2018 was a big year for me in terms of travel. It was my second year of university so my contact hours were reduced and I used this opportunity to travel as much as possible.
January - Madeira, Portugal
This was my favourite place in the world until I was 21 and so, naturally I tried to visit at least once or twice each year, especially as it was getting more tricky to go over the Christmas holidays with exams.
February - Marrakesh, Morocco
This constituted my first trip to an Arab country and I loved the city. I'd recommend hopping on a city sightseeing bus as the commentary teaches you a lot about the culture and stops at all of the main landmarks, including Mellah, Jemma El Fna Square and the souks. There are also plenty of opportunities to ride camels, visit the desert, or head to the Atlas mountains. The food was very good here and this city taught me how to just walk in front of traffic (and brace) in order to cross, which was great preparation for Vietnam.
March - Vietnam
In my Easter holiday, my family and I did a tour around Vietnam with a pleasant mix between learning about the culture in cities, and relaxing by the coast. We started in Hanoi and I was shocked by the sheer volume of motorbikes on the roads, some with an entire 4-person family on board! More alarmingly was the way that the pedestrians crossed the roads - you had to just step out into the oncoming traffic without hesitation and (hope that) the vehicles would swerve around you. It took a bit of getting used to but by the end we were pros. I loved the picturesque Halong Bay, which we cruised along, and we learnt a lot about the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City, in which you could explore the tunnels and bunkers and learn about the different traps and propaganda from the Vietnamese perspective. The floating markets are a must-see and was a very unique experience for me. One of my favourite memories was in a massage parlour, where my mum told me that we were getting a foot massage, which turned out to actually be a full body massage, including one point in which the masseuses slapped our faces lightly. The two things I noticed absolutely everywhere were pagodas and flowers, which meant this country was stunning.
April - Sofia, Bulgaria
I had never been to Eastern Europe but I'd heard good things about Sofia, so decided to visit for a few days with my dad. I was stunned by how beautiful and underrated (and cheap!) this city was; the only city that I've been more shocked by was Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The food was also surprisingly delicious; the only thing I'd recommend is learning a few useful phrases in Bulgarian as English is not very widely spoken in cafés and restaurants.
May - Bruges, Belgium & Lille, France
The sun was shining, and with no plans on a bank holiday weekend, we decided to take the EuroTunnel to continental Europe. I'd never been to either city before but Bruges is very cute and Lille was very pretty and clean, with the typical wide roads lined with trees and rows of apartments on either side. At this point, the only city I adamantly didn't like was Paris, but visiting Lille made me want to revisit (which you can read about in my 2019 Travel Round-up.
May - Sardinia
With two exams completed and one to go, we decided to take a family trip to Sardinia. Admittedly, this wasn't the wisest decision in the middle of exam season, but it was a nice break and my results were unaffected, so it was worth it. Personally, I think that Sardinia is overrated, but I only spent a few days there and we mainly relaxed so I'm assuming if I returned I'd be more impressed.
June - Delhi, India
This was one hell of a trip. To get the full experience, read my India post here. To summarise, I did a medical internship in India for two weeks with a school friend. This was maybe the most eventful trip I've been on, consisting of twisted ankles, UTIs, broken phones, sandstorms, getting slapped in the face by a monkey, and locals forming queues to take pictures with us. It put me off medicine, but the sights were stunning, including Jaipur, Delhi's Humayun's Tomb and Lotus Temple, and of course, Agra's Taj Mahal. This trip also inspired me to add Goa, Mumbai, and the Golden Temple to my bucket list.
June - Ireland & Northern Ireland
Despite living in the UK for over 20 years, I'd never actually visited Ireland. I decided that it was finally time to change this, and I organised a road trip across the island. We arrived at Dublin and headed straight for Cork. All of us were surprised by how beautiful Ireland is, especially the greenery in the South, and the towns (such as Limerick and Cork) were very quaint too. The sights were stunning as we headed north towards Londonderry, passing the Cliffs of Moher and several castles. Northern Ireland was less stunning, with some areas of Belfast appearing rough, and Giant's Causeway being overrated, but I did enjoy the Carrick-a-Rede, and that coast was beautiful. We finally ended up in Dublin, which was gorgeous, but I'd love to return to explore the city fully.
July - Italy
After returning from Ireland, I headed to Bristol to ride a hot air balloon for the first time, and then attempted to ride a motorbike in London. This resulted in a trip to A&E and a written off motorbike. Despite barely being able to walk, my family decided this was the perfect time for a road trip to Italy. We stopped for lunch in Monte Carlo, Monaco, which I always find underwhelming, en route to Milan. My mum had studied Italian here and so showed us around, and I have to say I quite liked the city. We then drove to Bellagio, which was stunning, and probably one of my favourite areas in Italy, and finally we visited Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre was actually my idea as it featured on my calendar, but I was underwhelmed as I thought that there are many other parts of Italy with the same vibe but fewer tourists. Also, being unable to walk meant that we had to ride the bus between the towns, which that didn't add to the experience.
