2017- A Year In Review
Updated: Sep 25
{Big Ben, London, England}
Greetings and a very Happy New Year to you! 2017 was definitely one for the books. I traveled to 8 countries in Europe and two states in the US for a total of 7 trips with 19,000 air miles. The husband traveled to 6 countries in Europe for a total of 5 trips with 8200 air miles! We went to some of our all time favorite places this year and made so many absolutely wonderful memories together. It was a year we will never forget!
We rang in the New Year for 2017 with our friends and had a total blast. Then we were off! Our first trip of the year was to beautiful Prague. I still miss Prague every time I see photos on Instagram from this very tower. The city is so hard not to fall in love with because there are many gorgeous view points all around the old town and the castle to choose from. This was our favorite view, from the Astronomical Clock Tower. Some highlights of our trip include: visiting Prague Castle, walking Charles Bridge at sunset, having the best Mexican food we've had in a few years at Cantina, visiting the Strahov Monastery and seeing its two beautiful libraries, walking through the Jewish quarter with it's huge cemetery overflowing with tombstones, and of course eating the delicious Trdelnik's!
{Astronomical Clock Tower, Prague, Czech Republic}
On our last day in Prague we took a day trip to the Sedlec Ossuary, or otherwise known as the 'bone chapel' in Kutna Hora. It is located south of Prague about an hour. The chapel itself was really interesting, and outside they were performing an archaeological dig. You could see all the bones of people buried out front of the chapel! It was quite the experience, and definitely one we will never forget. (Insert creeped out chill here) We also had a lovely stroll through the town, and visited the beautiful cathedral!
{Sedlec Ossuary, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic}
February was pretty laid back for the husband and I. We treated ourselves to a relaxing afternoon at a Thai massage and spa. Both of us chose the regular Thai massage and were not disappointed! They kind ladies served us green tea after our massages and allowed us to sit and relax in this room as long as we wanted after. We have been back a few times after this visit because we love it so much!
{Thai Spa}
In March, we had met up with the husband's cousin and some of his friends in Paris. We explored the quaint Montmartre area, strolled along the riverside, visited the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, stood in awe of the size of the Arch De Triomphe, went colorful house hunting in Le Marais but had no luck, and tried the very scrumptious Berthillon ice cream native to Paris. We may or may not have also gotten lost in the Louvre and had the hardest time finding a way out....Whoops.
{Walking up to Sacre Soeur Church in Montmartre, Paris, France}
It wouldn't have been a complete trip to Paris unless we went to Versailles! It was absolutely beautiful and definitely our favorite part of the trip. The city of Versailles is beautiful in itself, and has a fantastic outdoor market we thoroughly enjoyed.
{The Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France}
Also in March, a few girls and I went into London for the afternoon on a food hunt! You know all of those delectable looking videos that pop up in your Facebook feed? That's what we went looking for! We were able to find hamburgers drenched in cheese at Maxwell's, the most decadent hot chocolate with toasted marshmallows on top at Chin Chin Labs, crepes, fresh lemonade (American style if you can believe it!), the best fresh squeezed orange juice, Laduree's famous macaroons, boozy milkshakes and so much more amazing food! Needless to say we ate our way through Camden Market and it was the best foodie day EVER.
{Camden Locks, Camden Market, London, England}
In April, we had the most amazing 70 degree weather in England for almost two whole weeks! It was gorgeous, so we took a trip up to the beach with Lexi in tow. We stopped first at Creake Abbey ruins, then headed up to Wells Next The Sea. It was Lexi's first time to a real beach, and she absolutely loved it! She got to run around off leash to romp and play in the water with a few other dogs that were there as well. We had a wonderful afternoon spent in the sun!
{Wells Next The Sea, Norfolk, England}
It wouldn't be a recap of the year if I didn't mention wisteria! It's my favorite plant to go hunting for in April because it drapes sooooo beautifully over all the old buildings around our area. This year we went hunting for wisteria in Cambridge and found it everywhere. It was so beautiful!
{Wisteria draped all over the facade of Christ's College, Cambridge, England}
At the end of April I took a girls trip with a friend back to Mallorca for the second time! On this trip we stayed in Alcudia, drove out to the beautiful Cap De Formentor, conquered our fears driving straight down the side of a mountain to Port de Valldemosa, visited the gorgeous mountain towns Soller, Deia and Valldemosa. We ended our trip visiting Palma eating some of the best fresh sushi ever at the Mercat D'Olivar, and staying in a beautiful hotel right on the ocean in Illetes. There may also have been a large glass of Cava on our last night that made for some absolutely hilarious memories neither of us will ever forget!
