seriously, what have i done in my life to deserve all this? if i thought last year was good, this year was even better.
256,255 miles, but who’s counting
sometimes i was only home for a night before heading out again, and sometimes it definitely felt like too much, but it was for sure a year filled with amazing trips. and as last year, none of this would have been possible, by the way, without The Flight Deal — every single one of my paid international trips this year was a deal they found.
the holy land {bucket list}
a trip with my dad — we flew into Tel Aviv but drove around the country. [more Israel & Palestine]
argentina
a return to Buenos Aires via Mexico City and a side trip to Salta. [more Argentina]
and my first time eating/enjoying the music at a peña!
moscow {bucket list}, winter olympics & rome
after a long weekend in Moscow and Sochi for curling at the Winter Olympics, i spent a week in Rome. [more Italy]
dublin and a quickie to northern ireland
i spent the week of St. Patrick’s Day week in Dublin and took a day trip to Northern Ireland where i walked on the Giant’s Causeway and checked off an item from my travel music bucket list. [more ireland]
iceland {bucket list}
a trip to Iceland with @inflightfeed and @jetsetcd — highlights included driving out to the abandoned DC-3 and the eating of a boiled sheep’s head!
lithuania
a great week in Vilnius, plus a day trip to Trakai and visiting abandoned Soviet cold war sites. [more Lithuania]
oh and uhh, that time i got my rental car stuck in the sand…
easter island
i stopped off in Santiago for a couple days before heading for a long weekend on Easter Island. a. mah. zing. [more Easter Island]
ibiza {bucket list}, barcelona, and valencia
perhaps the first travel goal i’ve ever had — dating to about a decade ago, i think — was to watch the sunset from Cafe del Mar. after a couple of days on Ibiza i spent the week in Barcelona (and found my way to filming locations of one of my favorite movies, L’Auberge Espagnole) and took a day trip to Valencia to see my favorite architect’s masterwork, the City of Arts and Sciences. [more Spain]
that text is a reference to another travel music bucket list item — listening to Adios Ayer while watching the Ibiza sunset.
malta
i think this was the first time i ever bought a business class ticket — and only because it was the same price as an economy ticket — but it got me to the amazing island of Malta. [more Malta]
bosnia & herzegovina and the middle east do
on the way to Points Summary‘s Middle East DO (which covered several emirates of the UAE as well as a bit of Oman), i stopped for a sobering visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. a cool part, though, was visiting the abandoned bobsled tracks! oh, and we rode on the fastest roller coaster on earth at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi! [more BiH] [more Middle East DO]
oh, and does this look familiar?
shanghai {bucket list}, south (and north) korea, and japan
on the way to meet my parents in Japan (where they were starting a vacation), i stopped for less than 24 hours in Shanghai (mostly to ride the maglev) and a week in Seoul with a side trip to the DMZ. in Japan, we witnessed the Takayama Autumn Festival and i tried some black burgers! [more South Korea] [more Japan]
cape town
after going to South Africa for work years ago, i’d always wanted to return, especially to Cape Town. how much do i love that city?! and yes, definitely do a township tour if you’re ever in that country. [more South Africa]
india’s golden triangle
i spent Thanksgiving week touring Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. [more India]
sofia and vienna
my family was vacationing in Vienna so i joined them for a bit after a brief stop in Sofia — highlights included being on the trail of the movie Before Sunrise and Melk Abbey. [more Austria]
other random things
- I explored western Pennsylvania, seeing Fallingwater and the abandoned Carrie Furnace
- When it came to interesting flights, I was able to try the Air New Zealand SkyCouch, flew a new South African airline (FlySafair), and was on the inaugural Los Angeles-London flight on Norwegian
- I hung out with some of my Friends as the 20th Anniversary Central Perk Popup
- I started shoeflyshoo.tumblr.com which contains (and will contain) all of my leg shots, which apparently are a thing
outlook for next year
i definitely don’t think i’ll be traveling as much as i was able to this year. my January trip to Palawan (Philippines) and potentially my February trip to Tbilisi are no-go due to work (yes, contrary to popular belief, i do work!). in terms of elite status (since many readers are interested in that), i re-made United 1K next year (thanks primarily to a fluke) and i am Delta Platinum thanks to a status match and challenge.
here’s to a fulfilling 2015!