finally learned how to make authentic ravioli and tiramisu custard!
After spending almost a week here I really felt like I got to know the city pretty well!
San Marino
Of course when I learned I could add a new country to my list just a few hours away from Florence, you know I was there! And just like that, San Marino, the oldest surviving republic in the world, established in 301 AD, was my 48th country!
It’s also been a World Heritage Site since 2008, as well as the oldest Republic and fifth smallest country in the world. San Marino is a mountainous microstate completely surrounded by Italy. It’s intense, magical, unique, and authentic, and kinda feels like a way less crowded and way less colorful Sintra, Portugal.
I spent a very long day trip from Florence to San Marino, taking 2 trains and a bus, which thankfully was way easier than I anticipated. And while there, I climbed up and hiked between the 3 towers, took in plenty and plenty of fantastic mountain views, and had a delicious pizza overlooking the city. So much historic architecture – I absolutely loved the tiny country, especially because it was hardly crowded!
Naples, Italy
After finally getting to Napoli Centrale (my original train from Florence was canceled and I had to stand for three hours on a different one), I got a whole margherita pizza (obvs), explored the city a bit (way more energetic, buzzy, and eclectic than I imagined!), and then went on a food tour in the city center (with more pizza, limoncello, and sfogliatella). What an unapologetically chaotic city!
The rest of my time in Italy was spent on day trips in the area!
On Procida, I had the best time discovering this little gem of an island; it hardly felt touristy at all, especially since I visited on a weekday. I loved the super colorful pastel ports, swimming in the sparkling sea for what felt like hours, indulging in spaghetti al limone (my new fave), and taking a boat around the entire island. Plus the locals were oh so sweet and I was even invited into a traditional fisherman’s home. Easily one of my best days in Italy!
On the other hand, Capri is way overrated in my opinion, and felt ridiculously touristy and crazy overpriced (girls I met paid €8 each for a regular hot tea!). It was also super shitty weather (pouring rain practically the entire day) and was probably the worst tour itinerary I’ve ever booked (took 4 hours to get there when it takes only 50 min via ferry from Naples… someone explain that to me…). I’d consider going back in the future but will definitely be making my own way there (instead of an absurdly overpriced tour).
And finally, the Amalfi Coast! I lucked out with a gorgeous, sunny day (after the horrific rainstorm the day before), visiting the towns of Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi, plus seeing the coast from the water via boat. Of course I had lemon sorbet in a massive lemon. And yes it was busy (that’s to be expected), but I think I’d go back and spend a few nights!
I also hit a 2 year streak on Duolingo in June! Kinda crazy that I’ve kept up with it for so long!
July
Galway, Ireland
After a few (absolutely amazing) weeks in Italy, I was off to another new country (my 49th!) – Ireland!
But to be honest, I didn’t have the greatest first impression; it was beyond pouring when I arrived (typical Irish weather I guess…) and I didn’t like the area I was staying in (there’s honestly not much to do in Salthill). It was a shock to the system for sure after spending 3 weeks in Italy (with near-perfect weather).
But fish n chips were had, I saw some of the stunning countryside (so, so lush and a thousand shades of green), and I listened (and sang and danced) to HOURS of live music in fun Irish pubs every night so all in all a pretty fantastic time during my first few nights in Ireland. I also saw the Cliffs of Moher from above (hiking) and below (on a cruise!), and the Aran island of Inishmore.
Before visiting I didn’t know much about Ireland and Irish culture in general so I definitely learned a lot!
Dublin, Ireland
I don’t drink much, so I found Dublin to be kinda meh to be honest. I just didn’t vibe with it — at all. I spent most of my time wandering around the Temple Bar neighborhood and photographing all the decorated pubs, although not actually drinking anything, hahaha. Plus, I severely overpaid for my hotel which always kinda sucks (mostly because Taylor Swift was in town — and no, I couldn’t get a ticket unfortunately).
