In 2024, after Elisabeth's great idea to name each month with a chapter, I decided to do a recap of the year, aka, my book for the year and it was titled 2024: A Year in 12 Chapters. I enjoyed it so much, that I kept on the tradition, and now we have it, a new year, new book!
I spent the month of January saying goodbye to friends in Germany, and then continuing on solo to France, where I spent a a few days in Strasbourg enjoying the canals and medieval architecture (and the pastries!) before going to Dijon for a month. In Dijon I walked the Owl Trail, and enjoyed more bread and cheese before heading to Lyon, where I stayed for a month. Lyon is a great city and has a fascinating history, including the silk industry and the Lumière brothers, who pioneered the film industry. There are also some great river pathways, fun street art, and of course, more pastries. I met up with a language group and even butchered some French a few times, which was a jolly good time. Oui!
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii
After Lyon, I did a bit of whirlwind travel. I went to Krakow for a week, learned more about the German invasion, toured the ghetto and Auschwitz, and walked from the ghetto to the Schindler factory in the freezing cold, imagining what it would have been like with scant clothing and little body fat. I tried zurek (soup) for the first time, ate lots of pierogies and wandered around the old town. I then went to the Netherlands, and stayed with friends in the little town of Leiden, where we rode bikes (naturally), drank coffee and beer, and enjoyed walking around the canals. We then all went to Brussels together, drank more beer, saw the manequin pis, and there I had my first French taco at a place called O'Tacos (I guess they are Irish French?), which has French fries in it! I should clarify that this was really pretty much a panini kind of sandwich and was nothing like a Mexican taco, but it was not that bad if you close your eyes when you are eating it. I went to Seville, got cursed at by the cleaning lady, ran on the river pathway and got glared at by the locals. I then headed south to the Costa del Sol.
March: Wet and Wild
I stayed on the Costa del Sol for a month, in an apartment right on the beach, and had a great time taking daily walks and runs along the promenade. It was a great chance to rest and rejuvenate. The only issue was that there was a period with a ton of rain, which caused massive flooding in the area. My favorite part was when my Dad and Broski came to visit, and then also separately, but kind of at overlapping times, my uncle and his friend came. It was a lot of fun showing them around, having dinner, eating crappy paella (yup, we did that) and teaching my uncle how to use his phone while abroad. We also went to the Caminito del Rey, which was a lot of fun. After my uncle left, my Dad, Broski and I went to Gibraltar and Granada before they headed to the airport. My favorite of all these places was probably Granada. The Moorish influence is stunning and the tapas are delicious, plus they have mountains nearby. It is on my list for another visit for sure, but not in summer, as I hear that they get over 100 degrees then.
April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too
The entire month of April was spent in Türkiye; first I spent a month in Antalya near the beach, and this led me to realize that as much as I enjoy swimming and water sports and looking at the waves, I am not really a beach person. Luckily nearby there were mountains, and I joined a hiking group for some fun forays out of the city. Afterward, I hiked the Lycian way along the Turquoise coast, which was beautiful.
May: Al Fresco
June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions
I spent a month in Tbilisi, and have I mentioned that Georgia is definitely a place I would go back to? The city is surrounded by hills, there are tons of opportunities for running, hiking, biking and there is so much good food and wine. Also the history of the area fascinates me and the age of some of the history is even more staggering. You can easily get to the mountains and I even did a "day trip" to Yerevan, Armenia, where I spent four days checking out old churches and wine (when I wasn't in bed with food poisoning, that is).
July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure
After spending a month in Tbilisi, I was ready to move fast again, and off I went. I spent a week each in Riga, Vilnius and Poland (Warsaw and Wroclaw, where I met up with Tobia!), and really enjoyed the old and different (and colorful!) architecture, the river walks and the food in all of these places. I also was fascinated to learn more about how each of the countries were affected by the USSR and also how they each got out from under the Soviet's thumb. They each have different languages and customs and food, so it is very interesting to see what similarities they have as well as which differences. Also, I rented a bike in both Latvia and Lithuania and had a great time exploring on two wheels. I even went swimming a few times. Afterward, I flew to Podgorica, Montenegro where I began the next leg of my journey, the Peaks of the Balkans hike.
