I’m the kind of person who keeps a to-do (to-go?) list of places – and in 2016 I ticked off two biggies, NYC and Venice, which have been on there pretty much since I was old enough to start writing lists of daydream places.
So for 2017 it’s time to start ticking off a few more places and having a few more adventures. I took full advantage of the Black Friday flight sales to get some trips lined up, so between that and work the first 3 months of this year are pretty full of travel, so here are my plans.
Baltimore and NYC
At the end of January I’ll be heading back to Baltimore on a work trip. Apart from getting to know my US colleagues better one of the things I really enjoy about Baltimore is getting to see a US city that very few European tourists visit.
So at the weekends I might go to one of the two art galleries that I love in Baltimore, the BMA and the Visionary Art Museum, and/or go and visit one of the museums or galleries in DC. Maybe I’ll see DC in the snow again! It’d definitely be good to see something new, so I’ll try and fit in at least one adventure in between margaritas!
Baltimore is just a couple of hours down the east coast from NYC, so I’ve got myself some early bird Amtrak fairs and a cute Airbnb in Chelsea and 2 days to explore the city. The last time I visited was in June, so it’ll be super interesting to see what the city is like in winter.
LA
In March I’m heading out to LA for two weeks – I’m super excited about getting to see California for the first time! I’m not a great one for planning every detail of a trip before I got but I definitely want to see Venice Beach, Griffiths Park, The Getty and Joshua Tree National Park.
My friend Kate has been taunting me with posts about Joshua Tree and I’m excited to explore a landscape that is totally different to anything else I’ve ever seen.
Barcelona
Gaudi’s architecture is what tempted me to book flights – and that everyone I know seems to have had such a good time here!
And after that?
Micro Exploring
I’d like to take some more day or weekend trips around the south of the UK, exploring the countryside and more trips to London. I feel like I hardly visited it this year except for work – although I did manage a trip to Kew, a long-standing bucket list item of many years.
More trips to the Tate and other galleries are in order and I’d like to go to the top of The Shard. My company’s London office is on the 22nd floor and the views are spectacular so I’d love to see it from the top on a sunny day.
I’m also quite likely to be fuelling my spa addiction with a trip at some point.
Further afield
LA is going to be this years “big trip” and with so much travel lined up for the first three months of the year I might leave it a bit to plan other travels but Lisbon, Morrocco, Edinburgh, Nice and Croatia are all on the list!
I’ve also always wanted to see Petra, so Jordan could be a surprise entry for next autumn.
My post is part of this month’s Travel Linkup – if you blog about travel at all join us with your 2017 Travel Resolutions here.
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OOh so many amazing plans and I love the term Micro Exploring, that is something I am going to remember x
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Thank you! I am so excited! Yeah, it’s too easy for me to forgot some of the cool stuff right on my door step – just hope they sort out the trains some time this millenium though!
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Ooh sounds like you’ve got some fab trips planned! Edinburgh and Nice are both beautiful places to visit ❤
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Yeah, I’m feeling very lucky! I went to Edinburgh on a work trip this spring, but mainly just saw the city from the office I was visiting – would love to get to explore the castle.
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All the pictures look lovely, your office is in a very nice place! I hope you enjoy your trips, they sound really interesting 🙂 x
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Ooh have fun in Baltimore. I would love to be given the chance to travel more in 207 x
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I hope you get your wish! Thank you, I’m looking forward to seeing what else I will discover in the city. 🙂
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Wow thats so awesome. I hope to one day visit Italy and Venice. I have never been to the USA but it’s on my bucket list too. I love the Pacific Islands the most.
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Wow, the Pacific Islands must be amazing! 🙂 you should def go to Venice – it’s such a unique place. I went in late March and it was the perfect time.
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yes the UK is worth exploring as well! I’m sure you’ll love LA and please go to Barcelona, it’s gorgeous. After 10 years I want to go back 🙂
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I am excited by how excited people are about Barcelona!
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You have a great list of places! Have you booked Barcelona yet? If not, look at August when the Festa de Gracia is on. It’s amazing! The residents decorate the streets in the Gracia neighbourhood and there’s all kinds of excitement in the evening x
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I actually accidentally booked for the Easter weekend! But I’m hoping there might be some local colour that weekend!
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How was the Easter weekend trip to Barca!
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great plans! #travellinkup
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Thank you! 🙂
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I’m so stealing that phrase – micro exploring. Amazing!! I hope to do lots of micro trips this year too
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Haha, steal away! 🙂 look forward to seeing your adventures – and getting some of those micro adventures started.
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I would love to go to NYC! You’ve so many plans for 2017 I hope you achieve them! xo
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Thank you! 🙂
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Sounds like you’ve got some exciting plans lined up – I visited Barcelona last year and it’s an absolutely wonderful city, I’d love to go back.
Micro exploring is great fun, I’m trying to make the most out of all the countryside that’s near where I live in Manchester – a great way to have a cheap day out too.
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I can’t quite believe it’s taken me this long to visit! That sounds like a plan – love finding new places in the country!
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I love US work trips especially when you can combine them with visiting another states or caribbean islands! So that’s great news that you’ll get to return to NYC! Would love to visit Petra in Jordan at some point and Croatia has been on my list forever!
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Me too! A Caribbean island jaunt sounds very tempting…didn’t even think of doing that. Next time! 😈
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LA is my dream destination and has been since I was very young! Sounds like 2017 is going to be fantastic for you. My sister lives in Barcelona 🙂
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I’ve always wanted to go to California and am so excited that there’s such variety around LA – city, beach, desert! Any pro Barcelona tips?
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Baltimore sounds really interesting! I look forward to seeing what that’s like, as you say somewhere very few European tourists make it to I expect. I’ve also seen great things about the Joshua Tree National Park, that sounds really exciting! My travel wishlist for the year is basically move to Australia so it’s a bit one dimensional…!
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Expect a preview post in the next few weeks as I get more excited about going! 🙂 Maryland is such a charming and beautiful place! Good luck on moving to Oz – I’ve been thinking about relocating so will be watching your journey!
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Your plans sound so exciting, and I love the idea of micro-exploring. I’ve been to Lisbon a couple of times, it’s a gorgeous city
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Me too! Although having said that this weekend I’m mainly nesting in my flat, preparing for upcoming travel! 🙂 I feel that Lisbon is becoming a stronger and stronger contender for this year, everyone seems to love it!
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What awesome plans! Look at you going for east coast and west coast of the US! Hope you have loads of fun 🙂
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Thank you – I really enjoy Baltimore. Waiting for a sunny day so I can sample the view from the World Trade Center Baltimore.
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