From Paris, to San Francisco, to Krakow and Scotland, this year has been an eventful one! I take a look back at 2019 and talk about my plans for conquering more of the world in 2020.
I swear it was only 5 minutes ago I was writing about our first-ever travel adventure for this year. And here I am now, writing my last ever post for 2019. How crazy is that?! I visited so many new places this year and crossed so many countries off of my travel wish list. Furthermore, I also travelled outside of Europe which is something I have never done before!
Let us begin!
JANUARY 2019:
In January, we packed our bags and headed over to Germany’s capital city of BERLIN. We celebrated the start of the year there and did some sightseeing too. I also had the spiciest currywurst in Berlin. That wasn’t fun!
On New Year’s Eve, we headed to a party in Berlin.
The day before that, we did some sightseeing. My favourite part was the Potsdam castle! The castle’s huge and it is a good 10-minute walk to get to it. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it!
January was also the month where I went snowboarding for the first time ever and let me tell you .. it was a fail. We headed to Feldberg and spent a couple of days there snowboarding or in my case, “snowboarding”. Nonetheless, we did have fun and ate a lot of food too!
Furthermore, in January we were hit with a lot of snow and one fine day, I woke up to a white backyard!
And took my neighbour’s cute puppy out for a walk in the snow 💜
February 2019:
February was a quiet month for us. We spontaneously headed to Lake Konstanz in Germany and spent a relaxing weekend getaway there. Lake Constance was around 5 hours away from us. It is actually very close to the Swiss border!
We spent our time walking by the lake and sightseeing in the old town. If you’re wanting a cheap, relaxing getaway without the usual hassles that come with travel, Lake Constance is the place to go!
Another highlight that happened in February was our Chilli’s Valentine’s date night! I don’t believe in this holiday but I was on a diet and it was the perfect excuse to eat junk food 😂 We got Chilli’s from base and it was delicious!
I went to Pf Chang’s for the first time.
Witnessed some amazing sunsets.
March 2019:
March was supposed to be another quiet, money-saving month but I spontaneously went to PARIS with my best friend Jasmar from BeeHive Visuals. He flew to Paris to film his music video for his single ‘Strong‘ and since Paris is only a 4-hour train ride from Saarbrucken Bahnhof, I tagged along!
We did have some mishaps happen to us on this trip. One of them was getting lost in the outskirts of Paris. Jasmar’s phone didn’t have charge and mine only had 1%. With that 1% I got on Google Maps and put in our Airbnb address. Google Maps decided to take us through the back roads and we walked in the mud with no light, expensive camera equipment and shopping bags! I never felt so scared in my life but now, looking back, we just laugh at it!
Paris has been on my wish list for years. I have plans to go back but this time I want to visit Versailles and attend a macaroon cooking class!
We also made our way to the Kaiserslautern food festival for some delicious food.
April 2019:
April is when we started to get a little bit busy. At the start of the month, we flew to CALIFORNIA to visit family. While we were out there, we made sure to visit San Francisco and do some sightseeing. Like I mentioned earlier, this was my first time out of Europe and needless to say, I was a little nervous but I am so glad I went.
Later that month, for Luis’s birthday, we took a road trip from Germany to GHENT in Belgium and from there, we drove to the Netherlands for the Tulip Fields!
On our first day, we slept in Ghent and spent the morning after sightseeing. I fell in love with Ghent’s uniqueness and charm and would recommend anyone to go there. Furthermore, the waffles were absolutely scrumptious!
After we got done with Ghent, we drove across the border to the NETHERLANDS and stopped in Marknesse for the tulip fields. I was contemplating between going to Keukenhof gardens in Amsterdam or driving to the Noordoospolter region for a more quiet and authentic experience. I’m so glad we went with the latter option!
We had another place in mind but on our way there, we happened to see a sign for tulips and we stopped! It was a small field and there were barely any people around. I remember paying a 2 euro entry fee and we were allowed to pick flowers and take them home with us. At the end of the day, I picked 50 flowers haha! No regrets. My house looked lovely and I managed to keep them alive for a week 🙂
On our way back, we made a pit stop at ZAANSE SCHANS. Seeing the windmills has always been a dream of mine and I am super glad we made some time to stop there! Parking was crazy but I had fun walking around and learning more about the Dutch culture and way of life back in the days.
