Turning 30, and a look back at the last decade of travel
I turn 30 tomorrow! After catching up with girlfriends in London and having a solo adventure in Slovenia (my 39th country, with 37 of them visited this past decade), I’m back in Paris (arguably my favorite city in the world) to properly celebrate with a glass of Champagne and a stroll along the Seine with a wonderful friend.
One of my resolutions at the beginning of my 20s was to celebrate every birthday of the decade in a new country. I’m so proud to say that I did it! Although this was (obviously) a really fun goal to achieve, it was also logistically complicated and expensive. The first two weeks of June is a delightful time to travel, but it’s also peak season in a lot of wonderful places. And given that it was my 20s, I had wedding season and work obligations to throw an extra wrench in scheduling.
Part of the reason why I really leaned into this goal is that I don’t really love celebrating my birthday in the traditional way. I don’t like making a big fuss over the day, or asking friends to come spend a bunch of money on a blowout dinner. I love just being able to spend my birthday in my absolute favorite way: waking up in a new place, spending the day exploring a new city or relaxing on a beautiful beach, splurging on an extra fancy drink.
But one of the things that has really moved me on these trips is how much people (strangers and friends!) around me make sure I feel special, whether it was being greeted with a cake and champagne after my hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia or waking up to Aly blasting some R&B version of “Happy Birthday” in our Reykjavik hostel or newfound friends in Nice shutting down the bar with me. Although I’ve definitely recapped my “birthday trips” in the past, I wanted to share a favorite memory (or two!) of that year.
21: Las Vegas
I turned 21 in Las Vegas, which was frankly, not ideal. I had fight with a friend who was there and a fight with my boyfriend at home, and ended up flying home a day early. Alas! A few weeks later, I took off for a five-week solo backpacking trip through Europe (I had graduated college that May). I started off on a Contiki tour through Berlin, Prague and Vienna and then continued solo through Budapest, Salzburg, London, Munich, Freiberg, Interlaken and Nice. I met my friend Renee (whom I just stayed with in London) on a bike tour in Munich! I went paragliding and canyoning! I took so many trains! I asked strangers to take photos of me! And mostly: I realized how much I love to travel to new places, and how much I love to write about it. A job in high-tech PR was waiting for me when I returned from that trip, but that experience really shook up how the rest of my 20s laid out.
22: Nice, France
In true things I did wrong in my 20s: I did not take nearly enough advantage of living in Nice to travel around Europe. But I had so much fun when I did! Two of my favorite trips: heading to Corsica on a whim with Nevin (whom I’m meeting up with in Paris tonight!), and celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich with my friend Melissa and her German boyfriend/now-husband. Both trips were totally budget, but so full of laughs.
23: Melbourne, Australia
I was supposed to spend my 23rd birthday skydiving and then snorkeling for three days on the Great Barrier Reef–but my budget airline cancelled my flight (I am still holding a grudge against Tiger Airways, FWIW), my friends’ flight didn’t get cancelled so they went on without me, and I ended up finally taking that trip six months later. I spent my 23rd birthday at work, probably feeling pretty sorry for myself! But I made up for on the back end of my 23rd year: backpacking through Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Looking back, I still can’t believe that I hopped on the back of a (stranger’s!) motorcycle for three days in the Central Highlands, or got my scuba diving certification in Gili T, or just managed to backpack on my own for three straight months. It truly showed me just how capable I am.
24: Croatia
I road-tripped across the USA to move to New York City shortly after coming back from celebrating my 24th birthday in Croatia. And once I arrived and got my first job offer (not nearly as quick and seamless as I just made it seem!), I had a couple of weeks before my start date. Of course, took full advantage of that for one last big trip: my friend was working on a boat that sailed from Panama to Colombia through the San Blas Islands. I always look back on this trip with a mix of feelings: we were sailing through these beautiful, remote islands and we had a great crew and many beers were consumed. But I also found out the day before we left Panama City that my grandmother had passed away after a long battle with cancer. It was an trip laced with a lot of different emotions, but also: proof of the healing power of salt water.
25: Iceland
My road trip around Iceland with Aly was SO fun: the country itself is stunning, and all of my memories are of just laughing nonstop. That was also the year that things got more serious with David: we took our first, and second, trips together! It was such a relief to travel together and realize, yup, this could totally work. We spent Thanksgiving weekend in very chilly Montreal, and then celebrated his birthday a couple of months later in the Dominican Republic. We also got three (you read that right!) flat tires off one pothole at 10pm after a ridiculously long day of travel–and I think after we survived that whole ordeal (without yelling or getting angry at each other), we knew we were in it for the long haul. The best memories of drinking fresh coconuts and rum all day once we FINALLY arrived at our hotel!
26: Turkey
My friend Nevin (whom I met when I was 22, and have since celebrated FOUR birthdays with, including tomorrow–she’s always up for a June adventure!) is half-Turkish, and I loved having her play tour guide on my first trip to Turkey. But my favorite trip of this year was going back to Paris with my mom! My mom is fluent in French and a huge Francophile (that’s where I get it from!) and we traveled together to Paris during my January break between semesters when I was in college: it was off-season, and it was also the soldes! We recreated that mother-daughter trip, and it was fun to spend more dedicated time with my mom in one of our shared favorite cities. It was also neat to be able to take her to some new places that I had discovered on my travels to Paris without her!
27: Curacao
This was kind of a crazy good year for travel: not only did I celebrate my 27th in colorful Curacao, but I also traveled to Bermuda for a weekend with David and got surprised with the press trip of a lifetime to South Africa. My favorite trip of the year, though, was definitely the week we spent in Costa Rica over New Year’s Eve. It was my only true “vacation” of the year: nothing sponsored, nothing required. We spent all day eating tacos and drinking $1 beers and watching the surfers on the beach, and it was the most rejuvenating trip possible.
28: Aruba
Another crazy year for travel! Shortly after we celebrated my birthday with a “puppy-moon” in Aruba, we brought home Gertie (little love of my life!)–and then I promptly got asked to be on a panel for work at Cannes Lions. One of those crazy experiences where I couldn’t say no, despite it being mayyyyybe the worst possible timing: David is still a saint for dealing with a 10-week-old puppy on his own for my whirlwind 48 hours in Cannes. Even though I basically spent as much time in transit as I did on the ground, I still have the best memories of that trip: I tried to squeeze in as much walking around the city as I could (all of those pastel shutters!) and it was wild to represent Vimeo at such a big event. Still one of my favorite professional milestones!
29: Denmark
When I popped over to Copenhagen for my birthday last year, there were so many unknowns in front of me: we were packing up our apartment, but hadn’t yet moved to San Diego. I was still a little unsure of how things would unfold with my job. Happy to report that we love living in California, and one of my favorite parts of the last year has been exploring our neighbor to the south. I spent Day of the Dead in Guadalajara, our first anniversary in Mexico City, and weekend just-because wine tasting in Valle de Guadalupe. Can’t wait to do more!
30: Slovenia
We’ve got some big travels coming up this year! For better or for worse, I feel like we’re basically all booked out until the end of the year. The highlights: a family trip to Jackson Hole, my first time to Nashville, FINALLY going to Japan with David (it’s been #1 on both of our lists for years!), and spending Thanksgiving with friends in London and Estonia.
