Last year at this time, our 2024 travel plans seemed to be anything but decided. We were mere weeks away from visiting Bulgaria (although only one of us knew that destination was selected and finalized—that’s part of the fun of planning a surprise trip!). We were looking forward to the Olympics in Paris, but we had few plans confirmed for our time there. We were only hoping to board a ship for a week in the Galapagos; that trip was a daydream we couldn’t count on coming true. Although we’re reliably committed to planning out every aspect of how we will spend our vacation time in a year—after all, that’s the best way to ensure we make the most of our time off!—we had an awful lot of unknowns awaiting us as the calendar flipped to the new year.
Planning is an important ingredient when it comes to taking vacations, but as it turns out, faith is just as important. When we plan vacations, we do so from a place of faith that everything will work out. We have faith that the trip will go off without a hitch: that we won’t sleep through our alarms, our flights will take off on time, and the weather will cooperate. There is so much that is out of our control, and yet we make our plans to travel anyway. As 2024 started, we had faith all our travel plans would come to fruition. We were more than pleasantly surprised; in many ways, we had one of the best travel years to date!
One of our favorite annual traditions is hitting the pause button to look back on our year on travel. This is our opportunity to reflect on what went well, what could have gone better, and just how much we have to be grateful for as one year ends and another begins. As always, we’re excited to share our adventures (and misadventures!) with you.
COUNTRIES/CITIES VISITED IN 2024
- France (Paris, Lyon)
- Ecuador (Galapagos, Guayaquil)
- Switzerland (Geneva)
- Mexico (Mexico City)
- Bulgaria (Pernik, Plovdiv)
- Scotland (Edinburgh)
STATES/CITIES VISITED IN 2024
- Virginia (multiple locations)
- Maryland (Ocean City)
- Washington DC
- Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
- Louisiana (New Orleans)
- New York (New York City)
- West Virginia (New River Gorge National Park)
- Kentucky (Pikeville)
BEST PLACES OF 2024
It always seems unfair to compare any of the places we visit; each of them can stand firmly and independently on their own merits, and each is very much worth visiting. This year, our unofficial award goes to the Galapagos. There are few places on the planet where you can experience the natural world up close and without barriers, and the Galapagos Islands are one of them. From making eye contact with animals who weren’t afraid of us as strangers in their home to exploring the incredible landscapes on food and by boat, it was clear why so many people put the Galapagos Islands on their travel bucket lists. We are so grateful to have spent a week there this year.
BEST MEALS OF 2024
When it comes to food, it would be absolutely impossible to ignore the Michelin star cuisine we had in France during our Olympic adventure. Paris’ Frenchie was delectable; nestled around a table, we had a 5-course meal with wine pairings that we wished we could repeat every night. A few hours away, in Lyon, we enjoyed an entirely different experience at Bouchon, where Nouvelle French cuisine was practically invented. In those types of restaurants, meals aren’t just meals; they are elevated to experiences that fill more than just your stomach.
On the opposite side of the dining spectrum, it would be equally impossible to overlook our return to Raketa Rakia Bar in Sofia, where we had a great meal during our 2019 visit and an equally great meal during our return trip. Dining on shopska salad and cevapi was like eating a double dose of comfort food; in addition to a tasty, homestyle meal on a cold night, having a favorite restaurant in a foreign city makes it feel a little more like home.
One other restaurant of note is Brennan’s in New Orleans, where we joined a few of my favorite people for a celebratory night out after finishing a conference. It had been a wonderful but stressful week for me; I led one of the conference sessions, and although public speaking is a lot of fun it’s also incredibly nerve wracking. At Brennan’s, we indulged in Creole comfort food like oysters j’aime, gumbo, and the spectacular bananas foster invented at the restaurant in 1951. The food was exactly what we wanted, and dining with friends was exactly what I needed.
BEST TOURS OF 2024
WORST MEMORIES OF 2024
There are some years where it’s really hard to name a worst memory, and 2024 was thankfully one of those years. To prove that point, one of the worst memories we have was from our visit to Paris for the Olympics. After watching an incredible volleyball match, our glee was tempered when we left the stadium and discovered that, without warning, the nearest metro station was closed. It took a long time to figure out what we should do; we were too far from our hotel to walk, we had no idea how many other stations were closed, and few event volunteers had answers to our questions. Finally, we found out our best bet was to walk a mile and a half down the road to another metro station. It was a hot, sticky evening, and we were a cranky mess when we arrived at our destination. Fortunately, our friends had received the same information we did, and they were smart enough to pause for a while at a café near the metro instead of braving the crowds. We joined them for a glass of wine, which gave us enough time to turn the minor irritation into a funny story.
In retrospect, that major frustration was a minor inconvenience, and for that to be our worst memory of the year proves just how great a year in travel it was.
Remembering that faith plays a big role in a successful trip, I clung to faith as our plane touched down in Bogota, Colombia an hour later than expected on our way to Guayaquil, our launching point for our trip to the Galapagos. We had a tight connection already, and traveling with 8 people in our party—including two kids—made me very nervous about catching our flights. Sure enough, when I checked my email, I saw the airline had already bumped us from our planned flight to a different flight departing the next morning. Infuriated that I was going to have to figure out how to get last-minute hotel rooms and navigate all of us through Colombian customs, my anger quickly dissipated when a few gate agents were able to help us—and our luggage—find space on the last flight to Guayaquil that night. We arrived just a couple of hours later than expected, saving us a ton of time, money, and frustration. Still, I won’t soon forget how I felt as I sat on the plane knowing our next flight was taking off without us!
BEST MEMORIES OF 2024
For me, my best memories are very much connected to the people who were part of our travel year. Most of the time, Adam and I travel on our own. It’s rare for us to get to travel with friends and family, and this year was defined by trips taken with some of our favorite people. Our quick weekend trip to Pittsburgh in April with my parents felt like a homecoming since I hadn’t been to the city with my family since my college graduation. Getting the chance to experience the Olympics was a dream come true, and getting to do so with our friends Shelly and Tony made it even better. Introducing our nieces to expedition travel during our week in the Galapagos is something none of us will ever forget. Making memories is great, but making them with people who will share them with you forever is a true joy in life.
BEST LESSON LEARNED IN 2024
If you’re on the fence about taking a weekend trip, let this be your sign you should make it happen. Some of your favorite adventures might be just around the corner.
For me, my best lesson came from that frustrating experience in Bogota, knowing we had missed a crucial connection and could be stranded for a night. Before disembarking from our first flight, I quickly put together a list of options. I found a few possible hotels close to the airport, and I researched additional flights departing that night. Thanks to a few kind gate agents who were eager to ensure we made it to Guayaquil as planned, we arrived with plenty of time to rest and relax before our Galapagos adventure began two days later.
My best lesson of the year? Keep the faith. Know there are people who are ready, willing, and able to help you, and accept their help when you need it. Offer that same help to others when you can. But know things will work out for you before your travel tale is over.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was another incredible year for Road Unraveled, and we’re so grateful to have you along for our adventures. As we share this wrap up, we’re also about to wrap up our last adventure of 2024 in Scotland, where we’re only days away from experiencing Hogmanay and welcoming 2025. There’s plenty to look forward to next year, and we can’t wait to share it all with you when the time comes. For now, we’re going to linger in this place of gratitude for the opportunities we have to travel a while longer.
We hope 2024 was a great year for you, and we hope 2025 will be even better. Thank you for being part of our adventures—Happy New Year!
A map of where we went in 2024
2024 Travel
Related Posts
Take a look at some of our previous Year in Review articles.
