Well it’s time to say goodbye to my first ever passport as it’s reaching it’s 10 year expiration date. This little booklet has been such a huge part of my life and had changed everything with my first trip abroad. I am so privileged to have one of the world’s most powerful passports, and what a shame it would be if I didn’t take use this opportunity to see and learn more about the world. Now that I've caught the travel bug, I plan on using this little blue book the rest of my life as much as I can, or as much as our wallet will allow us! I figured what better way to honor my beloved, retired, first passport than to show where this little blue book has taken me the past 10 years. Please pardon the quality of my 10 year old photos.
2007 – Study Abroad in Italy and traveling Europe
ITALy
Ireland
England
One of our school’s trips was 5 days in London to see special museums and exhibits as well as guest lectures including a hat designer for Vivienne Westwood. In our free time we were busy partaking in all the tourist hotspots around, spending the evenings watching musicals, and eating tons of fish and chips!
France
Another trip organized through our university where we spent our days attending museums, exhibits, and attending Premier Vision (global textile event). During all of our free time we explored the city by foot thanks to the transportation strikes and enjoyed one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. It took us 3 attempts to see the Louvre since it was closed due to strike. One night it took my friend 10 minutes to pull my boot off because my foot was so swollen from walking so much. We also were there during the 2007 Rugby World Cup and were able to watch the game live on the Eifel Tower!
Spain
Brussels
Netherlands
Czech Republic
This is one of my favorite cities I have ever been to, the medieval architecture makes you feel like you are walking through a Disney set. It just so happened to be the first week of December when I visited and there was the Christmas tree lighting ceremony as well as a festival going on which made the trip that much more perfect. My mom’s side of the family is all Czech, so I felt like a piece of me belonged in this city. The highlight would have to be eating goulash and dumplings that tasted just like the way my grandmother makes it. This is another city I am dying to revisit.
Switzerland
U.S.A.
2013 Big moves and our great Asia Adventure
SOUTH KOREA
Japan
S.E. Asia
This is the year we finished our first teaching contract in South Korea and backpacked for 8 months through SE Asia together on a goal of a $55/day budget between the both of us. We were successful keeping our budgeting goals and had an awesome adventure along the way. If you want to see some of our budgeting you can see these complete budget breakdowns for Laos and Thailand.
Indonesia
Cambodia
We foolishly signed up for a half marathon through Angkor Wat months before our contract was up in Seoul. We spent months preparing for this race, but nothing could prepare us for the humidity and scorching temperatures. Even though it was a struggle we made our way to the finish line and enjoyed the gorgeous views along the way. Some may think that half marathon may have caused us to go on a one and half month relaxation bender on the remote island of Koh Ta Kiev where we lived and worked with no wifi, electricity, or running water!
Backpacking and Back to Korea
We spent the rest of 2015 finishing up our backpacking trip and looking for another homebase for a year. Our hearts were set on Vietnam, but that quickly changed after getting an unexpected job offer back in Korea!
Laos
Thailand
Vietnam
South Korea Part 2
Back at it again in Seoul for part two and traveling to all the places we didn’t see the first time. This ended up being our homebase for another year while we save money and work on our blog/online business ventures!
Japan Part 2
The two of us got to do a visa run together this time! Back to Fukuoka, where I traveled two years earlier for the same reason. This time it was a lot more fun having Scott with me as we indulged on hearty bowls of Hakata ramen, shopped until we dropped, and explored this beautiful city. Fukuoka gave us a small taste of Japan that we can’t wait to go and see some more of this beautiful country.
I have been really privileged to be able to travel in the first place as well as transform my life into a life around travel. It's not always easy to make to fulfill this lifestyle, but with hard work, determination, my amazing travel partner, constant uncertainty, and this little blue power book we continue to make it work. I can't wait to see where my next passport will take me.
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