The Year of Travel – A Success!

Posted in Travel.

On 1st January 2012, I wrote a post with a confession – I’m not very well travelled. But I vowed to change that, and The Year of Travel was born. I decided to make a conscious effort to travel more, see the places I’d always dreamed about, and maybe try to achieve that thing regular travellers always rave about – broadened horizons.

So… did it work?

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Central Park, NYC

In a word – yes!

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ElysΓ©es Regencia Hotel, Paris

My first trip of 2012 was with Cointreau, to Paris, in April. I’ve been to Paris a few times before but it’s a city I’ll never tire of – the buildings, the food, the culture. It rained the entire time I was there, but that just added to the general Parisian moodiness. It’s a wonderful place to feel stylish and sophisticated!

Read more about my Paris trip.

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View from the John Hancock Observatory, Chicago

The second (and biggest) trip of 2012 was the Great American Roadtrip, and the first stop was Chicago. What a city! When we visited back in May, Rob’s sister Jen was living in the city and so we had our own personal tour guide. She showed us the Windy City at its very best and we had a magical few days living like real locals.

Read more about my Chicago trip, and see what I wore.

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View from the Top of the Rock, New York City

The next stop on our American road trip was New York. Safe to say I was beyond excited as we descended into JFK… I’d been imagining that moment for more than 10 years. Our 5 days in the city were spectacular, and Rob and I felt completely head-over-heels for NYC. So much so, we’ve been planning our next trip ever since!

Find more details from our NYC trip, see my second hand shopping tips and take a look at what I wore.

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Sunset over the lake in Augusta, Maine

Before we headed back to the UK, we made a final stop in Maine. In sharp contrast to our city living, Maine was laidback and peaceful, with breathtaking views around every corner. We stayed with Rob’s family who were fantastic hosts – the delicious food, natural beauty and relaxing pace made it the perfect place to end our 2-week trip.

Find out more about Maine, and see what I wore.

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Deckchairs on the beach in Brighton

After the excitement of America, a summer in the UK seemed dull in comparison. But part of my resolution for The Year of Travel was to see more of my home country as well as the rest of the world – there are so many fantastic places within easy reach. One of those places is Brighton, which I visited in June.

I loved Brighton’s quintessential seaside feel and cool, quirky culture – it was the perfect place to rediscover the beauty of Britain. Check out the details of my trip in this post.

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Bunting in Newmarket

A wet, grey and cold summer followed, but on a hot August day, Rob and I found ourselves sipping Pimm’s on a sun-drenched terrace in Newmarket. The plan was to explore Cambridge but due to a broken-down car, we stayed closer to our hotel – Bedford Lodge.

A glorious weekend enjoying some time away from the internet in a beautiful part of the country. Read all about it in this post.

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View across the Hudson River, New York

In September, I was back on a plane on NYC! I was thrilled to go to my favourite city twice in one year, this time with a client for New York Fashion Week. It was an insane few days, leaving me exhausted but elated.

See more photos from my second New York trip. 

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Rolling hills near Bainbridge, Yorkshire Dales

In October, my family and I celebrated my grandma’s 75th birthday with a stay in the Yorkshire Dales. We rented a huge cottage to house us all and ate, drank and were merry.

I’ve lived in Yorkshire all my life but sometimes forget just how stunning this county is. This trip was a good reminder! Take a look at more photos from The Dales.

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Edinburgh Castle

I knew I could squeeze one more trip into The Year of Travel, and what a trip it was. Rob and I chose Edinburgh as the place to celebrate my birthday and see in the new year at the Hogmanay street party. It was a wonderful way to round off an amazing 12 months and I’m absolutely desperate to get back up there – the atmosphere, the buildings, the food!

There’s more from Edinburgh here and here.

So that was it – The Year of Travel. I think I did pretty well, don’t you? My horizons are most definitely broadened (along with my hips) and I’ve added a million memories and even more photos to my travel stash. Here’s to 2013 – The Year of Even More Travel, hopefully!

Did you visit anywhere new in 2012?

27 Comments

Sophie

2013 is my year of travel too with Berlin planned for next months. So jealous of the big apple – i’m dying to visit!
Sophie
x

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Becky

I love it when a resolution is met with flying colours, well done πŸ™‚ This year one of my goals is to travel more around the UK and visit the Blue Plaques where notable people lived (I like my history) xo

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Panty Buns

Well done, you! The photographs from your travels are fabulous, as were the descriptions and accounts of your experiences there. You traveled more, or at least to more diverse and interesting places, in the one year, 2012, than I have in my entire life. It’s been a great pleasure viewing it and reading about it on your blog. The only place we have both been in those photos is Manhattan and I haven’t been there in decades. Best wishes for your continued enjoyable travels in 2013. Happy New Year!

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Chloe Green

Well done on hitting your goal!! I love that you’ve mixed some amazing British places with awesome abroad places. Last year I only managed to get away once (Porto, Portugal) but this year I’m planning a whole heap of weekends away.

Happy New year!!

chloex
http://www.bythelock.com

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Janine

Oh my god well done, I may steal this idea from you if that is ok? I have been looking for a theme for my year and travel seems as good a theme as any!! I adore that photo of the Yorkshire Dales, my heart swelled with pride at being a Yorkshire girl when I saw that πŸ™‚ I am also really proud to be British, I think this year really brought it out of the (the olympics, the jubilee) it’s like we’re allowed to be proud of being British again, I hope it lasts and we can reclaim the Union Jack flag from those terrible extremist groups!!

Happy New Year!

Janine xx
BakeGlueandTrend

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Janine

PS I didn’t mean to get political then, oops. I was just trying to say we need the union jack back as a positive sign of GB πŸ™‚

Janine xx

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Amy

That’s a lot of trips to squeeze in to one year! This year I think the only new place I went was Barcelona, although I can’t really complain as it was gorgeous! I’d definitely recommend it if you’ve not been – book a table at L’Academia and you will not regret it!

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Jen

Thanks so much for the tip, Amy – I’m actually going to Barcelona in April so will definitely check that restaurant out! πŸ™‚

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Laura

I also visited New York after about 10 years of dreaming and I too fell in love with the city.
I can’t help but feel a little deflated now though..how will anything else compare?

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Hannindrome

That’s exactly what I said to myself last year. No, I didn’t manage to get to Hawaii or the Caribbean because they are somewhat pricey but I did go to Turkey and then train it through Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic. I was pleased I made the effort to save for it and I’m definitely going to keep at it this year! NYC is absolutely on the list! Hannah x

http://evewantedawardrobe.blogspot.co.uk/

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@distract_me

Wow, sounds like an adventurous year! I went on holiday with my family (first time in years) to Westward Ho! in Devon, and in the summer I traveled around Poland, and visited Berlin. Money’s a bit tighter this year, but I’m planning on going to the Isles of Scilly, and to Reading Festival. xx

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Anonymous

What an achievement, well done to you! I’ve always said I wanted to travel the world but never have done, with my excuses being I have too much on with uni or at work. Though I will now admit that I have probably been suffering from my own bone-idleness! After reading your blog entry, however, it’s encouraged me to start planning & saving to make a start on my travelling later this year, starting with Jersey in September. Starting small & all that πŸ™‚

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