Back in January, Chi-town Girl and I dubbed 2009
“the year of travel”. At the time I couldn’t have imagined what was in store for me. I ended up taking six trips, going to 8 countries (and not blogging a single one). Travel defined 2009 for me — I came back from one trip to immediately start planning the next, and by the end of the year I wasn’t even bothering to put my suitcase away between unpacking and packing again. So as I sit here on New Year’s Eve trying to get my head around the fact that tomorrow is the start of a new decade, here’s my travel year in review:
- January: Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt & Jerusalem, Israel
In the pursuit of winter sun and ancient history I got over my apprehension about cheesy package deals in tourist traps and booked myself a week in Sharm el Sheikh. I made a perfect choice in the
Sea Life resort, a beautiful collection of traditional Nubian buildings in lush gardens with its own stretch of beach in Nabq Bay, away from Sharm proper. The snorkelling in crystal clear waters teeming with tropical fish, the stunning stretches of Sinai desert, the perfect weather, and the proximity to so many other fantastic places in the Middle East, make it one of my favourite places. I can’t wait to go back.
While I was there I took the plunge and went on a guided day trip to Jerusalem. I can’t even describe how surreal it felt to be travelling up through the Negeb in the early hours of the morning, standing on the beach of the Dead Sea, walking around the old city, steeped in thousands of years of history. Of course the trip was on one of the few cold, misty days in Israel — that’s the way my life works. I’m planning a two-week trip to see Israel and Jordan properly, and I want to fit Egypt in there even if it is just to do the overnight climb up Mount Sinai.
I’ve wanted to go to Rome for a long time, so when Chi-town Girl suggested we go for a weekend when she came to London I immediately said yes. Two days is by no means long enough to see the sights of Rome, especially when it turns out your travel companion isn’t really into sightseeing after all, but I can say I finally got to drink in the sights of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, St. Peter’s Square. I took a temporary break from the endometriosis diet ahead of my surgery in March and stuffed myself with pizza, pasta and gelato. I had abdominal pain for at least a week after, but it was worth every bite.
- May/June: Toronto, Canada & Chicago, U.S.
After taking a break to get over the surgery, I headed across the pond in the last week of May to catch up with friends. Having done my third year of university at Ryerson in Toronto I have some wonderful friends there, a group of girls who are like my sisters. We were out every night until at least 2am and once again I got melancholic about what my life could be if I moved back there. Miss Ross broke my heart when she said she was holding out hope I’d move back so we could be flatmates. We’ve been talking for years about bouncing around Europe together — hopefully 2010 will finally be the year it happens.
Seven days were nowhere near long enough in T.O., which everyone I saw chided me about, but while I was less than two hours away from Chicago I had to go and see Chi-town Girl. After the exhausting madness of Toronto, it was a nice change of pace to hang around such a cool city. And that’s a deliberate word choice — wandering around downtown, it just had the atmosphere of being
cool. I spent most of my time shopping…Loehmanns, Nordstrom Rack, Michigan Ave…love. Why can we not have Loehmanns in London?? When I wasn’t building my Marc by Marc Jacobs collection I also did the fabulous Chicago Architectural Foundation boat tour, wandered around the Art Institute, and took Chi-town Girl on an impromptu walking tour of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed houses. I hope I make it back there someday.
- September/October: Paphos, Cyprus
The summer was spent preparing to be a bridesmaid in Kam’s wedding in Paphos harbour the first weekend of October. I stayed in the same hotel as the bride and groom to be and although I didn’t expect to see much of her in the few days before the ceremony, we got in some quality sightseeing and ice cream eating time. As well as being a bit of a Brit tourist trap, Paphos has a beautiful coastline, historical sites like the Tombs of the Kings and the archeological park (a World Heritage Site) with its fantastic mosaics, and great vegetarian food. Once Kam was safely married and off on her honeymoon to Egypt without drama, I took a day trip to the stunning Troodos Mountains.
- October: Prague, Czech Republic
As soon as I got back from Cyprus I was preparing for my first business trip two weeks later to a conference in Prague. Since the conference was on a Thursday and Friday, I stayed the weekend to cram in some sightseeing. From the moment the cab from the airport drove past the gothic structures of the Old Town illuminated in the night, I knew I was in for a treat. Prague is the most breathtakingly beautiful city I’ve seen, straight out of fairytales. Every time I was in the Old Town Square I heard someone refer to Disney or Cinderella. Each building in each cobblestone street is gorgeous, and I wanted to photograph them all. Judging by the more than 700 snaps I took in the course of 2 days, it feels like I almost did. Prague Castle was almost overwhelming, and St Vitus Cathedral has joined the Palace of Westminster as one of my favourite buildings in the world. (So, incidentally has the Tribune Building in Chicago.) If you’re short on time like I was, I highly recommend the 6-hour Ultimate Walking Tour, which hits all the key sights and includes a boat ride and lunch.
I’ve never been much of a beer drinker, far preferring the sweetness of girly cocktails, but the Czech stuff certainly won me over. It really is as good as you’ve heard. Why I didn’t bring at least a few cans or bottles home I don’t know, but it’s all the more reason to go back in 2010. The itinerary I’m planning for my trip with Miss Ross includes a few days to get better acquainted with the city and share it with someone else who’s big on taking photos.
- November: Madeira Island, Portugal
Although at this point I should’ve given my overused credit card a rest, after Prague it was time to get serious about planning a week away with a friend who’d lured me in with talk of going to Goa. She decided against going that far for a week, but I was not about to turn down a chance to have someone to travel with. We ended up at an oceanfront hotel in Madeira, with a spa that we virtually had to ourselves where we spent the grey, chilly days. In Funchal, the capital, the sun often came out as we strolled around the gorgeous botanical gardens where I played around with the macro setting on my camera to capture the detail of so many striking flowers and cacti, took the cable car up into the hills for the fabulous views and walked the steep pathways to the deserted Imperador gardens, and I dragged her all over looking for a restaurant that served vegetarian food other than omelettes. In the evenings we read books and ate Milka chocolate and watched U.S. TV shows with Portuguese subtitles — House and Flash Forward and the Rachel Zoe Project (my new TV love); in our channel surfing we even caught an episode of Grey’s.
The highlight was the levada walk we took on the 25 Fontes (25 Fountains) route up in the mountains on the last day. Although it was misty and wet and cold at 2,000ft, and I felt guilty for dragging her along when she’d rather have been in the jacuzzi, it was all worth it when we turned a corner on the forest trail to see the waterfall at Rabacal. A memorable end to a great year of travel.
