Looking back on 2019
Although I took a break from blogging this year, I certainly didn’t take a break from traveling! I racked up plenty of airline miles and hotel points through almost-weekly work travel: while it’s not always glamorous, I spent plenty of time in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, and tried to squeeze in some fun where I could. I also managed to achieve my annual goal of three new countries (Belize, South Korea and soon–Portugal!), and did some more exploring of my home state.
The one thing I did miss from blogging is having an easy way to share all of my top recommendations from the places I visited. And so! Here’s a quick round-up of the places I went this year, and a few highlights from all of them.
January
Alright, nothing too crazy to kick this off. January is traditionally my month to rest and recharge (as well as not drink any alcohol or eat any sugary foods), and this was no different. We did take full advantage of San Diego winter temperatures: plenty of beach trips, hikes and afternoons in our backyard hammock. One especially fun thing that I did: paragliding over Torrey Pines and Black’s Beach!
February
Although February wasn’t too crazy either, I did have a fun girls weekend out in Palm Springs. Although we somehow managed to get one of the only rainy Saturdays in the desert, we did discover the cutest place with a sprawling patio (with the most delicious spicy margaritas!) to relax in the sunshine on Friday. I also fell in love with the rainbow-colored poolside facades at The Saguaro, and all of the perfectly-maintained mid-century architecture.
March
For our second anniversary, we went back to Mexico! We went to Mexico City for our first anniversary, and this year, we went to Baja California. We flew into Cabo San Lucas, and immediately popped to widely-recommend Flora Farms: it might have been that we arrived right after they were ending lunch service (so we could grab a sandwich to-go, but couldn’t sit down), but I was pretty underwhelmed. It seemed expensive and stylish in a very “made for Instagram” and not authentic sort of way. Alas! Then we drove up to La Paz for a night, had an excellent dinner at Las Tres Virgenes and woke up to go to Balandra Beach–the real reason we were there! The shallow water was warm, crystal-clear and insanely beautiful. After that, we drove to Cerritos: we stayed in a little thatched-roof hut right on the water. I give very high marks to the location, the nearby fish taco truck, and the best massage of my life that I got for $50 on the beach–but sadly, the mattress absolutely stunk and not getting great sleep took away a star from the experience. I also loved exploring nearby Todos Santos: we had a wonderful anniversary lunch at Jazamango, I found the $25 huaraches that I now wear constantly, and we popped into so many cute little shops. Overall: highly, highly recommend!
April
For my fifth annual flower trip with Jillian, I finally checked a big thing off my flower bucket list: the cherry blossoms in Washington DC! We were in New York City to celebrate David’s parents’ 50th anniversary, and I added a weekend in Washington DC hoping that it would magically coincide with peak bloom–and it did! Jillian and I stayed at The Line DC for a night, which is pug-friendly, super stylish and has a delicious restaurant. And, of course, the cherry blossoms were just as magical as expected! The before-work crowds were insane, but I went back before heading to the airport in late morning and it was much more pleasant.
May
I had the loveliest little solo digital detox at the most magical treehouse in the heart of the Mohican forest in Ohio. The treehouse itself was just otherworldly and completely serene, but I also really enjoyed exploring more of Ohio–a state I’d never visited before, nor spent much time considering. All of the rolling green hills and lush green forests and covered bridges!
June
For my 31st birthday, we popped down to Belize–and continued my tradition of every birthday in a different country. I really loved how we spent our week in Belize: half in the jungle, and half on an island. When we arrived, we went straight to Table Rock Lodge. We stayed in a jungle view cabana, which overlooked a river and was completely surrounded by jungle foliage (and animals–we could hear howler monkeys in the middle of the night!). I loved all of the activities available on the property, like tubing down the river, feeding all of the donkeys and rabbits who live on the property, and canoeing up to a neighboring hotel for lunch. We also did an excursion to ATM Cave, which was pretty wild: you go hiking and swimming and explore a cave that holds the remains of ancient Mayans and their pottery. You get real up close and personal with these skeletons: it’s like a living museum, without any glass between you. We flew from San Ignacio to Ambergris Caye: we ended up having a private plane–Tropic Air is the national airline, and the small city-to-city flights will basically use a plane as big as however many people have booked!
Once we got to the tropical island of Ambergris Caye, we stayed at Victoria House: while it was beautifully appointed, I wish we had stayed somewhere a bit closer to town. The cobblestone roads weren’t very comfortable to use the complimentary bikes on, and a taxi costs $5 to town (not terrible, but it adds up!). That said, we loved our snorkeling on Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley (the second-largest reef in the world!) and taking the ferry and spending the afternoon on Caye Caulker. Our favorite day, though, was definitely spent at Secret Beach: I read my book on a picnic table half-submerged in incredibly clear turquoise water, and we found a reggae bar with a pool table and delicious jerk chicken.
July
We were hoping to finally explore Big Sur, but our reservation fell through last minute–we weren’t able to cancel our car reservation from San Jose airport, so we switched gears and went to Big Basin instead. We stayed in this semi-treehouse, where we made s’mores over a campfire and showered outside and enjoyed the exquisitely fresh air. The hiking in Big Bear was lovely–all of the redwoods!–but the trails definitely get crowded midday on the weekends. And one of my favorite parts of Northern California: finding a chilly swimming hole on a hot day!
August
We headed back East in August, bookending our time in Avalon with weekends in New York City. We squeezed in a few of our favorite NYC activities: spicy chicken sandwiches at Commodore, a show at Comedy Cellar, slices of pizza in West Village. And Avalon was as relaxing and wonderful as always: Gert and I enjoyed our early morning beach walks, and we all loved an evening glass of wine overlooking sunset on the bay.
September
A real highlight of my trips this year: South Korea with my friend Megan! We spent a week in Seoul: stocking up on sheet masks, getting every single piece of dead skin scrubbed off our bodies, eating all of the kimchi and Korean barbecue and fried chicken, and seeing all of the beautiful palaces and temples. We were hoping to do a quick trip to coastal Busan to see more of the country, but it turned out we were there over Korean Thanksgiving–all of the trains out of Seoul were sold out! We ended up doing a day trip to Nami Island, which was touristy but fun. The best thing we ate was definitely Korean BBQ here: super authentic (aka no one spoke English, but we managed to point and smile and get food and beers), cheap and SO good. Another highlight was the Night Market Food Tour: we tried so much delicious food and learned a lot about Korean culture. Overall, I really loved South Korea: the food was incredible, it was fairly affordable and easy to navigate, and there was so much to see and do. Highly recommend!
October
I went nowhere in October, other than million work trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it was delightful. Spent a lot of time reading in my sunroom.
November
One of the fun perks of working for Spotify: the company flies all new employees over to the corporate headquarters in Stockholm for Intro Days, three days of overviews of the company’s history, mission and future from the C-Suite. Although it was certainly chilly with early sunsets, I took full advantage of my hotel’s private sauna and especially enjoyed spending one morning at Centralbadet. I popped over to Paris for a solo weekend of shopping and eating and mostly just savoring being back in my favorite city. I especially loved seeing the stunning stained glass windows of La Chapelle for the first time.
December
I just got back from a quick work trip to New York City, where I managed to enjoy a bit of the festive city spirit. And we are still squeezing in one more trip before the end of the year (and my third new country of the year!): we’re heading to Portugal! From Christmas to New Year’s, we’ll be exploring Lisbon and Porto. No huge plans other than to eat and drink and enjoy all of the architecture, but gladly taking tips.
And when it comes to 2020, I’m dreaming of Greece and India–-and Big Sur and Catalina Island a little closer to home!
