As the decadent debauchery of Yuletide consumption draws to a close and the January blues prepare to engulf our thus far delayed winter, the traveller in me finds herself in a familiar predicament as this time last year with a serious absence of travel itineraries etched into my diary for the upcoming year. Unlike last year, however, this time, it does not faze me.
15 Travels from 2015
Despite having almost nothing pencilled in last January, 2015’s travels bloomed like potently nourished tulips, giving rise to some of my most cherished memories in a year peppered with highs and lows. 2014 was a year of adventure and 2015 showed me the travel bug lives on with vehemence. As for this year, I would love to hear your suggestions for both long and short-haul destinations but first, a moment to reflect on twelve months of exploration.
Lille, France
A jam-packed weekend in Lille kicked off 2015, when I arrived armed with some cryptic clues as part of the Park Inn Express Challenge. I revelled in the swimming pool museum, savoured the delicate bite of Lille’s famous Meert waffles and unwrapped my fingers from their glove shields to feel the wafer thin paper of old books in open air markets.
And still, Lille’s greatest pleasure for me, lay in simply ambling along the unassuming, narrow, cobblestone streets, where the bunting above our eyes oscillated with the gentle breeze.
Marrakech, Morocco
When Pumpkin made the controversial statement, “you would never want to go on a mysterious, surprise trip without knowing the destination,” I protested the inaccuracy of his remark and challenged him to test his theory.
And this was how I ended up on a surprise visit to Marrakech for my birthday weekend. Once I got over the embarrassment of that Hammam experience, I learned how bad I am at bartering in the glowing souks of Marrakech.
We devoured succulent tagines during a Marrrakech food tour and witnessed a taste of Berber village life in the Atlas mountains, sipping habitually on steaming hot, invigorating fresh mint teas, poured lovingly from shiny, pointed silver teapots.
The Cotswolds, England
Fulfilling a promise we made to ourselves to see more of the UK in 2015, the Cotswolds became our first British destination of the year. Our annual cottage weekends with friends took us to North Norfolk the year before but in 2015, eight of us descended upon a country abode in Chedworth, using it as a base to hop between idyllic villages, countryside pubs and quaint tea rooms.
British winters are always portrayed in such a negative light (usually by us Brits) but as we watched the fresh snowflakes settling on the rustic, stone houses in Cirencester, no goosebumps could remind me why.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Visiting Abu Dhabi really shouldn’t have been sentimental for me, since I bore no bonds with this nation and yet, simply from its vicinity to my former home, Saudi Arabia, returning to the Middle East for the first time since childhood, filled me with nostalgia.
The intense dry heat, the melodic mosque prayer call and the melange of nuts and flaky filo in each handmade piece of baklava all stimulated journeys back into my past.
We divided our stay between the affordable luxury of the Southern Sun as well as the opulence of a club lounge room at the Ritz Carlton but our most memorable of the Abu Dhabi highlights had to be the architectural masterpiece that is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
The Seychelles
The urge to set foot on this cluster of paradise islands first set in many years ago after seeing photographs that seemed too flawless to be true – and in May, I made it.
Over the years, I have developed a bit of a soft spot for the Indian Ocean islands but having swum in the warm seas of Mauritius, The Maldives and now The Seychelles, it has only reinforced my view that this region is home to arguably the best beaches in the world.
When we first arrived at Constance Lemuria in Praslin island, Seychelles, we were greeted with the words, “Welcome to paradise,” a confident yet precisely accurate description of the world we had just entered.
Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre and Pisa, Italy
European destinations always draw the short straws in our household, only ever being allocated a long weekend. In my pre-Pumpkin days, I had visited numerous European cities and as a result, my mind hastily tends to jump to long-haul aspirations.
But for Pumpkin, however, the situation is reversed and as he had never been to Italy (my favourite European destination), we devoted a full ten days to the nation of Botticelli, gelato and Ferrari. I can only claim to be an expert on one of those three. 🙂
We hiked in the foothills of Cinque Terre, unravelled some of the alternative sights in Florence and photographed our hearts out upon seeing Michelangelo’s David and the Duomo in Florence. Venice saw us become hideously lost in dark back streets and invitingly absorbed in their cicchetti and wine culture.