August: The Dark Tourist
September: Recharging The Batteries
After all of that moving, I was ready to settle down, and I picked the perfect place (for me) to do it, a small mountain town in Bulgaria called Bansko where nothing happens in the summer (it is a ski town), but the trails are made of dirt and the creeks are flowing and the mountains are just outside your door. I rented a bike for a week, made friends with the locals, did a bike race, found a running partner and some hiking buddies and had a great time. I met up with some fellow nomads, ate lots of meat, drank delicious wine and finally got some reading done. I loved it. 100% would go back. This month went by entirely too fast.
October: Blown Away
I have a friend who I have not seen since 2009, but we kept in touch and I kept telling her I was going to come and see her in Scotland. Finally I kept my promise and I had a great time hanging out with her and her family, before I hit the road (literally) for a bit of hiking in the highlands. I loved it. I chose October to avoid the midges and, well, there were none! It was a tad cold, and there were some rainy and very, VERY windy days, but all in all, the countryside was beautiful and the IPAs were delicious, although very low in alcohol for some reason (the highest I saw was 5% whereas an IPA in the US could be closer to 9%). After a few weeks of hiking, I came back to gather up my stuff and say a last goodbye before heading to the Lake District in England, where I did some, you guessed it, more hiking!
November: Baby, It's Cold Outside
Once again, I was a little tired of being on the move every day (literally) and so I was happy to have a 10 day rest doing some housesitting where I ate, caught up a little on some admin stuff, and pet the cat. I also explored the Peak District a bit. Then I headed to Snowdonia, Wales, hiked Mt. Snowdon and then spent some time with Rachel and the kiddos. Rachel was kind enough to let me use her bike and bags so that I could tackle the ride across Wales, called the Lon Las Cymru. I did it, but it was cold (17 degrees one morning) and there was snow and ice! However, I went through some charming little towns and rode on some tiny little roads, and it was great to see the countryside from the seat of a bike. Before I knew it, I was back at Rachel's house, showered and changed, and then on the train headed for the airport to go to Barcelona and my repositioning cruise. The first seven days of the cruise consisted of stops in Cartegena, Malaga, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Casablanca and Funchal.
December: (Not So) Calm Seas
The sea! The last eight days of the cruise consisted of sea days! I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but I did not mind it a bit. It was nice to get a routine going, do a daily walk and not feel like you had to see everything at whatever stop you were at. Before I knew it, I was in Florida, on the beach, with Jenny! We walked around looking at street art in Miami before Jenny drove me back to my hotel, but not before taking me grocery shopping (thanks Jenny)! The next day I was on a flight home, and being picked up by Broski to head to Monterey for some otters, seagulls and time with family. It was so nice to just hang out, walk, play games and spend time together. I then went and spent a couple of weeks with my parents, enjoying their company, packing, looking at Christmas lights and getting ready for the next leg of travel! The year ended with some time helping Broski clear some stuff from the garage, and a quick meet up with Julie, and I brought in the new year with K and the girls. All in all, it was a great year!
Epilogue: if this sounds like a lot of stuff, it is. Of course, I am not driving kids to and fro to soccer practice, or going to a 9-5 every day, but in my own life, I definitely am working on finding a routine, or a balance, because although the last couple of months were great for example (I saw people! I did things! I learned stuff!) months like the month of September need to be more frequent. It gets tiring always planning the next thing, or being around people a lot, especially when there is an expectation of quality time and FOMO and guilt, so there needs to be a balance. I am still working on how much of each thing should be included and for how long, but this is definitely one of the pivots that I talked about in my recent What I Learned post.
So I ask you for help again. Have you been to a place in the world, anywhere in the world that fits this criteria: public transportation, near mountains with hiking and/or biking trails (that ideally you could walk to), small enough town that you can walk to most things (like 8,000 - 25,000 would be ideal), and a running, hiking and/or biking community. Cherry on top if the produce is fresh and not too expensive, and also I would like to have a grocery store within walking distance. Whipped cream if there is an airport within three hours by bus or train. I don't have to speak the language per se but it would be nice if there were a few people who speak English. Anywhere in the world, now....GO!
What did your 2025 book look like? What chapter or month was your favorite?
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