My Favorite Travel Moments of 2020

 

 

2020 was an unprecedented year in every way possible. When the pandemic first hit Europe, France went into lockdown and I was not allowed to leave the confines of my apartment for two months. My husband did all the grocery shopping and pharmacy runs as only one person per household was allowed out at a time and for only an hour a day. It actually felt kind of weird coming out of lockdown and being able to walk outside freely without an attestation (kind of like a permission form) in my hand. Soon after the lockdown order was lifted, Europe reopened for non-essential travel (within the EU) and it almost felt like a “normal” summer. Though things looked and felt a lot different, I still had some amazing travel moments that summer. I felt extremely blessed to be able to experience a summer in Europe without many other tourists and I completely understand my privilege in being able to do so. Without further ado, here are my favorite experiences of that summer!

5/ Reindeer Pizza in Oslo

Oslo was our last trip pre-pandemic. We had visited for only a weekend at the beginning of March to meet up with my brother-in-law. Norway is a stunning country filled with beautiful landscapes, but what caught my attention the most was the food (of course!) and the rich, Viking history. We were lucky enough to meet up with our Norwegian friend, Regine, who took us to see some amazing places and try some amazing food! My absolute favorite thing to try was reindeer pizza at Grefsenkollen Restaurant. The restaurant is located on a hill with an amazing view of Oslo city and has such a beautiful ambiance. I highly recommend Grefsenkollen for some truly delicious Norwegian cuisine with great prices.

4/ My First Time Solo in Venice

A first for me this year: my first time in a foreign country by myself! Woody had to drive back to Nice to attend some meetings, so I was left to my own devices for about 24 hours in Venice. I was a little nervous at first, but once I got outside I had such a great time! I got lost in the narrow alleyways of the city, found some cute local shops, explored St. Mark’s Square and the Ponte di Rialto area, ate some delicious bruschetta and gnocchi, and even had some gelato! It was a short amount of time alone but definitely made me feel like I could take a whole solo trip by myself one day!

3/ Shipwreck Beach in Zakynthos

I’ve seen pictures of Shipwreck Beach swirling around the Internet for years. To me, it just seemed like one of those places that I would never get to in my lifetime. I also imagined that it would never live up to the hype. Boy, was I wrong! The color of the water at Shipwreck Beach is something I’ve never seen before! The contrast of the bright, electric blue water and the cool, white sand was nothing short of a dream. You will need two separate days for this spot, one day to see it from the lookout point (you can go to nearby beaches before or after) and another day to do a boat tour out to the actual beach.

 

 

2/ Spectacular Views in Manarola

Cinque Terre has always been such a dream place to visit for me. Being only a 4-hour drive away from us made it a great option for us to visit this summer as we wanted to be socially distant while still being able to visit new places. We also wanted to visit somewhere that was usually filled with tourists in hopes to see it in a rare state: empty. Well, we totally got our wish! Cinque Terre was practically a ghost town. It was sad to see the businesses not booming with customers. We had so many moments on this trip that we were awestruck, but one of my favorites was definitely having dinner at Nessun Dorma. Normally, this would have been next to impossible as this restaurant hands-down has the best view in all of Cinque Terre. We did still have to stand in line for about 30 minutes as the restaurant does not accept reservations, but it was 100 percent worth it and I would do it again! Definitely check it out, and don’t forget to get some cute cocktails and focaccia, which the region is known for.

1/ Moon Beach and ATVs in Milos

Milos is hands-down my favorite new place I visited in 2020. Everything about this Greek island is a dream. The people are lovely, the food is amazing, and the views are absolutely breathtaking. Every corner of Milos has something different to offer. My favorite thing had to be the beaches. Sarakiniko, also known as Moon Beach has to be one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited in my life. The rocks that form the beach literally look like you are on the moon! It’s also cool to the touch, even under the extremely hot summer sun. If I could only go back to one place that I’ve visited before, this would probably be it.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Let me know in the comments where in the world you would like to visit once it’s safe!