Northumberland, Durham and York, England
With the combination of oppressive London traffic and the elongated shape of the UK, it often works out quicker for us to reach continental Europe than the North of England but after years of intending to see Northumberland and Durham, we got in the car in September on a UK road trip and found affectionate locals, magnificent castles, fishing villages and an island so remote we had to drive through a road in the sea to reach it…(If that last one intrigues you, stay tuned, as all will be revealed very shortly in a post all about our trip up North.)
Never one to pass up the opportunity for one final day of exploration, we stopped off for a jam-packed afternoon in York en route to London, a beautiful Medieval city that deserves far more than only the one afternoon we were able to give it. You have heard of the term “pie in the sky,” right? In York, you will actually find one.
Bruges, Belgium
November’s festive break to Bruges occurred almost exactly a year to the day after my weekend in Brussels. Bruges’ peaceful, pedestrian-friendly roads set the backdrop for two days of canal-side walks, windmill-spotting and Christmas market browsing.
The winter ice rink and bejewelled night lights enhanced the allure but when all is said and done, a weekend of waffles, frites and velvety chocolate pralines was never going to disappoint, regardless of the time of year.
New York City, USA
Regular readers will be aware that where alcohol is concerned, I am not someone who even knows a Moet from a Pinot Noir. Alcohol has never been my vice and this year, those saved pennies got channelled into my drug of choice – New York City.
I am intoxicated by its sky-scraper pierced skies and its melting pot metropolis but after previous visits only ever taken in the summer, 2015 was my chance to gaze at all those New York City Christmas scenes that I had only ever seen in films.
We also made an effort on this visit to stroll around some of the other, more residential, neighbourhoods of Manhattan that we had previously neglected. I cannot wait to share more stories of my favourite city abroad with you all in due course. Forgive the over-excitement. It’s the addiction. I’m beyond help.
Barbados
December saw Pumpkin and I take our maiden cruise voyage, which saw us returning to the Caribbean for the first time since Cuba. (For a reminder of the Cuban beaches, take a peek right here).
The first port of call was Barbados, a playground of the rich and famous where every local we met proudly and delightfully told us their very own Rihanna story – how they once took her on a tour, how their fathers worked together or how they went to her school when younger.
Although little time was spent on land, the waters surrounding the island were pristine, housing shipwrecks, colourful fish and the majestic sea turtles, all easily seen whilst we snorkelled.
St Lucia
A Caribbean island dwarfed by the two commanding Pitons, the striking volcanic twin mountains which dominate the western coastline, St Lucia is a country with great culture and contrast.
From the natural mud baths, sulphur springs, stunning waterfalls and picture-perfect beaches to the French and Creole inspired food, we instantly felt an affinity with the St Lucia scenery and gracious hospitality, despite being here for only one day.
Antigua
With 365 beaches on offer in Antigua, choosing which one to spend your day on is no easy task but then again, when your greatest dilemma of the week is picking from a selection of glorious white sand shores, you know you are having a good week.
With excursions booked for various other stops on our cruise, Antigua was a day dedicated to slapping on sun-screen, snoozing under parasols and soaking in seawater.
St Maarten
Plane spotting. Yes, you read correctly. We came to St Maarten and went plane spotting. We would like to think we defied the plane-spotter stereotypes with no anoraks, binoculars or thermos flasks in our armoury. Instead we were lounging by the sea on the golden sands of Maho beach as aircraft came in to land at what felt like touching distance above our heads.
US Virgin Islands
Although a Caribbean island, our final port of call before disembarking our cruise ship saw us return to the United States, when we touched upon the US Virgin Islands. We knew our time in the sunshine was drawing to a close and anyone who has ever been to the UK in December knows that it is therefore worth squeezing every last second out of any available warm weather going spare.