August - Madeira, Portugal
In organising my Summer plans, I realised that I was travelling a lot, and so decided to combine my favourite place with work, meaning that I could stay for longer and earn money. I spent five weeks in Madeira, visiting old Funchal, riding the Monte toboggan, and paragliding for the first time. Although I love Madeira, I realised that I lacked independence here, which unfortunately lessened my adoration of the island, but it was a great holiday nonetheless.
September - Hong Kong & Japan
En route to Japan, we had a three-day stopover in Hong Kong. I loved the city and it became one of the (very few) cities that I'd consider living in. The hustle and bustle of the city with its skyscrapers, combined with the relaxation of the coast thrilled me and I loved the mix of cultures as it reminded me of London.
Japan was unlike anyplace I've visited. The people were so polite and respectful to one another, the streets were spotless, and the transport ran like clockwork. The food was delicious, the bullet trains were breathtaking, and the level of technology and efficiency was staggering. Similarly to Vietnam, we toured the country and this nation is full of variety; from bustling cities such as Tokyo and Hiroshima, to religious shrines such as Fushimi Inari, Kyoto, to the picturesque Mount Fuji, this country has it all.
September - Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
This was the first trip that I went on with my friend and travel buddy Becca went on. Surprisingly, I was actually most keen to visit Montenegro, but we realised that we could
easily stay in Dubrovnik and then take day trips to Kotor and Mostar.
All three cities were stunning, however I was absolutely shocked by Mostar's beauty as I'd never heard of anyone visiting the city or seen any travel adverts to visit.
Kotor was beautiful too and the colour of the water was so unique and beautiful, especially from the view at the top of the city walls. On both tours, we visited waterfalls en route and I would strongly recommend this trio for a mix of culture, sights, and relaxation. We also learnt a lot about communism in the Baltics from a first-hand account and the relations between these countries.
September - Bucharest, Romania
To be honest, Romania was never really on my bucket list, but a close uni mate lived there and so, me and another friend decided to visit her. I was quite surprised by this city; there were very 'insta-worthy' bars and the castles in the mountains were beautiful. Most surprisingly though was the food; my friend's mum kindly cooked a lot of traditional food for us and it was absolutely delicious! The only downsides I found were that I had a bad reaction to the mosquito bites I got (and there were a lot of them) and the heat.
October - Iceland
Everyone in my family had visited Iceland and I was keen to see what the fuss was about. I read that the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights was between September and March, so I ensured we visited within these months. The cold was unbearable but the sights were beautiful. We swam in the blue lagoon at night, tried new foods, and visited the geysers and tectonic plates. Whilst all of these sights were novel, my most cherished memory was our night cruise to see the Northern Lights. Both the chances of seeing them and the visibility were forecast to be 'low' that day, however somehow we managed to see the Northern Lights 'dancing' in not only green but pink too; needless to say I was one happy gal.
November - Milan, Italy
If there's one thing to know about my family, it's that they LOVE Italy; the food, the brands, the sports teams, the towns, the culture, you name it, they love it. And so, it was no surprise that for the second time this year we were back in Milan. This time, however, we had a purpose: Italy was playing a football match against Portugal and for my dad's birthday we wanted to see two of our favourite teams battle it out. I can't actually remember who won, but I had a great time and Italy's team were staying in the same hotel as us so I actually got to meet Donnarumma before the match!
December - Porto, Portugal
My cousin had moved to Porto to study for her Master's and since I couldn't remember the city and hadn't seen her in a while, I decided to visit. It was a lovely break and with lovely sights, amazing food, and great company, I couldn't complain.
December - Livigno, Italy; Bratislava, Slovakia; Vaduz, Liechtenstein
When I said that my family loves Italy, I wasn't joking. I had now visited Italy more times in 2018 than I had my beloved Portugal, but it was three against one and so off to Italy we went. My brother couldn't join us for the entire trip, so we took day trips to Liechtenstein and Bratislava in his absence. Whilst Bratislava surprised me with it's scenic views and escargots, Liechtenstein had the opposite effect. Before visiting Liechtenstein, I wanted to visit every country in the World. After visiting it, I didn't. Take from that what you will.
Livigno, on the other hand, was lovely. I wasn't too excited to spend Christmas (and my birthday) here, but after a few ski runs I was more than content. This White Christmas consisted of crêpes, toasting marshmallows, Italian cuisine, skiing, and snowboarding. To top it all off, on my birthday my brother and mum planned for us to go ice karting. We'd never done this before but there's a go-karting track by our house in Madeira which we enjoy, so we were eager to try it out. Needless to say, it was a great holiday and I loved this tax-free town with its beautiful lake.
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