{Deia, Mallorca, Balaeric Islands, Spain}
The husband went to Israel in May and ate his way through the country. He ventured to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and Eilat. The photos he was sending me the whole time had me craving all kinds of falafel, hummus, tzatziki, pita and veggie salad 24/7! Needless to say after he got back from his trip I drug him to London a few days later to find some good Israeli food. My favorite things he brought back from his trip was an actual chunk of salt from the Dead Sea itself and a delicious bottle of wine. The wine was some of the best we've ever had and we were very reluctant to drink the rest because we loved it so much!
{The Dead Sea, Israel}
In June, my mom, dad and sister came to visit me for three weeks for the first time since moving abroad. It was their first time in the UK and Europe so we planned a ton of fun activities! Our first day trip we took was to Bury St. Edmunds. We enjoyed strolling through the weekly farmers market, sunning ourselves at the Abbey Ruins, doing a little shopping and getting refreshing Greek food at Cafe Kottani!
{Abbey Ruins, Bury St. Edmunds, England}
Later that same day we went to one of my favorite little villages in England, Lavenham! Parts of the first Harry Potter movies were filmed here and there's a very good reason why! While we were in town we stopped for an ice cream cone at Sweetmeat tearoom, took pictures all around the village and at the filming locations. Stopped for another photo opp at my favorite tearoom ever- Munnings Tearoom, otherwise known as the Crooked House. The whole building block and some other parts of the village are very crooked, but it makes it all the more charming and unique to visit!
{Munnings Tearoom, Also Known As The Crooked House, Lavenham, England}
The next stop on our trip was Lloret De Mar, Spain just outside of Barcelona for a few days of fun in the sun! We ate Paella, patatas bravas and drank lots of sangria! Watched the most beautiful pastel sunset on the beach, saw the gorgeous, colorful church of Santa Roma de Lloret De Mar. Enjoyed iced coffee's outside in the church square at Rosa Marles, walked to the private residence castle at the edge of town and discovered a walkway that opened up to a beautiful rocky cove with gorgeous views and stuck our feet in to cool off. We of course spent some time soaking up the sun and going for a dip in the clear blue waters before heading off to our next destination, Barcelona!
{Lloret De Mar Beach, Lloret De Mar, Spain}
We took the bus from Lloret De Mar to Barcelona and had a beautiful ocean view the entire route! We even saw a few castles along the way as well. While in the city, we explored the Gothic Quarter, the Arc De Triumph, Spanish Parliament, and the stunning Barcelona Cathedral. We took an evening stroll along the waterfront and ate at my sister and I's favorite place of the trip, D'picos Pardons! We actually all ended up eating there on more than one occasion it was so delicious. We also stopped at the La Boqueria in search of fresh sushi, but we were unable to find it and had refreshing fresh juice instead while we strolled the market. It wouldn't be a trip to Barcelona if we didn't stop at the magnificent buildings by Gaudi: La Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera, and Park Guell. Both made for a very inspiring and colorful last day in the city.
{Casa Battlo, Barcelona, Spain}
After a few days of much needed relaxation, we took my dad to Duxford Air Museum for Father's Day! Since we weren't able to go over to Normandy like he originally wanted to, this was a great alternative. He absolutely loved it and enjoyed getting to experience it with his son in law instead of visiting with a bunch of girls!
{Imperial War Museum, Duxford, England}
The last hoorah of their visit was a road trip through the Cotswolds to explore our family history! On our way, we stopped at the little village of Avebury to walk around the stone circle that surrounds it. We also drove by Stonehenge and waved at it from afar!
{Avebury Stone Circle, Avebury, England}
It took us quite a drive, but we finally made it to the land of our ancestors! My dad's family line is from a teeny tiny little village (that will remain unnamed for privacy) in Somerset. We stopped at the pub and actually met some folks with our last name which was totally unexpected but amazing at the same time! It was really interesting for us to see where we came from and that our long lost relatives are still around and living in the same little village as they did years ago! I highly suggest a trip to your place of ancestry, because it was definitely one of the highlights of my families life and I'm so happy we all got to share that together!
We stayed the night in a cozy little airbnb in Holt run by a lovely older woman who had the cutest cat named Beau! The next day we made our way back up through the Cotswolds and stopped first for breakfast in Bradford Upon Avon. This little village went straight to my list of favorite places in the Cotswolds the second we drove in! We ate breakfast here by the waterfront with this view, and had a good wander around before heading into Bath for the afternoon.
{Bradford Upon Avon, The Cotswolds, England}
The drive between Bradford Upon Avon and Bath is a beautiful one with lush green rolling hills. In Bath, we started at the Royal Crescent, which is where a ton of famous movies are filmed! We then walked through the circus and down the cutest side streets with pretty doors. My sister and I stopped inside the church pictured below for a much needed refreshment in their cafe before we met back up with our parents, who went to do a little shopping. After, we continued on towards the Roman Baths. The lines were long, as usual so we just wandered around the city before driving to the next stop- Castle Combe!
