2014: A Year in Travel

2014 was a year of some wonderful new travels and experiences. I set myself a new year’s resolution to travel to 5 new places that I’ve never been to before and for the first time in my life, I managed to accomplish a new year’s resolution (visiting 7)!

It was also the year that I celebrated my 2 year anniversary in London, my 6 year anniversary with my boyfriend and my 27th birthday, for the second year running.

With the highs there also come the lows and I can honestly say that 2014 was the hardest one yet. From the sad loss of my gorgeous cat Roxy to the recent critical illness of my sister, it has taught me to appreciate those close to me so much more and reminded me what the most important things in life are.

2014 was also one of the most personally challenging years. I started a new job, started blogging again, took up freelance writing and kicked my ass into gear in the health and exercise department, losing a much needed 2 stone (12kg). It goes to show that with big challenges come big rewards and it’s so important to keep challenging ourselves in every possible way to continue evolving mentally, physically and spiritually.

So to celebrate the end of 2014, despite writing this post from a hospital ward where I’ve spent the last 2 weeks visiting aforementioned big sis (she’s recovering really well, thank you for your well wishes), I want to end on a high and share with you all the wonderful travels and adventures from the past 12 months.

2014 kicked off in the Western Australian outback where a friend took me to a party on a big lake, in the middle of nowhere. We drank on the lake, danced on the sand and slept in the car, making the 3 hour drive back to Perth with very sore heads the next day. My dad lives in Perth and it’s one of my all-time favourite spots for a holiday, as the beaches really don’t get any more beautiful than that!

I then spent some time in Brisbane, where my mum was living at the time, and spent my days lying by the pool, snuggling with my cat Roxy and enjoying nature. We also drove down to northern New South Wales and spent a few days in the magical Byron Bay, one of our favourite spots for previous family holidays.

After returning to a much colder London, planning was quickly underway for the next holiday – I find it’s the best way to get over the holiday blues and get through a long winter. Next stop, Warsaw. My mum (and my cat) both moved to Warsaw after Christmas so it was a perfect opportunity to pop over to Poland for a weekend in February

March took me to Milan for 2 nights on a work trip. My client took us out to the best restaurants in town and we even managed to get the last afternoon off work to explore the beautiful city

April was ski trip time! 10 friends and I hired a beautifully retro log house in the Austrian alps, where we spent a week skiing, eating, drinking lots of mulled wine and being merry

In mid-April I set a personal record when I popped over to Paris for the day, leaving at 7am and getting back at 6pm, for a client lunch by the Eiffel tower. This is why I love living in London!

Then my boyfriend and I hurried over to Warsaw for Easter (and missed our first ever flight) to get some more cat cuddling time in with Roxy (and to say hi to mum, obvs).

My smoothie maker arrived in May and my health kick went cray. 2014 was definitely the year of the superfood smoothies (OK this one wasn’t travel related but it was a big moment nonetheless)

I took advantage of May’s bank holiday to go on a road trip to Wales with my sister and our boyfriends, for some R&R in the stunning Welsh countryside

June came around quickly and it was time to head to Glastonbury for a weekend of dancing, boozing and camping with a group of my closest friends

I had to wait until August for a proper summer holiday, a week in the beautiful Mykonos spent relaxing, lying on the beach and eating lots of delicious, Greek food.

With the end of summer fast approaching in September, I went on a girl’s long weekend getaway to the Champagne region of France…

… followed by another sneaky trip to Warsaw

My boyfriend’s parents were visiting Europe in October and we went to meet them in Madrid, where we spend a lovely 4 days walking, drinking excellent rioja and eating way too many tapas

I had a few spare annual leave days to use up in November so I booked a last minute trip to Geneva to visit my best friend. It was my first time in Switzerland and although it was really foggy and quite cold, it was still beautiful

December in London is quite magical and the cosy feeling of Christmas is all around, so it’s been nice to enjoy some time here over the last few weeks. Just to squeeze in one more trip though, I’m off to Paris on the 31st to bring in the new year in my favourite country! Photos to follow ☺

Now it’s time to start planning 2015! I’m thinking Turkey, Iceland and Scandinavia will be on the cards for the coming year, but who knows where I’ll end up?!

What has been your favourite holiday of 2014, and where do you hope to visit in 2015?

LNG x