Its currently soooo cold here right now in South Louisiana. I know, CRAZY right?! And although I love it, I can’t help but daydream to the times I spent wandering aimlessly around one of my favorite areas of London – Hyde Park – on an absolutely BEAUTIFUL summer day. Taking a bike ride through Hyde Park allows you to explore more of the park than by foot. It’s such a fun and cheap thing to do in London (because let’s face it, London can be PRICEY)!
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I absolutely love cold and rainy weather. Let me repeat that: I absolutely LOVE cold and rainy weather. I know when asked about their favorite weather, most people would start talking about a sunny day on the beach. And don’t get me wrong… I do love annual trips to the beach. BUT there’s just something special to me about a chilly, overcast day. Which I think is one of the (many) reasons why I love traveling in the UK so much!
Enter my perfect little rainy day pit-stop on the Island of Anglesey in Wales.
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It’s appropriate that it’s Thursday because today we’re throwing it wayyyyy back. To the summer of 2011. I was studying in Austria and decided that I wanted to go to the world premiere of the last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, in London. And once I decided, there was no going back.
Not only did I fly from Austria and London specifically for the Harry Potter world premiere, but I was also able to finagle myself into the 2nd row and had the BEST day of my life.
When I told people I was visiting Paris, or when I looked up things to do in Paris, one of the things I was told I “had to do” or “couldn’t miss” was to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower to see a great view of Paris.
Well, upon further research, I found that many people say that the views from the towers of the Notre Dame Cathedral were actually a lot better than the views from the Eiffel Tower, because you got to see the gargoyles and spires of the church up close. Plus, that the lines were shorter and the climb up to the top wasn’t such a bitch (excuse my French).
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Holy cow. When I look back on everything that happened in 2014, I am flabbergasted that it was all just 365 days! I am so blessed to have been to some amazing places and had some truly incredible experiences this year. Its been a whirlwind, including graduating college, visiting Cabo and the Bahamas, traveling through Europe for a month, attending several concerts and TWO overseas music festivals, starting my first “big girl job,” and, of course, beginning to blog regularly. Here is my 2014 in review and some highlights from every month of the year!
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Here is part 2 of my Christmas trip to New Mexico – this time we headed from Santa Fe (read more about our incredible 5 days in Santa Fe here) to Angel Fire to go skiing. We even made a slight detour to stop in Taos on the way and found an amazing little pit stop.
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Ya’ll. Santa Fe in the winter is just the cutest. The mountains, the snow, the art – turns out New Mexico was the perfect place to spend Christmas. Totally worth the 15+ hour drive from Louisiana….
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The City of Light and the City of Dreams. Both magical, both beautiful, both on every traveler’s to-do list. These 2 cities are both so full of culture and history, but also so different from one another. Three recent book releases showcase one, or both, of these cities in creative and entertaining ways. So of course, they’re now on my book wish list!
Here are 3 travel-inspired books that I’m currently fawning over. These books aren’t guides to these cities or tips for travelers, but more of a study of culture and trends. Not only are they all entertaining and inspiring, but they are beautifully designed (graphic design nerd in me talking). These may not be travel “guides” per say, but they are rooted in a love of travel. Any travel enthusiast should add them to their book wish list. Trust me, you will droooooooool over them. I am personally hoping to get all three for Christmas (really hoping Santa comes in clutch here).
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My mom recently went on a Winter trip to Portugal with one of her good friends through Collette tours. I was super excited for her. Not only because Lisbon was one of my favorite cities I visited this summer, but also because she hadn’t been to Europe since she was a little girl. I wanted her to have an incredible experience in a different culture.
She came back a couple of weeks ago with tons of pictures and stories from her travels to Lisbon and surrounding areas, the Azores Islands, and Barcelona. She had an absolutely amazing time!! I can’t wait to get stories from her. For now I just wanted to share some of her photos of winter in Portugal! Looks pretty gorgeous, if you ask me!
And I have to say, I’m very proud and impressed with my mom. She’s not much of a photographer, but she took some pretty beautiful photos on her trip!
Although Portugal is normally viewed as a sunny destination and is more popular in the summer, these photos have me convinced it would be great to visit in the winter, too! Probably less crowded, less hot, and just as gorgeous as always. It’s probably cheaper to visit Portugal in the winter, too!
I wouldn’t wait around outside in the stifling Louisiana humidity before a concert for 6+ hours for just any band. But last September I did just that. And it was worth it. I scored a 5th row, dead center view for the Mumford & Sons concert in New Orleans.
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