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Welcome back to my annual year in review. 2023 was a complicated year for me. I went through a lot personally. It was one of the toughest years of my life, however, I learned a lot, deepened relationships with friends and family and had some of my most memorable travel experiences. I've written a number of these reviews so if you want to check out previous editions, here you go: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
MILESTONES
- Joe and I went to Europe together - his first time!
- We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary
- I traveled more than I have in years (I definitely haven't traveled this much since before the pandemic)
TRAVEL
As I mentioned, this year was filled with much more travel than I've experienced since before the pandemic. I'm grateful that I was able to visit several & state this past year. Let's dive into all of my trips:
San Diego
Our first trip of the year was at the end of March. We made our way down to San Diego for Joe's cousin's wedding in Escondido. We visited the Carlsbad Flower Fields, spent time with family & ate good food. It was a fun trip!
Santa Barbara
In April, Joe got the opportunity to head to Santa Barbara for a conference. I decided to go with him and work remotely. It was such a nice, unexpected trip. I worked from some cute local coffee shops, watched sunsets on the beach and rented bikes for an afternoon date.
Paris
For my birthday in May, we made our way to Paris. This was Joe's first trip to Europe and I couldn't have dreamed of a better experience. We started our journey in Paris for a few days (I wished we'd stayed longer!). I shared a lot of recommendations in my Paris Travel Guide. I also vlogged our trip for YouTube. My top highlights? Night cruise on the Seine, taking a croissant class and buying my first Chanel bag.
Athens
Our next stop in Europe was Athens. Joe and I have been dreaming of visiting Greece since we started dating (over 11 years ago!). We started our journey in Athens for a few days. I shared a lot of what we got up to in my Athens Travel Guide.
Santorini
Next up: Santorini. The most picturesque place I've ever visited. I wrote up a very thorough Santorini Travel Guide, as well as my Athens & Santorini vlog.
London
Finally, we ended up European summer vacation in London. This has always been high on Joe's list. I've been a couple times but never as an adult. It was great to explore, have afternoon tea and serendipitously, we met up with a close friend from our New York days. Of course, I have a London Travel Guide and vlog.
TRAVEL
Lake Tahoe
Every summer, Joe and I love visiting Lake Tahoe. This year was no exception. We're fortunate that we're often able to stay at Joe's family cabin in Incline Village. After this trip, I rounded up some of our favorite restaurants and activities for an Incline Village Travel Guide. I can't wait to get back to Lake Tahoe this summer. We have a friend's wedding so I know we'll fit in a trip 🙂
New York City
My first trip to New York for 2023 was delightful. We spent five days for Joe's birthday in September. We could not have picked a better hotel (Park Hyatt - review here), as we were just one block from Central Park. We got to do some of our favorite fall activities, like visiting an apple orchard. You can see everything we got up to on my New York City vlog. It was a full trip of walking all over the city and revisiting favorite spots.
Chicago
At the beginning of November, I took a girls trip to Chicago to visit a friend. I hadn't been to Chicago since 2018 and it was so nice to be back, especially without the summer heat.
New York City (round two!)
Finally, I ended the year with another trip to New York City. This trip was my second holiday trip with my mom. Want to see everything I got up to? Check out my YouTube Shorts (day 1, day 2, day 3, & day 4)
What's Coming Up In 2024?
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, 2023 was a rough year for me. There are a lot of personal things I'm going through and I hope there are some big changes in 2024. Of course, I hope to continue traveling. I have a huge list of all the places I'd love to go. If we can swing it, we'd love to spend some time in Italy this summer. We have a wedding in Lake Tahoe in July. We'd also like to do some closer to home trips (think Vegas, Vancouver, and/or Los Angeles). If you want to stay up-to-date, please follow along on Instagram.
