What a travel year 2018 has been. Final tally before my trip to (Portugal to close out the year) - fifteen countries and thirty cities. I did not realize I travelled as much as I did until I started working on this post. I feel incredibly humbled and blessed to have this opportunity. 2018 did not go according to script in many areas but in terms of travel - I have no complaints. I have not had the opportunity to share guides for several of these 2018 destination but I have been logging the hours on the computer the last week and I look forward to sharing these destinations with you in 2019. Here is wishing you an incredible 2019; filled with adventure ; joy and laughter - you know the kind of laughter than comes from your soul (yeah that kind). Thanks to each of you for following ; reading and commenting.

In terms of the evolution of the blog in the coming year - I am hoping to have more videos. I have tried to do this in the past and failed at it but with IGTV I think it will a lot easier to do. My 2019 travel schedule is still in early stages, there is only one trip that is sort of kinda of set; and I have some exciting news coming in late spring. I cannot wait to share with you.

2018 travels kicked off with a trip to Prague over Easter. We debated a lot of options for Easter and ultimately made an economic decision to go to Prague. We had no regrets. We were captivated by the city and it was the first trip with my Sister in law. I was not sure what to expect but we had a incredible time exploring. This is one destination I will be returning to in future and highly recommend.

For the first May bank holiday, I had to work (unfortunately) so I settled for a day trip to Brighton. I had a fab time visiting the city and exploring the Royal Pavillon and Brighton Pier. If you are in the UK, then Brighton is a must visit. I journeyed to Edinburgh, Scotland for my birthday trip in mid-May. I took this trip with my Mom. It was the first time vacationing with a parent and we had a lovely time - I hiked Arthur’s seat; we sat in on a session of parliament and took a self-guided tour of Dean’s village. Could not think of a better way to spend my birthday.

June was travel heavy. with two week off work. The holiday began in Bordeaux and St. Emillion. I arrived just in time for the wine festival; Flights and accommodation were a bit expensive because of the event so if you are not a wine person; feel free to book a trip for another month. I went on a wine tour/tasting at a proper winery - this is something I have always wanted to do and I got to visit an incredible winery in St Emillion. My second stop was in Berlin - what a city; I am looking forward to returning there in 2019. I visited all the historic spots and was captivated by the beauty of Charlottenburg. I flew back to the states to spend a week in New York. Other than lunch with a friend; all I did in New York was sleep. I was so exhausted and my body forced me to rest.

I spent a lot of time in Italy in July. We found an amazing weekend deal for Venice. It was the most spontaneous travel decision I ever made and one of the best travel memories to date. Venice is magical; we took a day trip to the three Island - Murano, Torcello and Burano while in Venice - I highly recommend it. We really wanted to visit Lido but were short on time. Just an excuse to plan a return trip. I also spent time in Milan; Bellagio; Como and Verona. You can never go wrong with Italy and Lake Como is as fabulous as you imagined it to be. My July travels wrapped up with time in Dubrovnik, Croatia - I am still speechless by this Country and I have tried to put together a post but words fail me. While in Dubrovnik, I made a day trip to Montenegro - from Perast; Kotor to Budva - every minute in Montenegro was incredible.

August was very work heavy but I did manage to get a trip in to Grenada. To be honest, I never expected to visit this Island. Friends of mine visited several years ago and returned with rave reviews and plans to return in future. I was a bit Jealous. By sheer coincidence, a few family friends decided to go to med school at University of St. George and they held their white coat ceremony at the end of August. The Island is welcoming and incredibly beautiful. I recommend it to everyone. Enroute to Grenada, I made stops in Dallas and Miami.

In September - I visited Switzerland - most of my time was spent in Basel which has a rich art culture with over forty museums; incredible architecture ; great food. I managed to day trip to Zurich while I was in Basel and had an incredible time there. You can read all about my time in Zurich here.

October was a very cold month and left to me - I will have spent the month hibernating but thankfully I talked myself into planning a trip to Copenhagen. It was spurred by the economics - I found great deals online and took advantage of it. While planning the Copenhagen trip, I discovered I was only an hour from Malmo, Sweden so in true the simi edit style - I booked a trip. You can read all about my time in Malmo here. I also had a weekend in Belgium in October - I spent some time in Antwerp and a weekend in Brussels - Waffles; fries and the grand place - you cannot go wrong with Brussels.

November - I returned to Brussels for work so other than nourishment, I did not do anything else in the city. The weekend before Brussels, I spent time in Amsterdam to celebrate some friends- I was quite sick which put a bit of a damper on the trip but after amazing Tom Kha soup and the Banksy exhibition at the Moco. I was ready to make the most of my time in the city. November wrapped up with a weekend in Paris and Fountainbleu - I love Paris, it never gets old and no matter how many times I visit - there is always something new. This time it was the YSL museum. Loved it.

In early December, we took a very quick trip to Lille and Brugge. This was not a trip to blog; I just wanted to get away from London and Lille and Brugge helped with that. We had amazing dessert in Meert in Lille and the Tearoom Carpe diem in Brugge is a must if you ever visit.

I am currently planning for my final trip of the year to Portugal. I cannot think of a better way to close off what has been an incredible travel year.