I don’t know if it’s because I have vacation on my mind or I feel couped up sitting in the office every day, but all I can think about is travelling the world.
I’ve wanted to travel my whole life. I didn’t even make it out of the country until I was 16 and that’s only if you count going to Mexico on a cruise out of the country.
I first made it overseas shortly after graduation from high school. My best friend Nicole’s family took me with then to Columbia! I’m talking about the country not the city in South Carolina y’all. We spent our first night in Bogota before flying to the beach town of Cartagena. After a few days of relaxing and soaking up Columbian rays, we headed back to Bogota for some shopping! This was an incredibly eye opening experience for me. Seeing police with machine guns walking the streets and being driven around in an armored car was a little scary, but no worries, we were incredibly safe. Nicole’s step dad, Jan, was working in Columbia at the time, so he knew all the ins and out and took every precaution! {Country Count: 2}
My European debut came in December 2007-January 2008 when my entire family flew to Lillehammer, Norway to visit our dear family friends, The Vorkinns. You may remember me talking about my Norwegian sister, Charlotte a time or two on the bloggy. Visiting Norway truly opened up my eyes to what else was out there! The world has so much to offer and quite frankly, I’ve seen so little of it! {Country Count: 4 – We were in Amsterdam too!}
Spring 2008, I went on a Spring Break cruise with all my college friends {and boyfriend…now the hubs} that went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Which uped my out of the US country count to 6. Jamaica was beautiful and eye opening at the same time and I kissed a sting ray in Grand Cayman.
Summer of 2009, the hubs and I {he was my fiance then}, went on a mini getaway to an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The beaches were phenomenal, but the country itself is saddening. People live in shacks, roads are torn apart and the country continues to survive because of tourism. I highly recommend Punta Cana for a beach resort get away! {Country count: 7}
My absolute favorite vacation EVER would have to be my honeymoon. I’m sure y’all are thinking…duh…but the hubs and I honeymooned in Barcelona, Espana. That’s right Spain! Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe our experience. I’ve realized that I’ve never actually talked about our honeymoon on the blog, but I believe it deserves an entire post for itself. It was amazing, crazy and interesting all pulled into one. We visited all the sites from Gaudi’s various houses, the Segrada Familia, castles, The Aquarium, tons of shops, the Olympic museum, MNAC and so much more. We even got stuck for a few extra days due to that Icelandic volcano erupting. Yup, true story. Like I said, it deserves its own post! {Country Count: 8}
Finally, while living in Pittsburgh last year, we were able to sneak away to visit one of the 7 Wonders of the World – Niagra Falls! We decided that it was necessary to visit the Canadian side and explore for a weekend! View the full recap here! Niagra Falls truly is a wonder and a MUST see! {Country Count: 9}
After getting out of the country for the past 5 years, 2012 will be a completely domestic one for the hubs and I. However, we have BIG plans for 2013. The Gouglers are planning a Eurotrip! Watch out London, Paris and French wine country, here we come! Let the planning begin.
Do you love to travel? What exciting places have you been to? There are so many wonderful places to explore…even in the States!
Until next time…
With love and God bless,