{Bath, The Cotswolds, England}
Castle Combe is the most picture perfect little village in The Cotswolds. We absolutely had to stop here because its just so beautiful!
{Castle Combe, The Cotswolds, England}
The last Cotswold village we stopped in was Lacock Village. It is where a few scenes in the first Harry Potter movies were filmed. Lily and James Potter's house where Voldemort is seen entering is tucked away beside the church and is a privately owned home. Lacock Abbey is also where they filmed the scenes for Snape's potion room.
{Lacock Village, The Cotswolds, England}
Our last stop on our road trip was the lovely London! We stayed overnight and did absolutely all of the touristy attractions! It was the longest sightseeing day ever, but we made amazing time and were able to cover a ton of ground! We did my fool proof London day trip route starting at Stratford station outside the city. We took the tube to Waterloo, and walked down to wave hello to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Next we walked to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and through St. James park to the Horse Guards Parade. Wandered on to find Downing Street, the seat of the Prime Minister then hopped on the tube to Kings Cross Station. My sister and I waited almost an hour in line for her to take her photo at the Harry Potter trolley and stroll through the shop. Her photos turned out so cute! After, we went for a stroll at the British Museum to see the Egyptian artifacts, then moved onwards towards St. Paul's Cathedral and the waterfront from the north side of the river Thames to walk over the Millennium Bridge. Once on the Southbank, we waved hello to Shakespeare's Globe Theater, the London Bridge and ended our day at the Tower Bridge!
{Tower Bridge, London, England}
The last few days of my families visit, we took a few day trips. One afternoon, we had a lovely afternoon stroll around Cambridge and stopped for ice cream at the delicious Benet's across from this view below. Our last afternoon we went for afternoon tea at Harriets in Bury St. Edmunds and had some good quality girl time. It was a wonderful and jam packed visit!
{Senate House, Cambridge, England}
August was quite relaxing for the husband and I. We celebrated our third wedding anniversary together by going to the Hitchin Lavender fields and Wrest Park. The lavender fields never disappoint and smell absolutely incredible! I also went to the fields with a friend to take some fun photos together and had the most delicious lavender and lemon cake with lavender lemonade!
{Hitchin Lavender Farm, Hitchin, England}
{Wrest Park, England}
In late August, the husbands brother and his girlfriend came to visit us in England! We had a fun filled two week trip together, and our first stop was London. Some highlights from our day in the city included all the usual tourist spots, touring Wimbledon Stadium, a nighttime walk by the river, and going on a hunt for tasty foods we found on Instagram!
{St. James Park, London, England}
FOLLOW ME ON BLOGLOVIN' We spent an afternoon in Cambridge having lunch and Pimm's cocktails with this gorgeous view. We had a mini photoshoot, visited the market and popped into cute shops along the Kings Parade.
{Punting, Cambridge, England}
The next adventure was to Alsace, France! We went to eight gorgeous timbered villages with the prettiest streets, and one castle in two and a half days! We stayed in the best and my all time favorite Airbnb to date, that had the best view from our window (pictured below). Our first half day we spent riding the Le Petit Train around the village we were staying in, Obernai. We ate lots of crepes from the creperie down the road, and drank lots of Alsatian wine! So much wine that I did not want to drink any for a few months after our trip! Who gets sick of wine?? Apparently me.
{Obernai, Alsace, France}
Then we were off to explore the area for the rest of the day! We stopped in a few Alsatian wine tasting rooms, quiet Mittlebergheim, floral draped Itterswiller, the massive Chateau Haut Koenigsbourg, and Ribeauville for a delicious dinner.
{Mittlebergheim, Alsace, France}
{Itterswiller, Alsace, France}
{Chateau Haut Koenigsbourg, Alsace, France}
{Ribeauville, Alsace, France}
The next day, we woke up early and headed off to the famous Colmar! It wasn't really what we were expecting it to be, it was very geared towards the tourist. We rode the Le Petit Train around the village and enjoyed listening to the history. Petite Venice was the most memorable part of Colmar, and then we headed off to explore a few more villages in the area.
{Colmar, Alsace, France}
The next stops were the quaint and medieval Turckheim, picture perfect Eguisheim, and Riquewihr which looked like it was straight out of Harry Potter! All three were absolutely gorgeous and made for a wonderful day.
