As soon as we started thinking about moving back to Atlanta, I began frantically narrowing down our list of "must-visit" places. One of my more creative solutions for maximizing our travel opportunities was coming up with an itinerary that allowed us to visit several completely unrelated places on the same vacation.
I had always been intrigued by the unique history and cultural identity of Malta, but a visit to the 'sunniest place in Europe' became an even higher priority during this year's particularly cold and rainy spring. Known for having more than 300 days of sunshine per year, a long weekend in Malta seemed like the perfect way to escape the seemingly endless rain in London and check another country off of our lists.
In mid-April, my best friend Susan and I headed to Donostia / San Sebastián in the Basque country, the historic region spanning an area across western France and northern Spain along the Bay of Biscay. We also fit in excellent day trips to Rioja, one of Spain's most celebrated wine regions, and the seaside town of Biarritz on the French side of the border.
After being repeatedly thwarted during our trip to Norway, I became even more determined to find a way to see the aurora borealis in person. Lapland, Finland’s northernmost region, is one of the best places for aurora activity at the later end of the season. It's also known for its ski resorts and a ski season that lasts well into May, which made it even more ideal for convincing Andy to give the northern lights another chance.
I had to make some tough decisions when planning our 10-day trip to Spain last year, but the hardest by far was deciding we didn't have enough time to squeeze in Barcelona. Thankfully, it worked out perfectly for us to plan a trip to this beautiful city on the coast of northeastern Spain over the last weekend in February,
There are so many wonderful places to explore in England and traveling by train is definitely our favorite mode of transportation – especially because it makes it so easy for us to bring our dog, Lily. Oxford had been very high on our list from the outset and our weekend trip to this historic town was even more eagerly anticipated after a full month at home in London.
I spontaneously set a goal of visiting 10 new countries by the end of 2023 during a random team meeting in January where everyone had to share their New Year’s resolutions. This arbitrary goal combined with my love of European Christmas markets is how we ended up in Kraków during the second weekend in December.
The older I get, the more and more excited I get about Christmas decorations and the holiday season in general. I try to buy at least one ornament on each trip we take, but my absolute favorite places to find new holiday decorations are the Christmas markets that pop up across Europe each season. We had to cancel our 2021 Christmas market trips due to the Omicron variant breakout, so I was more than ready to finally head to Basel to experience its legendary Christmas market scene.
One of Andy's closest childhood friends is Turkish and so he has always been particularly interested in Turkish culture — and extremely interested in Turkish food. Istanbul has always been at the top of his list of travel destinations, so I was thrilled that we could finally check this iconic city (and our first time in Asia) off with a long weekend trip in early November.
After a busy couple of weeks in London and the U.S., we were more than ready to get out of town for a quick weekend getaway to Dubrovnik, a city that had been high on our list for years. It was our first time visiting Croatia and it couldn't have been a more relaxing and charming experience. We had such a nice weekend eating seafood, sampling Croatian wines, and exploring the stunning Old Town.
Lindsey in London 