Goodbye 2017!! Wow, this year has passed by SO quickly. Many things have happened this year and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to write things down! I thought it would be really nice to do an end-of-the-year travel recap of all the places I went to in 2017 to see where the year has taken me.
Let’s start with the beginning of the year.
January
I started off the year in the U.S. during the holidays to celebrate with the family (and to get my Spanish student visa). I spent about two weeks between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
San Francisco
In S.F. (my lovely home) I was able to spend time with my family and my puppy Luna! I also got to see friends and relax!
Los Angeles
I then took a road trip with my brother and his girlfriend to L.A. I was taking care of visa business, but also enjoyed seeing old friends, family, and having Sushi Stop with the people I love!
Barcelona
After a couple short weeks in the U.S. I found myself on a plane going back to Barcelona to start my second semester in my masters program. I am still in Barcelona, but not for much longer…
Murcia
I also managed to go on a quick weekend trip to Murcia (where I did my first study abroad semester — talk about a travel recap!). I went to pay a quick visit to my friend Steph! We had a great time relaxing, replaying memories, and eating cheesecake with tea.
February
I didn’t really have the time to go anywhere in February and March because of the demanding school schedule. But I managed to squeeze in a long weekend to…
London
Where I was able to hang out with my boyfriend, his family, and his beautiful pets!
April
In Spain, we get two weeks off for ‘Semana Santa’ which is also known as Easter Break or Ski Week…whatever your school used to call it. During this time, of course I HAD to go somewhere else. Somewhere new. So my boyfriend and I went on an “Eastern-ish Eurotrip.” Our first stop was…*drum roll please*…
Budapest
This was one of our favorites! Budapest was a super clean, small, and unique city for us. We would’ve stayed longer if we could’ve but we had more places on our list to check off. OH… and don’t get me started on the food. We fell in love with the goulash, the stews, the stuffed veggies, dumplings, and sweets. (My mouth is watering as I write this!) I would definitely go back… hopefully for their annual Sziget Festival some day!
We then took a Flixbus to…
Vienna
This city was definitely beautiful (and SUPER clean!) but I felt like there wasn’t toooo much to do. I mean, I’m not super into museums, but if you’re a museum person, then there’s definitely lots to visit here.
We then continued on our journey by train to…
Prague
I’ve realized people either love Budapest and don’t care for Prague, or love Prague and don’t care for Budapest. I would be the former. It might’ve been the weather because it was sunny in Budapest and rainy in Prague, or something else, who knows. But I wasn’t as in love with Prague as I thought I’d be. Either way, I’d recommend seeing it of course, and I’m glad I went!
After Prague, we took an early train ride out to see Auschwitz in Oświęcim, Poland.
Auschwitz
This was an intense time during our trip as we were walking around a very saddening historical landmark. We read stories of the scientists there, the politicians, the leaders, and of course the victims and their families. Seeing where so much sadness and suffering took place, was a very humbling experience that I believe everyone needs to have.
After spending the day in the concentration camps, we took a bus to…
Krakow
Krakow was a beautiful place with a lot of history. We actually got to spend Easter day there and witnessed a basket gathering and donation ceremony, as well as an Easter fair and farmers market. It was super nice to see families with children carrying baskets of all sizes and to see them coming together as a community. This was also where I found one of my favorite hot chocolate spots ever! I went every single day I was there…but sadly on Easter day they didn’t have anymore whipped cream. (Still very good hot chocolate though!)
June
My family decided to visit me for my graduation in Barcelona. It was my grandma’s first time in Europe and I was super excited to show her around. Turned out she wanted to go to different places as well, so from Barcelona, we went to…
Alicante
In Alicante, my grandmother, little brother, and I were able to see the bonfire night of Saint John and were also eaten alive by mosquitos. It was a fun time though and I really enjoyed bonding with them since I barely see them nowadays.
Płock
We then took a trip to Poland (again!), but this time to a town called Płock (near Warsaw). This is when I found out we had family living in Poland… I never would’ve thought my family from Mexico would be living there! So I was able to meet some family I never knew existed, and felt extremely welcomed. We ate amazing Polish food and even went to a cabin in the woods where my little brother was able to play volleyball with some little Polish kids.
Suppppper fun trip!
Now fast forward a few months…since I was stuck in Spain in July, and I started my internship in August…
October
After having a busy two months at work in a super busy hotel, I had to go somewhere to celebrate my 24th birthday of course! So I picked…
Copenhagen
Another favorite that I would go back to! Such a nice small city with lots to see…and EAT. Such beautiful sights as well (maybe it’ll be in next years travel recap)!
During our trip to Copenhagen, we also took a quick day trip to Malmö, Sweden!
Malmö
Malmö surprised me but I definitely feel like I still need to visit Stockholm and other Swedish cities. I want to go back, and hope to do so within the upcoming years.
December
To finish off the year, I thought I would go to Amsterdam or Andorra, but I ended up in London! But who doesn’t love London during Christmas time? The lights and amazing holiday spirit. Although I didn’t travel anywhere new this month, I definitely have loved my time spent — learning about English Christmas traditions and feeling at home.
There’s my travel recap for 2017!
I’ve traveled a good amount this year (which is surprising seeing my school and work schedule) but I am forever grateful!
Where have you traveled this year? & where will 2018 take you?
If you have a year or travel recap, definitely link it down below as I’d love to see where you’ve gone and get some inspiration as well!
Wow! that’s some serious travel for the year. I went to Italy, but that’s really it! Next year I’m going to Germany, England and hopefully somewhere else later on in the year.
Author
Sometimes traveling a lot can be tiring hehe but I hope you can visit many places in 2018! 🙂