We decided to spend the final day of the cruise submerging our bodies in the warm, turquoise water of the US Virgin Islands under the Caribbean sun on a third snorkelling trip, drying off one last time in the velvety sediment of the virginal white sands.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Despite my passion for travel, when it comes to special occasions, I have always been a bit traditional at heart. Christmases, New Years’ celebrations, wedding anniversaries, proposal (singular) and until this year, birthdays, have always been occasions I prefer to see in the comfort of familiar surroundings and loved ones at close reach.
This year, I stayed trued to form by scurrying home just in time for Christmas but that said, I found myself curiously intrigued by the novelty of starting Christmas week in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, learning about its amalgamation of Spanish and North American influences and as un-festive as it sounds, admiring the beauty of the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery.
What were your travel highlights from 2015? Have you got any suggestions of destinations I should visit in 2016?
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and leaving you with one final highlight of the year – a picture-perfect, anniversary day out at Leeds Castle, Kent.
Why Waste Annual Leave? 
Wow, you really squeezed a lot in last year didn’t you Shikha! If you haven’t got anything booked yet I’d definitely recommend HK, the Philippines and Bali for long-haul destinations but closer to home you can never have too much of Italy and Slovenia is pretty beautiful too! You should do more of the Cotswolds too – gorgeous down this way. x
Aaah thank you Keri and thank you for all your support this last year 🙂 You and I obviously have similar taste in places as many of the destinations you’ve mentioned are some of my favourites. Italy and Slovenia are my two most favourite European destinations thus far in fact! Philippines is high up my list and I read your posts on it fondly! I’d love to try and make it there one day, hopefully this year but not too far away if not! Have you been to the New Forest? Some friends and I were thinking of choosing that for a UK break this year? x
What an amazing year of travel lovely!
Thanks so much Angie & thanks for joining along 🙂 Didn’t 2015 just fly by in such a whirlwind?! Wishing you an exciting and fun-filled 2016!
OMG what an incredible year!! Some I’ve been to, quite a few that are on my list… and a surprise trip to Morocco, amazing!!
Thank you Jess, so kind of you! Yes, he did quite well with that though he accidentally let it slip just a couple of days before we went, which meant he got out of doing my packing for me!! Still, I definitely shouldn’t complain! I’m so keen to try and make it to Japan if I can at some point, must catch up on all your posts before I go 🙂 Happy New Year!
These are such great pictures! What a great year of travel. Hopefully 2016 has just as many beautiful places for you!
Thank you! Really appreciate your kind comment and I’m so happy to hear you liked the photos 🙂 Happy New Year to you and hope that 2016 is filled with fun and happiness for you!
wonderful mix of colours!
Thanks so much Andy! Colourful is a pretty accurate way to sum up the year actually 🙂 Happy New Year to you!
You had an amazing year of going ALL THE PLACES and taking ALL THE PRETTY PICTURES. Go to New Zealand this year! It’s really cool, I swear 😉
Aww thanks Frankie! I know, I keep hearing how gorgeous it is, something about lakes and glaciers or some such but it’s just so flipping far away?! I feel like you guys must have needed a rocket to get to London from there 😀
The key is to break it up. Do a couple of days in Singapore. Or Hong Kong. Or San Francisco. Or LA. Or Bangkok. Fun!
Wow! You had a fabulous travel year! We’re a little jealous that you took in the Seychelles and Cinque Terre — 2 places we’re itching to visit ☺.
Thank you Janice & George! I know you both had a wonderful year too from reading along with your adventures! Yes, both of those places are absolutely beautiful in completely different ways and you really can’t go wrong with either 🙂 I’ve got another Cinque Terre post coming up soon in the next few weeks too so hopefully that might whet your appetite for it even more! Happy New Year!
