I was looking at an old post I made back in 2019 (before the world flipped upside down) and I realized that we have actually made it to some of the places I had on our travel wish list. So naturally, it’s time for a travel update and hello again, this is my latest post since 2023!!

I have the obvious must-see locations but I also would like to challenge myself to see places that aren’t frequently visited (pretty much my secret travel list). After reading about the rad landmarks and festivals across Europe, I put together my dream travel list. In the back of my mind I sort of thought of it as a silly fantasy but now that I am actually living in Europe, it feels like we can certainly accomplish it! We are now at 25 countries (including the Vatican)!!

The best part is since we are already here, airfare and trains are a fraction of what it would cost to fly from Los Angeles. YAY! After surviving driving in London, I feel brave enough to handle European road trips so we can experience more cities in France. As long as we have reliable wi-fi and a clean/cool place to swap, I would love to visit these incredible destinations.

• France – Lourdes, Lille, Normandy, Cherbourg, Nantes, Aix-en-Provence, Rouen, Riems, Dijon, Poitiers, Loire Valley, Lyon, Biarritz, Marseille, Brittany, Bordeaux, Deauville, Nice, Cannes, Strasbourg, Arles, Clermont Ferrand, Montpellier, Avignon, ile de re,  Annecy, Alsace region Antibes and St. Tropez *Monaco
• Italy – Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Venice, Turino, Naples, Capri, Positano, Sorrento, Cinque Terre, and Sicily *Malta (technically not Italy but close)
• Spain – Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Málaga, and Seville 
• Portugal – Lisbon, Porto, Madeira Island and Sintra
  

  Look at this colorful castle in Sintra, Portugal  *Our luck is the worst, we went to see this castle and somehow got lost and by the time we arrived, it was closed! 🙁 

• Morocco – Marrakesh, Essaouira, Fez and Casablanca
• Germany – Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Leipzig, Frankfort, Heidelberg, Trier (to see the Burg Eltz Castle)    *Funny story, we drove all the way to Trier (a 3 hour drive) to visit the Burg Eltz castle and it was CLOSED for renovations! I was so bummed because there was no sign saying it was closed so we walked almost an hour from the parking lot just to find a barrier on the road. Liv was so much younger in 2020.
  

  This is what it usually looks like

• Ireland – Dublin, Cork, maybe Giant’s Causeway in the Bushmills (Northern Ireland)
• England – London, Bristol, Brighton, Bath, Oxford and the Cotswolds
• Scotland – Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Lochs
• Austria – Salzburg, Innsbruck, Hallstatt and Vienna (I lived out my Catholic schoolgirl dreams, and we went on the Sound of Music tour!) 
• Switzerland – St. Moritz, Geneva, Zürich, Montreux, Grindelwald, Lucerne, Interlaken, Chur, Basel and Lausanne
• Belgium – Brussels, Brugge, Ghent and Antwerp
• the Netherlands – Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Delft and the Hague
• Croatia – Dubrovnik, Split and the Dalmatian Coast
• Denmark – Copenhagen and Billund (we visited the LEGO house!)
• Sweden – Stockholm, Gothenburg, Visby, Gotland Island and Mälmo
• Norway – Oslo Bergen, and fjords
• Finland – Helsinki and the Arctic Circle (My friend Aura lives there with her 2 daughters so we stayed with her in a small town called Lahti)
• Poland – Warsaw, Krakaw and Oświęcim
• Czech Republic – Prague, of course!

Bonus Destinations

Japan – Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Osaka, Okinawa and Yokohama

Can’t wait to visit Hokkaido

Mexico – Mexico City and Sayulita
Turkey – Istanbul
South Korea – Seoul, Jeju Island and Busan
Singapore (Antz has been 3 times!)
Slovenia – Ljubljana and Lake Bled (we had the best time hunting Invaders here)
Australia – Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane
New Zealand – Auckland and Wellington
India – Agra, Mumbai and Jaipur
Hungary – Budapest

**Bonus: US – New Orleans, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida (for Disneyworld and Key West), Georgia and a road trip through the East Coast.

So, I have made a few changes and added links to the list from my Instagram stories if you would like to see the highlights from our trips. With all the turmoil happening in the world, who knows if social media will still be around. I am very thankful I have been able to preserve this space on the internet. I can fondly look back upon and remember how far our family has come and posts like this so I can stay focused on how far we still have to go!

Bon Voyage and Happy New Year!!