“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

Travelling is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world and it always has been. I was lucky as a kid that my parents took me to such wonderful places including Florida, Cuba, Washington, Virginia Beach and California. They also sent me on 2 trips in High School (the first one was to Italy and then the second one was to Spain) through the March Break programs which were incredible. My love of travel only continued after meeting my husband who was also a fellow travel lover which was perfect. The hubby actually spent his grade 12 year in Czech Republic through a Rotary program which I think is soo neat-even though I don’t think I’d be able to let my baby girls go that far for so long! During our 1^st year of dating I went to visit him in Peru where we spent 2 weeks in Lima and 2 weeks traveling around with Intrepid Travel Group. Luckily Peru wasn’t very popular yet and we were able to get a 2 for 1 deal which included 12 days of hotels, all of our transportation, a few meals and all of our entrance fees which is insane. Peru was a dream come true because I had always wanted to see Machu Pichu and I’m so thankful that Jord spent a year there or I don’t think I would have ever made it there.

After getting engaged we contemplated teaching abroad in Asia and even obtained our TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) certifications but decided we’d rather just travel around instead. So after saving for the Summer (I worked as a Bartender for the summer and made ridiculous money) we set off for Japan! We visited Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore in 16 weeks which was just incredible. I cannot describe my love for that trip and I’m so happy we took the leap of faith to make that journey. In my honest opinion you will never regret a trip you take. We actually wrote an entire blog on it on Travel Pod (the BEST travel blogging website that unfortunately shut down) and I’m going to try and upload it to here so that it hopefully inspires you to take an adventure in Asia yourself!

For our 1^st Valentine’s Day as Mr. and Mrs. I surprised Jord with a trip to New York. Even though it was a super expensive weekend it was totally worth it; except next time I’ll go in the Summer cause it was effin cold! We also got to see The Book of Mormon on Broadway which was basically a dream come true for the hubby. I would have preferred to see something else as that humour isn’t my cup of tea but the performances and singing were incredible so that was good. For our 1 year anniversary we went to France which had been #1 on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Even now when you come to my home it’s hard to look anywhere and not see something France related. Seeing the Eiffel during the day and during the night are indescribable and something you need to experience once in your life. Jord also surprised me with tickets to Moulin Rouge which was one of the best gifts he’s ever gotten me and even though it was nothing like the movie I still loved every second of it. During our time in France we spent time with Jord’s wonderful Aunt and Uncle in Fontainebleu before heading off to Marseilles, Nice, Cannes and Monaco—all of which were incredible. It’s funny the first time my husband went to France he didn’t like it at all but this time he says it was one of his best trips ever…I guess he just needed me ;). It also helps that we found out about our 1^st little Peanut there so that also makes the trip memorable.

The last trip we went on was as a Family of 3 to Croatia. At first I wasn’t super impressed with Croatia but as we went further south heading towards Dubrovnik I was blown away by the beauty of this amazing country. The waterfalls, the ocean, the sunsets etc were just incredible. I would also say it was a great place to bring a little one because there weren’t as many museums as normal, rather you just walked around and enjoyed the view. Plus, even though we’re a non-hiking family we still loved visiting the gorgeous National Parks. Croatia is starting to become more touristy which is a shame but it is still a wonderful place to visit and I highly recommend it.

Ou I almost forgot about the little mini trip we just made as a Family of 4! In order to thank my parents for everything they do for us we took them to Quebec City for 3 days and it was honestly one of the most magical places I’ve ever been! We went to the German Christmas markets, saw the Chateau Frontenac, went to Old Town, visited the Aquarium and had some truly delicious meals. We also went to a restaurant my parents had gone to on their anniversary 42 years ago so that was pretty special. One of the best parts was seeing Santa in Old Town and I might be exaggerating a tad but I truly believe he was the real deal. Overall, even though it was a pretty chilly trip it was absolutely fabulous.

So that’s basically my travel history and although I’ve seen many beautiful places in the world, I haven’t even begun to make a dent in my travel bucket list! Can’t wait to share more travel stories and tips with you soon!