I also went on a day trip to the cute little town of Kilkenny (where I had delicious bangers and mash), went on a short hike in the Wicklow Mountains and saw sheep, watched Rob (the dog!) herd some other sheep, and even got to hold a 6 day old baby lamb! The sweetest little thing!
Ireland in general just wasn’t my thing. I learned I can’t love every single place I go, and that’s totally ok. I found the nature in Ireland to be pretty (and very green), but kinda underwhelming. I’m glad I came (to see what all the fuss is about) but won’t be running back.
Peru!
Lima, Huacachina, Paracas, Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Chivay, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu
Now Peru? That’s a whole different story – I fell completely head over heels in love with the entire country! I loved the culture, the colors, and the cuisine (minus the guinea pig).
You know me by now, and cannot sit still so I try to really take advantage of my summer off from work, so off I was again (less than 2 weeks later) to Peru, my 50th country!!! And what a trip it was! I spent a crazy busy and adventurous 3+ weeks in Peru, and so glad I picked the longer G tour (to help relieve my anxiety about the altitude, which I had no problems with thankfully).
It was my first time doing a tour in practically 10 years, and I got lucky with the best people and the best tour guide. They soon all felt like friends I’ve known for years, and eventually we felt like a little family. Such a heartwarming, fulfilling, and intimate experience. Tons of laughter, inside jokes, and just a general sense of belonging. I’ll cherish these memories with all mis nuevas amigas forever! Llama lovers (and Freddy!), if you’re reading this, just know you’re all the very, very best human beings and our few weeks in Peru together made my heart oh so happy.
I spent a bit of time in Lima, admiring tons of pottery at Museo Larco, wandering Miraflores and saying hola to all the kitties in the park, taking in the impressive architecture in the historic district, and strolling through artsy Barranco (with cute coffee shops and art galleries).
My few weeks were spent viewing the famous Nazca lines from above in a tiny Cessna plane, sandboarding and riding on a crazy dune buggy in the Huacachina oasis, watching sunset in Paracas, admiring volcanoes in the cute town of Arequipa, hugging tons of llamas and alpacas in Chivay, and gawking at the huge condors at Colca Canyon.
Spending a night with a local family on Lake Titicaca was by far one of the most memorable experiences in Peru overall. We met the sweetest little girl, Valentina, helped the family with their chores – like herding their sheep (!!!) and separating lima beans, ate home-cooked meals with the family (so many potatoes!), and saw the brightest Milky Way of my life.
Of course Cusco was a major highlight as well, spending a few days exploring the city, finding the best sunset viewpoints, ATVing to Rainbow Mountain, doing tons of window shopping, and relaxing in the main square. Plus day trips to Sacred Valley (where we met some incredible women weavers) and Ollantaytambo (one of my favorite little Andean towns with spectacular views from the ruins).
We learned so much about Inca history and tried tons of Peruvian dishes, like ceviche, Lomo Saltado, chicha morada, causa rellena, pisco sours, chaufa, picarones, inca kola, and aji de gallina (but no guinea pig, alpaca, or llama for me!),
And the major cross off my bucket list? Machu Picchu! I got lucky with near perfect weather and a great group to explore with (although that dip in the hot springs the night before was pretty questionable, haha). Machu Picchu was nothing short of magical — what a mesmerizing blend of nature’s raw beauty and ancient human civilization! Wow, just wow! A major highlight of 2024 for sure.
August
Peruvian Amazon
My last few days in Peru were spent in the Amazon Rainforest, and what an adventure that was (despite being perpetually hot and sticky and humid for the entire 72 hours, with very minimal electricity, haha)!
We spent our days exploring the jungle, looking for monkeys, caimans, macaws, spiders, colorful birds, capybaras, butterflies, tarantulas, leaf-cutting ants, and more. I learned so much about the flora and fauna of the rainforest, and thankfully didn’t see anything too dangerous!
And we spent our nights taking cold showers, being wowed by the night sky (Milky Way and shooting stars!), and sleeping under mosquito nets in our thatched bungalows. Waking up to the sounds of the jungle, including howler monkeys and tons of birds, was definitely part of the experience.