What an incredible year of travel and some of my favourite destinations included (I have a love affair going on with Italy) and would love to see Northumberland again soon. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the snippets towards the end of the year that you’ve tempted us with in this post 🙂
Thanks so much Suzanne and seriously, I can totally relate to the Italy thing – what is it about that country that has people completely falling in love with it?! I’m not someone who gets attached to the same country time and again in this way but Italy has some kind of spell over me! Northumberland really surprised me, as it doesn’t get the attention of somewhere like the Lakes and yet was just absolutely breathtaking – plus we were so lucky to get only sunny, blue sky weather at the end of September!! Wishing you lots of exciting travels this year!
Oh my word Shikha how did you manage to fit in so many amazing places?! See how good cruises are! Look at all those gorgeous sunny places it took you to! (I also heard the Rihanna story wherever we went in the Caribbean haha!) I hope 2016 is filled with just as much wanderlust as last year was 🙂
Haha Ayla, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that the island is either so close knit that literally everyone has met Rihanna or that they’re telling porkies! Yep, talk about not wasting annual leave, I pretty much squeezed out every last second of it and you were right about the cruise, such a great introduction into those gorgeous Caribbean islands 🙂 Looking forward to seeing what exciting travels 2016 brings you… 🙂
OMG Shikha what an action packed year! From Antigua to Morocco, looks like you’ve really experienced it all last year 🙂 I’m going to Dubai next week and planning a day trip to Abu Dhabi while there, any recommendations on a great lunch/ tea spot between taking in the sights? xxx
Oh wow, busy December and January for you! So we hardly ate any lunch when we were in Abu Dhabi because of how stuffed we were with breakfast and the heavy dinners we had but Li Beirut at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers did delicious Arab food (I’m very partial to it!) and definitely visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque if you can – it’s stunning! Few more pointers here:
https://whywasteannualleave.com/2015/09/02/best-tourist-attractions-abu-dhabi/
What a wonderful year of travels! Impressed at how much you have packed in and the Seychelles really does sound amazing
Thanks so much Suze, very kind of you 🙂 Yes, I think the Seychelles was probably a contender for my biggest highlight of the year – absolutely gorgeous islands and well worth the journey to get there!
Oh Shikha, I thought I’d travelled a lot this year but you seem to have had a truly amazing 2015! I’d say a highlight for me last year was New York in April – I too have a slight addiction to that city! – visiting my best friend in Noosa, Australia and then having a bit of a reunion with my school buddies in Hong Kong. Okay I can’t just pick one highlight! How did you find your first cruise? I hope you have an equally great year of travels in 2016 🙂
Emma, you’ve amassed some serious mileage there with your 2015 too from the sounds of things! I’ve still never made it down under but I’m glad you’re as obsessed with NYC as I am. It’s a city I never get bored of visiting and I’m already asking my hubby when we can go back 😀 The cruise was a lot more fun than I expected and was a nice way to get a glimpse into several different places but I won’t bore you with the spiel because I’ve got a whole post coming up on what my first impressions were – stay tuned! Happy New Year to you and wishing you many happy travels this year!
Looks like you had an amazing year, I hope 2016 is also a good travel year for you! Looking forward to catching up on all your stories!
Thank you Becky, same to you! Look forward to keeping up with your travels this year 🙂
So many places in 2015!! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the differences in your experiences in The Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles (if only we had the time to just go to all three in one long trip!). Happy 2016!
Wouldn’t that be the ultimate dream trip huh?! I’m actually planning to do a post on the differences and similarities if I can dig out my old Mauritius photos as it was pre blogging and many years ago. As a brief guide though, Maldives best for underwater life, Seychelles scenery and wildlife stunning, Mauritius so cultural but I’ll try and alert you when I get round to doing that post as it’ll be a bit less simplistic than this hopefully 🙂
Shikha, I’m always SO impressed by how much you travel while holding down a demanding, full-time job!! Your travels this past year seriously put mine to shame (despite me being a full-time traveler)! I can’t wait to hear about your New York and Caribbean adventures. And I wish you another year of amazing travels!! We’re going to be in Europe for 5 months this summer/fall, so maybe our paths will cross at some point if you’re planning on some Europeans trips :).