April was also the month the tree in front of our house bloomed with cherry blossom flowers! I know this might be a bit random but I loved sitting at my vanity and looking at it while getting ready 🌸
And we had beautiful weather back in April. I loved going on walks behind our house.
May 2019:
In May, I flew back home to MALTA for my birthday and my best friend’s wedding. I spent a total of three weeks there doing nothing but eating and spending time with family. Luis surprised me one weekend for my birthday when he flew out here without telling me!
I had a list of places I wanted to see in Malta for a long time and I crossed these off in May. These were the Red Castle in Mellieha, Victoria Lines and drink a smoothie from the Sea View Bar with the view of Mellieha Bay under me!
June 2019:
This month was an insanely busy month for us! Firstly, my parents came to visit us for a week for my mom’s birthday. After they left, we took a day trip to COCHEM CASTLE and Gierley bridge, also known as the longest suspended bridge in Germany.
We also took a spontaneous weekend trip to Liechtenstein! Liechtenstein is a very small country by the German, Swiss and Austrian border and has been on our list for ages. We decided one weekend to just drive and spend a weekend there. Our first stop was Liechtenstein castle.
FUN FACT: LIECHTENSTEIN CASTLE IS NOT ACTUALLY IN LIECHTENSTEIN.
After that, we headed to Vaduz, which is the capital city and spent a day sightseeing there! It was a fun and relaxing weekend.
At the end of the month, we had family fly in from the States and our crazy week-long Euro trip began!
Our first stop was Paris. This was my second time in the city and we only spent a day there. We didn’t have a lot of time but made sure to hit some of the main sights.
The next day, we spent it in DISNEYLAND PARIS. This was my very first time at Disney and I really enjoyed it! I quickly found out that me and the rides weren’t best friends haha.
After a brutal night at the Villages Nature Resort, we made our way to the airport and flew to ROME!
This was my third time in Rome and again, we only had a day there. That didn’t stop us from hitting the main sights AND chow down on some delicious Italian food.
TIP: IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC LOCAL FOOD IN MAJOR CITIES, AVOID GOING TO RESTAURANT CLOSE TO MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. INSTEAD, OPT FOR PLACES THAT ARE LOCATED IN SIDE STREETS AWAY FROM TOURISTS HOT SPOTS.
Even though it was incredibly hot and humid, we had a lot of fun.
JULY 2019:
July was probably my favorite travel month because it was then that we flew to MYKONOS. After one night in Rome, we headed to the main airport and got on a plane to Mykonos. It was a relief when we stepped off that plane and there was a fresh breeze!
We spent a total of five days in Mykonos. The first three were spent in this stunning villa. We spent our time walking around the old town, sightseeing and going to the beach!
Me & Luis took a ferry to the archaeological island of Delos. Delos is only 20 minutes away from Mykonos and it is absolutely amazing. There you’ll find remains of ancient temples dedicated to Greek gods! It was certainly a highlight of our time there.
Leaving Mykonos was hard because it reminded me so much of home. I cannot wait to return to Greece and visit Naxos and Santorini!
August 2019:
In August, we got on a flight to Venice that cost only 9.99 euros and from there, we drove to ROVINJ, Croatia! While I was on Erasmus, I met my good friend Ivana who lived there. Ever since then, I made it a point to visit at least once and I sure did this year!
Rovinj is a charming little town in the Istrian peninsula. It is very quiet compared to the tourist hot spots of Dubrovnik and Split but there still is lots to do. We spent our time sightseeing, eating delicious food and of course, going to the beach! We also made it a point to visit the nearby town of Pula.
Croatia is insanely cheap too and this was one of our cheapest trips ever.
September 2019:
What a great month September has been for me! As soon as the month rolled in, I took a solo trip to KRAKOW in Poland. I am a huge history buff and Krakow has been on my list for years! Therefore, when I went on the Ryanair website and saw tickets from Frankfurt for stupid cheap, I immediately bought them!