All in all, I was super satisfied with my time in Peru and it’s given me the urge to explore more of South America. Hopefully next summer!
And then work started again… whomp whomp! I got a new car (since my 15 year old car needed a few thousand dollars of work done… so it was time, haha).
AND my sister gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl, Ella Brooke on August 28! So thrilled for her and her new little family! She really is the cutest newborn!
September
September marks 10 years living in the Bay Area and doing our cross country road trip from NY to CA. Pretty wild – it definitely feels like we’re locals now, and have visited so many spots in the state! We also found out Noah has to go into work 5 days a week starting Jan 2025. Amazon’s RTO is awful!
Oahu, Hawaii
This was the first trip in a while that wasn’t planned minute by minute (what I’m known for, haha) and it felt amazing to be spontaneous for a few days.
I lived my best life in Oahu for Labor Day weekend (still feel so fortunate we can take long weekend trips to Hawaii!). We both get instantly giddy as soon as we land – must be something about that island air… and this time was no different.
I totally forgot how breathtaking Waikiki Beach truly is (tourists and all). We swam everyday for hours, watched the Friday night fireworks, gallivanted around Honolulu, and hiked up Diamond Head (also forgot how stunning the views are from up here).
We spontaneously rented a car one morning, and spent a few hours wading in the softest white sand, ate our way around the north shore, then watched a gorgeous sunset with sweeping views of Waikiki from Tantalus lookout.
And oh the food! We had tons of old favorites – Mai tais at the Royal Hawaiian, macnut coffee, hula pie, LEONARDS!, acai bowls, shave ice, garlic shrimp, coco puffs, macnut crusted mahi, fresh poke – ya know, all the staples of a great Hawaiian diet, haha.
I swam SO much, and even went home with wet salty ocean hair (kinda disgusting but oh well, haha). We almost canceled the trip because of 3 impending hurricanes that were possibly on track to hit the islands – thankfully we went because we had practically perfect weather!
Kona, Hawaii
We spontaneously bought tickets to Kona after finding good airfare and missing the ocean too much. Yes, just a few weeks after visiting Oahu, haha. Feel oh so lucky to have Hawaii right there for quick weekend trips!
It was our first time to the Big Island, and I have no idea why it took us this long to visit! I also celebrated hitting my blog income goal for the year ($200k!!!) a few months early!
We watched the sunset every night, loved gazing out into the wild lava landscapes, swam with sea turtles at the beach, and of course played around in the turquoise waters as much as we humanly could! We also indulged in kalua pork nachos, tons of shave ice, and so much fresh poke.
By far the most epic experience of our trip?! Snorkeling with giant manta rays out in the open ocean one night – we got extremely lucky and saw over 2 dozen (when the average is typically 2-3, or so they say!). And oh the show they put on for us underwater – captivating and mesmerizing and all kinds of wild. Such gorgeous creatures and I can’t believe just how close they got to us – brushed up against my body so many times! Kinda thrilling at first and a little nerve wracking!
We only explored a small section of the island (we only had 3 days there…), but we’ll be back since Noah’s running the Kona marathon next June!
October
The month started off with a massive heatwave (almost 100 degrees for a week straight!), and the Yankees making it into the World Series! They lost unfortunately – I forgot how exciting baseball can be!
Kona turned 5 (!!!) later this month, and he got so spoiled at our friends house with 4 daughters to play with, new toys, a huge cookie, and they even sung happy birthday to him 🥹. Such a cute memory I never wanna forget!
I also spent way too many hours watching scrapbooking videos 😂 (currently in my scrapbooking era!) and learning all the things (ephemera, rolling adhesive, story kits, die cuts, chipboard, etc). All that seemed incredibly foreign to me at the time!
New York
It was finally time to visit my sister and her beautiful baby girl Ella, the newest addition to the fam! We spent an extra special long weekend in New York visiting, and got to see so many friends and family.