Haha, well it’s only because you can afford to do it slowly when you’re a full time traveller rather than relatively rushing through things using your annual leave! I would LOVE to finally meet you Anna and 5 whole months over in Europe, that sounds fabulous! Any ideas of where you’re planning to be visiting yet? Happy New Year to you and D!
Great list Shikha! You’ve got many nice places there!
Thank you so much! It was a fun year 🙂
Now that is an amazing year – the boy an I have been considering the Cruise Life for a holiday for an age & this has convinced me…
You know what Emma, I had mixed feelings before I went on the cruise and it has its pros and cons, which I’ll elaborate on soon but truth be told, we had an absolute blast, met some really fun people and saw some pretty cool places. For an easy, convenient, fun trip with lots of food and nice places, it really does tick all the boxes 🙂
Sold!
Ummm, HOW did you manage to fit so much into one year?! That’s absolutely incredible, I am so impressed, proud and happy for you!! And also a little bit jealous. Especially of that Caribbean cruise 😛 You’ve worked so hard for it though, and you deserved every single second of every last trip! Here’s to a 2016 filled with even more adventures 😀 xx
Oh Emily, that is such a kind comment and I really am so grateful, not just for this but for all your loyal support over the last year. You’ve been an inspiring blogger to follow along 🙂 The cruise was so much fun and the islands are actually really different to how I’d always imagined, so many of them are so hilly and volcanic, which I hadn’t fully appreciated. And yes, it was exhausting squeezing this all in but worth it! Happy New Year lovely and wishing you lots more happy travel memories this year 🙂
Amazing, Shikha! Looks like you had an incredible 2015 with so many beautiful places explored and such lovely memories! The Caribbean cruise seems awesome – the beaches look divine. Look forward to hear more about your adventures. Hope 2016 is an even greater year for you 🙂
I don’t know why I hadn’t had the Caribbean islands higher on my radar in the past Nita, as they were just so pristine and the cruise was a great way of giving me a glimpse into which ones I would want to return to to see again in the future at greater length! It was such a fun year, as was yours I know! Wishing you many happy travels this year too 🙂
Wow, you’ve had a busy year of travel! Let’s hope 2016 will see just as many adventures. I’ve planned a couple of trips already – Iceland in a few weeks and Provence in the summer. I’m also really hoping to visit Mykonos this year, and would love to go back to Italy… so many places, so little time!
That’s so organised Laura – and exciting! I’m in that phase where there’s literally nothing in the diary so I’ve been dreaming away and trying to come up with some ideas! Mykonos or Santorini are really high up my list, can’t decide which to do as I hear such wondeful things about both! And if you haven’t been to Iceland before, you are in for a treat. It was my first ever blog post on here and it was such a beautiful country that it inspired me to start this blog – which I started writing on a sick bag on the plane journey home from there!!
You had quite the year! Funnily enough I was in Bruges around the same time too!
Were you really?! What a coincidence! Did you enjoy it? So festive wasn’t it?And sooooo much chocolate was consumed by us 🙂
Loved Bruges! It’s even mor magical at Christmas! I write a post about it if you’re interested 🙂 http://whereisnoodles.com/category/destinations/europe/belgium/
Yes, so magical! I’m really looking forward to reading your post ☺
That is good work – well done you! I’m feeling inspired for Morocco and the north of England after reading this! Happy new year 🙂
Haha, well in between a busy job, I try and make the best out of my annual leave – hence the blog name!! Aah, so you’re heading to Morocco and up north this year? We only saw Marrakech but there are quite a few other parts of the country I’d love to see
You did all of this in 2015?! I am so glad you did because it looks like they were well-deserved trips, and because I got to read all about your awesome adventures. My sister lives in Morocco right now and I am going to have to tell her to check out that food tour.
Can’t wait for your New York posts so I can get some inspiration for the upcoming months! Here’s to many more adventures in 2016!
