1 international move, 1 new flat, 17 countries, 31 cities, 33 flights, 21 trains, 3 new tattoos, 1 half marathon, 96 blog posts and infinite venti cold brews.

2017, you were one for the record books.

I’m not usually one for New Year’s resolutions- I believe you can start making a change any day of the year, and January 1 doesn’t need to be an end-all, be-all catalyst.

But, in 2016, I wanted to set a resolution for myself that I could track and talk about. And, with starting a travel blog on my mind for several years, I knew it had to be travel related.

Enter the #Take12Trips. The #Take12Trips challenge was originally started by Clare from Need Another Holiday.

To #Take12Trips, you only have to commit to doing something once a month. Anything counts- it can be dinner at a new place, visiting a new museum or spending the weekend at a cute B&B in the country. It doesn’t need to be an epic trip to a foreign country, just the chance to discover something new.

As in 2016, some of my trips were big week long explorations in other countries, others were be small weekend getaways, and some were a day-trip or afternoon someplace I hadn’t explored yet.

In 2016, I really came to believe that traveling is a mindset. It doesn’t need to involve a flight to a new city, a car ride to a weekend getaway or even sitting on a train for a few hours.

And this year, traveling to so many new countries in Europe and Asia (often on my own), I learned again and again that none of the things I may worry about, or be afraid of, compare to missing out on an experience.

I can’t wait to see what 2018, the third year of #Take12Trips, holds. I’ve only booked my first trip, but have started loosely thinking of places I’d like to visit this year.

Here’s what I’m thinking-

• January: Long weekend in Marrakesh, Morocco
• February: Weekend in Hamburg, Germany
• March: Weekend in Ljubljana, Slovenia & bank holiday weekend in Norway (thinking Bergen and Stavanger)
• April: Weekend in The Netherlands (Amsterdam to see tulips and likely Rotterdam or Haarlem)
• May: Weekend in Liverpool, England for the Rock ‘n Roll half marathon and a week in Bali at the end of the month (<3 bank holidays)
• June: Long weekend in Cornwall, England
• July: TBD
• August: TBD – potentially a long weekend in San Francisco to visit my sister at a summer internship & hoping to ferry between Helsinki, St. Petersburg & Tallinn at the end of the month during the last summer bank holiday
• September: TBD
• October: Likely heading Stateside to Indianapolis for a good friend’s wedding & Lisbon for a weekend to run the Rock ‘n Roll half
• November: TBD
• December: Would like to book two long weekends visiting Christmas markets in places like, Budapest, Bratislava, Salzburg, Munich, Regensburg, Lille & Brussels- it’s a long list so I’ll have to do some narrowing down when the time comes && planning to spend the time between Christmas and New Years in South Africa
• & TBD (def won’t get to all these places this year, but on my list of places I’m considering): Krakow, Poland; Santorini, Greece; Madrid, Spain; Florence, Italy; Tel Aviv, Israel; Riga, Latvia; Aarhus, Denmark; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and a mini road trip through Scotland or Ireland

Are you planning any trips this year you’re excited about? Also, I love recos! If you’ve been to any of the places I’m considering visiting in 2018, let me know 🙂