I had a delicious taco dinner with Tara and spent hours catching up, grabbed breakfast with Alli and Dave and their crazy little kiddos, visited Mary – she’s 102!, saw my cousin Andrea, had a family dinner party with my Aunt Sue, Uncle Fred, Louise, and Henry, and even FaceTimed my parents and Lizzy!
We took Ella to the farm for pumpkins, apple pie, and apple cider donuts, ate all the bagels and Italian food, and got to spend so much uninterrupted time with Ali and Ella which filled my cup so much. Always love hanging with my sister and her little mini me just adds to the fun!
November
November ended up being a very, very busy month, with a few weekend trips and ending in Japan. Plus, lots of friend dates (some new, some old), including an election watch party and a mini Friendsgiving. Plus I went to Filoli for the holidays for the first time (with Kessler!) and it was just as spectacular as I’d imagined. It was a much more social month for me than normal, and I loved it!
AND Noah’s parents came for a visit so we got to spend some time with them pre- and post- Japan! A little hectic but always good to see family!
The Presidential election got the US into all kinds of frenzy (like always), and I honestly cannot believe how divided our country still is. Plus, I was deep into my scrapbooking era and loving learning all the things and my personal scrapbooking style! So nice to create something that’s purely just a hobby!
Glamping in Sonoma
After a fun glamping trip in the redwoods last year in 2023, we decided to go for round two! This time? A weekend glamping along the river at Wildhaven Sonoma! We went all out – bringing along supplies for s’mores, a full-on cheese and charcuterie plate, and steak and potatoes for dinner! Plus homemade breakfast burritos for the next morning. And of course Kona came with us too!
I’m proud of how successful we were considering we’re the very opposite of campers, lol. Although I could not believe all the stuff we needed for one night glamping. Took us multiple trips to the car!
It was a super relaxing time; we played board games, listened to music, relaxed in our tent, took lots of walks, sat by the fire, and even photographed the Milky Way!
In the area, we also wandered around Healdsburg (and saw some pretty fall foliage) before checking in, then took a walk along the water in Tiburon and got buns in SF on our way home.
Monterey for Noah’s half marathon
The next weekend we were off on another nearby weekend trip in California. This time, down to Monterey for Noah to run a half marathon – which was actually his first race since Maui in January 2023! He ran with a friend so definitely no PR here, but his friend was very appreciative, haha. Noah described it as “a light Sunday jog”, lol.
I’m always amazed by his ability to run long distances, when I have zero interest in even running a 5k.
It was a quick and low-key weekend, but we went to a few of our favorite spots, including a long walk at Lovers Point Park and the Pacific Grove Coastal Walk, sunset at Asilomar State Marine Reserve, and Old Fisherman’s Wharf. I’ll never say no to a weekend down in Monterey!
Japan
And then we were off to Japan! Ever since we traveled there years ago, we’ve been obsessed with the country. And lucky for us, this was our third trip there (and probably my favorite trip yet). We split our week in Japan between Tokyo and Kyoto (rode the shinkansen of course!), with little side trips to Mt. Fuji and Osaka thrown in.
We got extremely lucky with the fall colors since the peak was 2 weeks earlier than originally expected! And you know we indulged in all our faves – black sesame ice cream, red bean mochi, tonkotsu ramen, pork katsu, fatty tuna and tomago, gyoza, matcha-flavored everything, etc, etc, etc. We go to Japan to eat, and eat we did!
Kyoto
First up, Kyoto – where we hadn’t been since our first trip to Japan back in 2017. We stayed at two beautiful properties, one right in Higashiyama 2 minutes away from the iconic Yasaka Pagoda, and the other right along the lake in Arashiyama.
We had the most delicious kaiseki dinners (although we figured out the hard way that we absolutely despise tofu skin, haha), went to a bunch of stunning temples (Nanzen-ji Temple, Eikando Zenrin-ji, etc) to see the fall colors, and wow did they deliver, and ate tons of market food at Nishiki Market.