Aww thank you Carolann! I’m so grateful that you’ve been following along this year – it’s been great exchanging travel tales from across the globe ☺ I’ll try and get some NYC posts up soon, I was so excited about the city that I don’t even know where to start with posts! Oh, yes, if your sister is in or near Marrakech, the food tour really is so unique & fascinating! Happy New Year and really looking forward to hearing about your new start and the adventures 2016 brings!
Whehey, you’re back!! I am a bit gobsmacked that you managed to pack so many beautiful and far-flung destinations into just one year! So much wanderlust envy right now!! I love your descriptions of all your travels, and I particularly love that you’ve included some British destinations in the list, including The Cotswolds which I love! I can’t wait to follow along with your adventures to come in 2016.
Polly xx
Aww Polly, I don’t know what I’m more touched by – your really sweet compliments or the fact that I’d been out of the blog world for a few weeks! ☺ Yes, we were determined to try and see more of the UK and like you say, the Cotswolds are so gorgeous! Really looking forward to seeing what 2016 brings for the sunshines – all 3 of you!!
I see that your 2015 has been extremely hectic and busy when it comes to travelling. You’ve visited so many beautiful places across the world. Morocco is also on my bucket list and I truly can’t wait to make it there!
Thanks so much Agness! it was a busy year but a fun one ☺ Marrakech was a great, colourful and lively destination but I’d love to return to Morocco too to see some other parts of the country. Looking forward to reading about your India trip ☺
That’s a really exciting and varied year of travel! Morocco and St. Lucia places that I’d like to visit…but the real place that I want to get to one day is St.Maarten – I’m a bit of a plane geek and have seen so many photos and videos of planes coming over that beach. Would love to see that, even if for one day.
All the best for 2016!
Frank (bbqboy)
Thanks so much for the comment Frank! Yes, varied is exactly the right word and it was nice to mix up the travel styles and locations a bit. Oh if you enjoy planes etc, you will LOVE St Maarten. I’d actually never heard of this beach and know nothing much at all about different planes etc and even I found it a fascinating beach to be on! Hope you get to go one day and wishing you a happy new year and happy travels in 2016 ☺
Your year was amazing!!! WOW!
So many places I want to go: Marrakech, Cinque Terre, Barbados, Cuba.. oh my!!
I can only imagine where 2016 will take you. Now that you have been to Mauritius, Seychelles and the Maldives, I hope you go to the Fiji Islands or Tahiti 😀
Happy 2016 dear!! I hope 2016 will be an even more wonderful year to you!
Oh wow, have you been to Tahiti?! It would be a dream come true to go there! Yes last year was pretty non stop but so much fun! I need to start making some travel plans for this year though as already getting itchy feet! Can’t wait to see where 2016 takes you as well ☺
What a great year of travel, you managed to get a lot in!! I’d love to visit The Seychelles one day, I just wish the flights weren’t so long (and expensive). Also, Morocco looks amazing. How’d you end up liking the Caribbean cruise? I’ve never been on one!
By the looks of this post, you had an AMAZING year of travel. The Seychelles are definitely on my list, but it’ll be a long while before I get there. I’m with you though, NYC is so intoxicating – I think it’s the greatest city on the planet. I’m looking forward to visiting again in March and May! Your photos also made me SO excited to go back to Italy this summer. We’re heading to some of the same destinations that you visited in 2015: Florence, Venice, and Cinque Terre. I’m also wildly jealous of your surprise trip to Morocco. Dying to go there. Your photos are incredible!
Thank you so much Maddy! It sounds like you have some really exciting travels coming up too. I’ve got a few Florence, Venice & Cinque Terre posts on here so far and will be putting up a few more in due course but if I can help with any tips, please feel free to let me know. And I’m super jealous that you’re going to NYC twice in such a short space of time. Absolutely love it there, already wondering when I can go back! Have an amazing time there and I’m always on the look out for NYC ideas, suggestions and tips so I’ll be eagerly awaiting your blog posts and photos 🙂