WHERE I’VE TRAVELED
My first trip ever was to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I was 3 years old, and honestly, if it weren’t for the pictures, I wouldn’t have even known I had been there. However, it must have made an impression on my young heart, because, for the next 10 years (more or less), Disney World was the ONLY place I ever wanted to visit during the Summertime. And so we went, every Summer, for 10 years, driving down from NYC to Orlando to spend a week going to all four parks, getting on all the same rides, and eating all the same foods. If you were to ask me now, Disney World is still up there as one of my top places to visit. If I could, I would still go every year. But, after 10 years of going to the same place over and over (and over) again, my parents decided I needed a change of scenery. Since that first trip away from Disney World, when my parents sent me to Guatemala (for a month… with my grandmother), I have had the opportunity to visit so many beautiful places. From exploring new cities within the United States to adventuring in Central America, South America & Europe, travel has become such a huge part of my life, and discovering new places is a passion.
I wanted to start this blog, first and foremost, as a type of journal. With how much travel I’ve been lucky enough to do, or how many cities I try to fit in per trip, places sometimes blend together. It’s not uncommon for me not to remember specific details from trips like my favorite restaurant or what I saw. If it weren’t for the vlogs my husband and I try and film (that I can be found watching regularly by the way), I would probably remember much less. But there’s only so much that can be put in a vlog. And a vlog might not always capture how I felt in a city, my favorite restaurants or attractions, or all the pictures I tend to take. So…here we are!
Secondly, I wanted to start this blog as a place to inspire and inform. As someone who has helped plan trips for family, friends, and clients over the years, I know how overwhelming planning can be. Not everyone is like me, and plans fake trips (along with flights, hotels, and a day-to-day itinerary) in their spare time, or can spend hours researching the must-see sites in each city. So instead of just keeping this information to myself, I thought, why not put it somewhere it can be documented and found? Do I know everything? No. Am I always learning? Yes. Have I made mistakes while traveling? Definitely! But, why not learn from my mistakes? Or review my recommendations and try one for yourself. The best part of traveling is exploring new places and discovering new favorites.
For my first post, I thought I would start with something simple; a map of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to visit. This isn’t meant to brag, but more as a starting point so you can see the kind of places I love to visit, and what you might be seeing in terms of future blog posts. I’m thinking my next post will be a list of my bucket list trips for 2023, and after that, a list of all the places I’d like to visit across the world. My goal is to see all 7 continents at least, but if I could visit most of the 195 countries in the world, even better! If there’s someplace on this map you’d like to see a blog post on (including a mock-up of an itinerary), leave a comment! I’d also love to know all the places you’ve been to! You might inspire me to add it to my list.