Other highlights included waking up early to see sunrise at Yasaka Pagoda, wandering along Ninenzaka (where we had Starbucks sitting on tatami mats!) and Sannenzaka streets, admiring the stunning fall views at Kiyomizu-dera Temple, taking a long stroll along the Hozugawa River and the Togetsu-kyo Bridge, climbing up to the Arashiyama Park Observation Deck, strolling along dense bamboo forests, taking a super long walk (stopping at temples and shrines) en route to Abashino Nenbutsuji, and seeing the fall foliage illuminated at night at Hogon-In.
I also made a ring at Glanta, we wore kimonos and participated in a traditional matcha tea ceremony, and shopped at Nike in Gion.
Before leaving Kyoto, we took a day trip to Osaka where we admired Osaka Castle, ate our way through Kuromon Market, took silly pics with the Namba Yasaka Shrine (the one that looks like a dragon), wandered around Denden Town and the eclectic Shinseki (New World), went wild at Don Quijote once it started pouring, and took in the bright lights in Dotonbori. I’d love to spend more time in Osaka on our next trip.
Tokyo
Tokyo was basically spent eating all the sushi and fatty tuna we could get our hands on (including a few conveyor belt sushi spots and a standing sushi bar too – our new fave). It’s hard to have a bad meal in Tokyo. Never enough time in this city – and I already wanna go back!
We spent one day in modern Tokyo – sipping 3d lattes (with Kona’s face on it!), stuffing our faces with gyoza, playing with the cutest shibas and wandering Takeshita Street in Harajuku, seeing the most stunning sunset at Shibuya Sky, and having inventive cocktails at the swanky SG Club.
Another day we focused on traditional Tokyo – starting the morning with a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Outer Market, then spending hours testing out pens and stationary in Itoya, having dessert at the LV Cafe, and then finally making our way over to Asakusa and Senso-ji Temple.
On our last morning I ventured over to Gotokuji – the cat temple, and then wandered around Shinjuku. Always so great to go back to some old favorites and of course find some new ones along the way!
Mt. Fuji
I took a solo day trip to Mt. Fuji, and got OH so lucky with the weather – had perfectly clear conditions the entire day, and the mountain was even kinda hard to photograph because of all the sun shining!
I ventured to all the hot spots – I climbed the almost 400 steps to the Chureito Pagoda at Arakurayama Sengen Park for that iconic postcard view, saw all the koi in the clearest blue waters at Oshino Hakkai, stopped by Lawson to take lots of pics, admired the views at Oishi Park along Lake Kawaguchi, and watched all the cars zipping by on the instagram-popular Honcho Street.
Japan, thank you for being just as fantastic as we remember.
December
We ended the year the same way it started – at the Christmas markets in Europe! Guess it’s kinda a thing for us now? After last year’s wildly successful winter trip to Europe, we found ourselves back here to explore different markets and even head over to snowy Switzerland for a few days (which we had to sadly cancel numerous times because of 2020 events).
It was super bitter cold for most of our trip – I don’t remember Europe being this chilly last year! We definitely had to bundle up and brave the cold.
One thing I wanna note is that I deleted IG a few days before our trip, and it made a world of a difference. My husband and I had SUCH an amazing time together, mostly free from distractions and spent tons of actual quality time together. Think I’ll be deleting social media for future trips.
London
We had originally planned to start the trip in Paris, but after loving London at Xmas last year (so much), we decided to head back!
We saw a bunch of our faves from last year (Leicester Market, Annabel’s, dinner at Dishoom, Cartier and Dior, Neil Strain, Covent Garden, KOYN, and the angels on Regent Street, of course!), and went to plenty more new-to-us London Xmas spots. Including breakfast in an igloo at Coppa Club, lunch at Daphnes, afternoon tea at The Dalloway, Big Ben, plenty of gorgeous hotel lobbies (all decked out for Xmas of course), and an overwhelmingly busy night out at winter wonderland in Hyde Park!
Plus the most decadent chocolate cake at EL&N (Noah was obsessed!). London was such a great way to kick off our festive holiday trip, with so many sugar biscuits, baubles, and Christmas treats.
