A Travel Year in Review: 2016

Before the new year begins, I’d like to take a moment and think about all the milestones the year coming to an end brought. We were busy in 2016 and I am thankful there are great many moments to chose from. Join us as we recap our favorite ones on the road. Here is what did we do, where we went and what we liked. Our travel year in review.

Nikko

Japan

Japan has been on our list of places we’d like to visit for years but we were sure we couldn’t afford it. Everything changed when we found really cheap plane tickets and we did our research. Turns out it’s not as expensive as it used to be and we’ve got receipts to prove it. The visit was definitely the highlight of 2016, because exploring Japan changes you.

And while the whole country is amazing and we highly recommend it, our favorite place were Nikko and Tokyo.

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Japan food

It’s an adventure on its own. The best thing about it is that kids love eating Japanese, because contrary to what we may believe it’s a lot more than good old sushi. There are noodles, fried meat and delicious dumplings. There is something for everyone: the best of Japanese food.

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Scotland

The two of us had a chance to visit Scotland years ago and we fell in love with the place. Ten years later we were lucky to share the stunning scenery with our two girls. We went as far North as we could before venturing on the islands (that are still on to do list). We stayed at the charming whitewashed cottage and spent our days drinking tea, eating scones, chasing sheep and trotting across the land – be it a beach, cliffs or the moor… Here are fun attractions for kids in Scotland.

tea time

Tea and scones in Scotland

This one deserves a special mention, as in my opinion this was the best part of our day in Scotland and it all started with the pouring rain. We were driving down the road, with the rain relentlessly whipping the windshield, the wipers could barely keep up. We looked at each other and decided to brave the weather in the first little tea room we find. From then on rain or not, we’d include a stop for tea and scones to our daily itinerary.

Sarajevo

Bosnia

While we’ve been to Bosnia a few times before this is the trip that did it for me. We visited in the beginning of November and driving through an incredibly beautiful gorge of the river Vrbas and stopping at the unique town of Jajce, we decided to definitely come again in the Spring.

Grado

Italy

Whenever someone mentions Italy, I am honestly not thinking about its plethora of amazing sights. I am much more human, I think coffee and cannoli, preferably together.  Thus when we go to Italy, we make sure to stack up on the delicacies as well as visit something interesting. In 2016 we loved visiting the beaches of Grado and the historical town of Aquileia and the delta of Slovenia’s most beautiful river Soca. It’s all within a few kilometers.

Velika Planina

Slovenia

Our home country still holds so many places to be discovered and it’s by far our favorite thing to do. In 2016 we started hiking as a family. True, we only chose not too steep destinations and ones we can reach in around an hour, but we are making progress. Our favorite places were Kofce and Velika Planina. In 2017 we find many more.

coffee in ljubljana

Ljubljana

We love our home city and its many interesting places. Saturday mornings are still our favorites but we are always on the lookout to discover something new. This year we visited Slovenian School Museum for the very first time and we highly recommend the visit. We are looking forward to new experiences right on our door step in 2017.

After this quick year in review, we are ready to welcome the new year and await the many hopefully wonderful moments it brings. Wishing you all happy exploring in 2017.

 

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