places my eyes have seen over the years

As someone who considers herself a traveler, I decided it’s time to lay it all out. I want to track the places I visit within a month or year. By doing so, I hope to inspire you to know that if I can do it, so can you, but also to inspire myself! I often write down my goals or dreams, but I don’t realize that I am already living them. When I write something like “visit a new country alone for a weekend,” I dream of the day when I’ll do that without realizing it has happened. Even though I am living my dream life, I don’t always recognize it. First, let me give you a quick refresher on where I have traveled in the past to prepare for this new year of travel.

Where I traveled in 2016:

This was my first year out of the country. I visited the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico (Cozumel and Mexico City).

Where I traveled in 2017:

This was my first trip to Europe! I visited Belgium (Brussels), France (Paris), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam).
I also went back to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico (Costa Maya).
I went to Nashville, Tennessee for the first time. While there, I also went to Graceland.

Where I traveled in 2018:

This was a year for home growth. I traveled extensively throughout my home state, Massachusetts. My travels brought me throughout the Cape, Boston, and central Mass.
For Christmas, my family and I spent the holiday in beautiful Puerto Rico. While there, we visited San Juan and Isabela.

Where I traveled in 2019:

This year pushed my love for travel over the edge. I lived in China for three months at the start of the year. In China, I traveled to Zhongshan, Guilin, Yangshuo, Xi’An, and Guangzhou.
Over the summer, I traveled throughout the Cape. I also went to the Vineyard.
At the end of the year, I lived abroad as an au pair for four months in Rome, Italy. During my stay in Italy, I traveled to several Italian cities as well as countries throughout Europe. In Italy, I traveled to Assisi, Civita di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Santa Marinella, Bracciano, Anzio, Ninfa, Castel Gandolfo, Napoli, Tivoli, Verona, Bologna, Foligno, Lucca (x2), Firenze, and Siena.
The countries throughout Europe that I traveled to are England (London), Switzerland (Lausanne, and Geneva), Poland (Krakow, Oswiecim- where I paid respects at Auschwitz), Austria (Vienna), France (Evian), and the Czech (Prague).

Where I traveled in 2020:

Well, as we know, 2020 was a sort of a waste of a year, especially for travel. I was supposed to be moving to Mallorca, Spain for the summer, but this didn’t happen.
Instead, I traveled throughout Massachusetts and then moved back to Florida. Spain, I promise we will meet someday!

Where I traveled in 2021:

Arlington, Virginia to live for the year. I moved to this lovely city for the year, though found myself elsewhere for the majority of the year.
Washington, D.C. while living in Arlington.
Poggio Nativo, Rieti, Italy to live for the summer! This is where my parents bought our forever home. I’m absolutely obsessed with the village, the house, the people, the area. Everything about Poggio feels like a fairytale and I’m so blessed to know it.
While spending the summer in Italy I also traveled extensively throughout Italy and went to a few European countries. In Italy, I traveled to:
- Scalea, Santa Domenica Talao, Orvieto, Fara in Sabina, Chianti, Firenze, Puglia (Ceglie Messapica), Ostuni, Lecce, Monopoli, Polignano a Mare, Sacro Bosco, Orte, Ostia Antica, Lago del Turano (my new favorite place), Rieti, Pompeii, Napoli, Vesuvio, Palermo, Segesta, Erice, and Trapani.
Outside of Italy, I traveled to:
- Croatia (Dubrovnik, Lokrum, and the Elaphite Islands of Lopud, Šipan, and Koločep), Denmark (Copenhagen), and Vaticano (while of course, it’s in Italy, it technically is its own country).