Paris
Up next – a quick hop over to Paris where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, before making our way to Strasbourg. We had a lovely lunch at Le Train Bleu, checked out all the decorations at the major shops (although they were mostly the same as the ones in London), saw the impressive avant-garde tree at Galleries de Lafayette, and admired all the Christmas windows.
We also saw the newly-completed Notre Dame and checked out the mini Xmas market nearby, had our first Parisian croissants and pastries of the trip (mmm I love me some pain de suisse), and got so lucky with a spontaneous yet super delicious Christmas Eve dinner!
We actually came back to Paris after Switzerland (a few weeks later), so that’ll have to wait for my 2025 year in review!
Alsace: Strasbourg, Colmar, and Obernai
After Paris, we spent a few days in the Alsace region of France to celebrate all things Christmas! And whoa – they’re definitely a few of the most festive spots we’ve ever been!
Think over the top lights on practically every single street, huge Christmas trees filled with giant baubles, and the instagram-famous teddy bear Christmas building in Strasbourg. Makes sense since Strasbourg is the Capital of Christmas “Capitale de Noel” after all! So, so, so insanely festive, both day and night. The energy was like nowhere else I’ve ever seen.
We ate so much local market food (a mix of French, German, and Alsatian foods) – cheesy bretzels, plenty of crepes, kugelhopf, spaetzle, boules mousse (my FAVORITE), potatoes and Muenster cheese, tarte flambees, gingerbread cookies, manele (brioche buns shaped into little men!), and chocolate covered raspberries (that took forever to find, haha).
Our few days were spent wandering through all the markets (there’s over a dozen throughout Strasbourg and Colmar with literally hundreds of chalets!), admiring the beautifully decorated carousels, and drinking so much jus de pommes chaud (hot apple cider). And of course seeing the largest decorated Christmas tree in Europe, gawking at the stately Notre Dame De Strasbourg, and loving the colorful, half-timbered buildings in Colmar (said to be the inspiration for Beauty and the Beast)!
Switzerland
Winter in Switzerland was all that I envisioned it to be, and I still cannot believe just how lucky we got with the weather (it’s always a toss up in the mountains this time of year).
Over the course of our 3 days in the mountains (which spilled over until New Year’s Day), we practically ventured everywhere on the map! Taking trains, cable cars, gondolas, and buses – impressive how it all just works so seamlessly (the Swiss have really got it all figured out!). The peaks were absolutely spectacular, and we got insanely lucky with 3 perfectly clear days.
And whoa; the views were even more impressive than the wintery hike we did in Hallstatt last year (which was hard to beat). Including Jungfrau, Eiger, Munch, and a whole slew of other peaks I definitely don’t remember the name of, haha.
We feasted on delicious mountain-side schnitzels, lots of Swiss chocolate, plenty of cheese fondues, and rostis (our new fave thing).
Day 1 was spent seeing our first mountain views at the cute little town of Wengen, traipsing through the snow during the Royal Walk at Mannlichen, and checking out the cute ski shops, gawking at the wooden chalets, and having hot cocoa with rum in Grindelwald!
On Day 2 we walked over the thrilling First Cliff Walk and saw breathtaking views of the north face of the Eiger at Grindelwald First, took the Eiger Express to get even higher (and had a great schnitzel up here!), and made a quick pit stop in Kleine Scheidegg to watch the sunset.
Psst – we actually spent 4 days in Switzerland, but half was in 2025, so that’ll have to wait until my next year in review! Always so tricky when trips spill into the next year.
Early to mid December this blog of mine officially got hit by a Google update, which saw my traffic (and therefore income) plummet. I had been already getting a bit bored of blogging (if I’m being completely honest), but it still sucks to get hit so hard! Traffic is slowly coming back and rankings are starting to recover, so we’ll see what 2025 brings in terms of this passion project of mine.
If you made it this far, thank you!!! Let’s see what 2025 has in store for us all!
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