{Turckheim, Alsace, France}
{Eguisheim, Alsace, France}
{Riquewihr, Alsace, France}
After our Alsace trip, we split ways, so the husband and I went into Basel, Switzerland for the day, and his brother and girlfriend headed to Germany for the next few days. Our day in Basel included climbing up to the top of Basel Minster Cathedral, finding the most amazing tea shop EVER, having the best bratwurst with humongous pretzels in the Marktplatz, visiting the colorful city hall building, eating the most smooth and delicious Swiss chocolate from Laderach (my mouth waters just thinking about how dang good it was!), Trying Nespresso for the first time, sticking our feet in the water along the river to cool off, walking Kleinbasel, grabbing a pint, having the tastiest food at 1777 Kaffee Restaurant, and eating more Swiss chocolate before flying back to England! We were seriously impressed with everything we ate in Basel. It definitely exceeded our expectations!
{Basel, Switzerland} In September we were craving outdoor adventure, so we adventured to Peterborough to go kayaking. The last time we went was 2012!
{Ferry Meadows Country Park, Peterborough, England}
Also in September, we went apple picking at the Sandringham Estate which is owned by the queen and is one of her country homes. They only open for two weeks each fall and the apples are always fantastic!
{Apple Picking, Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, England}
In October, we took our favorite trip we've taken together since we moved to the UK. The husband has had The Eagles Nest on his bucket list for years, and we finally took the time to visit. It did not disappoint, and completely blew our minds with how absolutely incredible the views were! The scenery in the Berchtesgaden area is just outstandingly gorgeous. It's like driving through a postcard! We spent quite a few hours walking around, climbing the rocks on top of the mountain and taking a ton of photos. All of them so amazing I had a hard time choosing what to insert here!
{Eagles Nest, Berchtesgaden, Germany}
The second day of our trip, we went to Lake Konigssee and oh. my. goodness y'all....This place is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES! We took a small boat across the lake to its middle stopping point at St. Bartholomew's Church. From there we took an 8 mile round trip hike to the Eiskapelle ice caves which was an absolutely gorgeous hike!
{Lake Konigssee, Berchtesgaden, Germany} FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM! We had never seen a glacier before or an ice cave, and the experience was awesome!
{Eiskapelle Ice Cave, Konigssee, Berchtesgaden, Germany} Our last day, we drove into the Austrian Lake District to the lakeside village of Hallstatt. As we were driving into the village, we watched the fog rolling off the lake and the mountains surrounding the lake were absolutely stunning in the morning light! We took the funicular up to the lookout point above the village. The views were insane! Once back down we walked through the village along the lake with all the picture perfect houses and churches. This is the most famous view of Hallstatt, and definitely for good reason! Its so incredibly beautiful!
{Hallstatt, Austrian Lake District, Austria}
The second half of the day we ventured into Salzburg to find schnitzel and do a little sightseeing. Our stops included the beautiful Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg Cathedral, Mozartplatz, Mozart's birthplace, and delicious schnitzel at Restaurant S'Herzl.
{Salzburg, Austria}
At the beginning of November my little sister got married! I took the long journey from the UK to the US to join in on the wedding festivities, including throwing her a traditional English tea party bridal shower! We had finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, alongside the always delicious Victoria sponge cake! The wedding was beautiful, the reception was an absolute blast, and quality time with my sister, new brother in law and immediate family was much needed!
{English Tea Party Bridal Shower}
Before I went back to the UK, I went to San Francisco to visit one of my very dear friends for a long weekend. I hadn't been back to the area for a little over three years, and it was so good to visit again! While I was there we had a lovely girls day doing some shopping in Marin County, had a fabulous dinner at the Melting Pot, went into the city to do a little sightseeing at Twin Peaks, The Painted Ladies, Treasure Island for one amazing view over the Bay, and Baker Beach to see the Golden Gate Bridge! The last time I had visited, we couldn't see the bridge because of the fog, so we were so happy it was a nice, clear day this time!
{Baker Beach, San Francisco, California}
Also while I was visiting, we met up with a mutual friend to go out for dinner with drinks at the Fairmont Hotel Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. It was such a fun atmosphere! They had live music with a large pool in the middle of the restaurant with a floating boat the band plays on. It was such a blast! We had a great evening catching up and enjoying ourselves before I had to head back to the UK.
{Painted Ladies & The Full House Filming House, San Francisco, California}
The rest of 2017 was pretty laid back and relaxed! For Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a wonderful evening with friends and plenty of yummy food. For Christmas and New Years we spent the entire week at home together, getting some much needed quality time together with our fur babies Ryli (cat) and Lexi (pictured below).
{Christmas At Home}
2017 was a wonderful year, we made so many amazing memories and traveled more than we ever though possible in a years time! Thank you all for following along our journey here and on Instagram! If you haven't already, sign up for email notifications to get the latest posts direct to your inbox! Cheers to a happy & healthy 2018 to all of you, may your year be everything you desire it to be!
-Ali
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