Lovely Outliers

I have a billion things to do prior to flying to Portugal tomorrow morning, so obviously, I figured I would post my year-in-review before I peace out for the next two weeks. This has been quite the year, for so many reasons, not the least of which being ALL THE GRAND ADVENTURES I got to enjoy! I spent time in 8 countries, tromped up mountains, pedalled across borders, ate my body’s weight in gelato, and filled my heart with the best memories with my favourite people. So without further ado, here is my 2016 travel roundup!

January

I feel like this year started off right. Fresh back to the UK from a restorative and invigorating time in Malta, my cousin and I rang in the New Year in the best way we knew how – Bradford-style.

February

Ireland, with this nutty lady! What an amazing time we had in Dublin (1, 2) and then in Wicklow. She was the best adventure buddy a gal could ask for! ❤

March

Over the Easter break, I decided to get on ol’ blue and cycle to Holland, to discover where my family hailed from. I had a grand time cycling to and fro, but then also got to see some spectacular things in Rotterdam, Delft & Wateringen, Keukenhof, Den Haag (The Hague), and the Nord Zee.

April

To continue my research, I had a lovely visit to Stockholm (and this) in the spring.

May

I did a little more local exploring in May – hopping on my bike to visit Herstmonceux Castle and other bits of southern England.

June

I got to go back to Canada to play with my friends, celebrate a wedding, chill with my family, and spend time in the unparalleled nature in Ontario (1,2).

July

I turned 30 this year!! (woop woop!) and decided the best possible way to spend it would be to bounce around in Bavaria. So that is exactly what I did. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

August

August was a spectacular month for travel. I started out by a bike journey to Paris (1, 2), followed by the most spectacular vacation with my uncle, his partner, and cousin, traisping around Paris having the most marvelous time. Highlights include Paris, Versailles, Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, Nice, Monaco. All the food. All the wine. All the happiness.

September

Back to Stockholm. I got to spent 3 months in this amazing city working at Karolinska Institutet, in general falling in love with this spectacular country. (I am still hoping Sweden will adopt me yet…)

October

Ah Italy. The food, the sights, the company. Spent time in Rome and Venice, and it was such a treat.

November

Even though Stockholm got a huge pile of snow in early November, a few friends and I figured we should head WAY north in search of more snow, dog sleds, and northern lights. We were definitely successful on one count. (Kiruna 1, 2)

December

Before hopping back to the UK, I headed to Göteborg (Sweden) for a conference. I got a brief taste of this charming city between action-packed conference sessions.

I have barely been able to breathe the (rather polluted) London air before I realized it is time to pack my bags for Portugal. I am excited to end this year in new place and am excited to see what adventures (and hopefully custard tarts) wait for me there!

So to all my dears, enjoy the last few sips of 2016 and I will see you in the new year!

xoxo

PS. In the spirit of roundups, according to Spotify, this has been the soundtrack to my year.