2016 has been an absolute whirlwind. I didn't think anything travel wise could beat 2015 but looks like I was wrong! I never made it outside Europe this year but it has made me appreciate just what a beautiful continent I'm lucky enough to live on. I have such a love affair with Europe and can't rave about it enough. So much culture, beauty and incredible food just a few hours away. I almost don't want to visit anywhere else... I also got to see a lot more of the UK this year which has been fab. A few weekends away in your own backyard are great for recharging your batteries. So where did I end up this year?
Back in Feburay I headed to the Cotswolds to help celebrate Sarah's birthday with all my blogger chums. It was my first time in that part of the world and it certainly won't be my last. Just three hours from London, it felt a world away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. We stayed in a beautiful National Trust property and spend the weekend eating cake, taking long rambling walks and putting the world to rights. Who says people on the internet are weirdos?
After stumbling across £20 flights, it was off to Cologne in March. Despite only having previously been to Berlin, Germany is my favourite country so I was excited to explore more. Cologne was the perfect long weekend away. It's not a big place and if I'm honest, four days was probably a bit too long. But it gave us ample time to wander around aimlessly and truly relax. There was no strict timetable to stick too! I developed a love of German beer, ate a pork knuckle as big as my head and nearly died as we walked to the top of the cathedral.
I booked this as a birthday treat for my boyfriend but ended up falling head over heels with the Scandinavian city. It was absolutely incredible and one of the best places I have ever visited. I could see myself very happily living there for the rest of my life. THE FOOD! Oh my the food. It was some of the best I've ever eaten. We ate like absolutely kings and came home like paupers thanks to the ridiculous prices. And I thought London was expensive. But it was 100% worth and I'd do exactly the same again.
Prague
The first stop on our epic Eastern European trip was the Czech Republic capital. After promising to visit for the past nine years, we finally made it. We had four days which was perfect. We'd done all the main sights within 3 days so we had one day to relax and soak up the atmosphere. The old town was absolutely stunning and it's probably one of the prettiest cities I have visited. The endless terracotta roofs were darling. We had some of the best food of our entire trip here, enjoyed the local beer, trekked to the top of a ginormous hill and battled the crowds on the Charles Bridge.
Vienna
We completely misjudged Vienna when we only scheduled in two days in the city. It turned out we actually only had 36 hours which wasn't long enough at all. I was so blown away by the stunning architecture and feel so sad we only scratched the surface. Unfortunately we couldn't inside anywhere but that just means we shall have to book a trip back.
This city was a game changer. Only put on the itinerary because it was somewhere to spilt the trip between Vienna and Budapest, it ended up being my favourite place I visited over the two weeks. The quaint Slovakian capital was hip, pretty and buzzing. I loved the cafe culture - endless locals spilling out into the street sipping on coffee and watching the world go by. Two days was the perfect amount of time.
It took a while for me to warm up to this city. It was dirty, grimy and not that welcoming. After coming from three beautiful cities, it took a while to get used too. But after a couple of days I grew to love its quirks and ended up having the most fun during the trip in the Hungarian capital. We managed to grab some festival tickets and wandering past the stunning lit up Houses of Parliament at 2am with three of my favourite people is one of my favourite memories. However, getting up for the plane home the next day was not a fun memory...
June saw a trip down to Bristol to visit a good friend for a girls weekend away. Boy did the four of us cackle the whole weekend. We stuffed our faces with pizza, took strolls along the harbour and danced until 5am. We realise that maybe we were too old for the latter... I couldn't recommend Bristol enough for a weekend away. It positively shines in the sunshine!
We had such a good time in Bristol that we scheduled another girls weekend away in October to my BBF's old university town. I'd been to Plymouth before but never really ventured any further than the student union. We ate gorgeous Thai food, got the boat over to Cornwall, got stranded in Cornwall and had beautiful Autumnal sunshine.
Pic taken from Bow Dream Nation
Glasgow
This hasn't actually happened yet but I'll be in the Scottish city this time in two weeks. We're flying out on Boxing Day for a wedding and NYE. With a full week in the city, I can't wait to really sample all the foodie delights on offer. I've heard such GREAT things. I want to see a few sights but am also going to try and take it easy so I go back to work in 2017 feeling nice and refreshed.