In total, I spent four days in Krakow. I spent most of my time walking around and exploring. Obviously, I booked a tour to Auschwitz and the Oskar Schindler factory. However, the highlight of my trip was attending a Pierogi cooking class! I had so much fun learning about Polish culture, learning how to make my own delicious Pierogi and meeting people from all over the world!
Also, my Krakow blog post is my most visited blog post in the history of this blog 💕
At the end of the month, me & Luis flew into Milan to meet my family at their house in LAGO DI LEDRO. My family and myself go to Ledro every year for at least three weeks and spend our time relaxing, swimming and eating. This year, me and Luis flew for a weekend and had a blast. We hiked up Tremalzo, ate a ton of delicious food and stopped by some stunning waterfalls! We also almost missed our flight but we will not talk about that here.
Furthermore, we also went on a day trip to the beautiful city of COLOGNE. Cologne was on my travel wishlist for as long as I can remember and I am super happy I got to cross it off this year!
October 2019:
For Columbus Day weekend, we decided to give Airbnb Luxe a try and rented a villa in Syracuse, Italy! I still have to write a post about our experience there so keep an eye out for that one! We spent a total of four days there just chilling at the villa and swimming in the pool. It wasn’t that hot and the weather was perfect.
November 2019:
November was also another great month because we flew into SCOTLAND during Thanksgiving break, hopped on a camper van and drove around the Highlands and Isle of Skye! I was a little nervous at first about sleeping in a camper van but it soon turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever took.
This was my second time in Scotland and we are already planning another trip out there again. This time, we will go to the very tip of the country to get some more information about my Clan and see my ancestral lands and castles!
December 2019:
And now, December. December is one of my favourite months of the year. I love Christmas time and the Christmas spirit. I flew home to be with family and I am currently sitting in the kitchen in my family home as I am writing this, with Luis by my side.
I wanted to relax and not drive around a lot, but I had to go to the VALLETTA CHRISTMAS MARKET. This is our very first Christmas market and it is truly magical. There is a Ferris wheel, a carousel and an ice-rink! Everyone involved with organizing this market really outdid themselves.
But most importantly, I had a lot of fun hanging out with my family, eating a bunch of delicious food and spending my favourite season in Malta ❤
I am also very proud of these Santa cupcakes me and my sister made!
2020 Travel Plans:
I already compiled a list of places I want to visit next year. My top ones are Finland and Norway to see the Northern Lights! However, our focus this year will be to visit Africa. We would like to go to giraffe sanctuary in Kenya and go on a safari as well!
After discovering Airbnb experiences, I made a list of workshops I want to attend. For this year, I want to attend a Venetian mask workshop and a Macaroon cooking class!
A lot of solo trips are going to happen this year as well now that I am finally comfortable with driving in Germany and I cannot wait!
2020 GOALS:
I set myself a couple of goals for next year (as everybody does this time of year). My main focus for this year is focusing on me. I want to make my health and mental health a priority. This past couple of months, I have been working hard to change my mindset when it comes to working out. For years, working out for me meant punishing my body for the way it looked and to burn any excess calories I ate. In 2020, I want to work out for my health and not for my looks! Looks will fade, but your health will stay with you forever.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Since this is my last blog post of the year, I thought I’d reflect a bit on my life in general outside of travel. If you’re new here, I am currently living in Germany. I have been living out here for over a year not and I love it! Moving to Germany prompted me to start this blog because I was bored sitting at home doing nothing and I needed a place where I can vent my feelings.
And that is how Yours Truly Rebecca has started.
My blog has grown SO much this year! My views literally tripled and I feel so proud of myself. Although I did run into some problems, I never gave up and I will never give up. There is still a lot more work to do but it is truly my passion and it gives keeps me excited and motivated.
I cannot wait to see what 2020 has in store for me, Luis and my blog!
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to visit my blog and read my articles. I have big plans and I hope to see you again in my next blog post! 🥂
While you’re still here, be sure you’re following me on Instagram so you won’t miss out on any of my upcoming travel adventures and pin this blog post to your Pinterest boards!
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