Can you believe the new year is just around the corner? It always amazes me how quickly the months and years fly by. In this post, I’d like to share my 2023 travel adventures with you. This year has been filled with some really exciting experiences, including a nine-week sabbatical and visits to three Spanish-speaking countries where I could practise and improve mi español. Without further ado, let’s recap this year!

2023 started with some post-Christmas workouts at the gym (along with seemingly half the people on the planet!). However, this time I had more motivation than usual to burn off all those mince pies and pigs-in-blankets. My boyfriend Ian and I were flying to Mexico on February 3rd and I wanted to be in decent shape to do some serious exploring and adventuring. Plus I needed to make room for all the delicious Mexican food I planned to eat! 

February 3rd came around incredibly quickly and soon we were on a 6am flight to Paris, followed by a 12-hour flight to Mexico City. It is quite surreal spending 12 hours of your life inside a metal tube in the sky, but we eventually touched down in Mexico City. We were to spend the next six weeks in Mexico and it is one of our best holidays to date. I had extremely high expectations for Mexico as it had been on my travel wishlist for years. I am pleased to say it surpassed ALL my expectations.

Over the next six weeks, we travelled from Mexico City, to Guanajuato, to San Miguel de Allende, to Puebla, to Oaxaca City, to Puerto Escondido, to San Cristobal de las Casas, to Palenque, to Merida, to Progreso and Chelem, before flying out of Cancun Airport.

It is difficult to encapsulate everything we did, saw, ate, drank, and experienced during that time, but some highlights include the fantastic food (we ate tacos every day with wild abandon, but also learned there’s a lot more to Mexican cuisine than tacos!), the stunning scenery (I had no idea Mexico had such stunning waterfalls, lakes, rivers along with the picture-perfect beaches!), the warm, friendly people who were very patient with my simple Spanish, and seeing wild animals like dolphins and huge sea turtles up close and personal. I am sure we will visit Mexico again and again, to revisit our favourite places from this trip and see even more.

After six weeks in Mexico, we flew to Ecuador for three weeks. For a small country (certainly compared to Mexico!), Ecuador is extremely varied and diverse. It’s a hikers’ dream destination given the mind-boggling number of hills, mountains, and volcanoes. You can stay in an ecolodge in the Amazon rainforest (a truly unforgettable experience!). There are picturesque colonial cities like Quito, and Cuenca, full of museums, art galleries and markets.

We unfortunately had to skip the Galapagos islands but went to Isla de la Plata, known as the “Poor Man’s Galapagos”, where I spent my birthday hiking on a beautiful island, photographing blue-footed boobies, a type of bird which can only be found in Ecuador. Such a cool experience!

On April 9th, we begrudgingly flew back to Hamburg to resume ‘real-life’. Post-holiday blues are hard enough after a regular holiday, but after a nine-week sabbatical, it was brutal. The rest of the spring was spent catching up with friends, talking their ears off about our sabbatical, working more than usual to make up for the nine weeks of lost income (#freelancerlife) and sorting through the thousands of photos we’d taken.

During summer 2023, Ian and I took some day trips from Hamburg, making use of our €49 monthly train tickets, which cover all regional trains in Germany, as well as underground networks, overground networks and buses. Flensburg, a really charming port city two hours from Hamburg, with a heavy Danish influence given its close proximity to Denmark. Bremen, a historic trade city known for its 11th-century cathedral, welcomed us with its picturesque old gabled houses. We couldn’t resist visiting the Baltic Coast; there are several popular beach towns accessible from Hamburg by train, but we like Scharbeutz the most for the less crowded beaches and beautifully clear water. 

We flew to London in July for a ‘staycation’ in my home city. We had a great time visiting the free museums and art galleries for a culture fix, and spending far too much money in some fantastic restaurants. We also did a day trip with my dad to Margate, on the Kent coast, which was pure childhood nostalgia with beachside shops selling sticks of rock, bags of fudge, plastic buckets & spades, and naff home decor made out of shells and dried seahorses (Who actually buys these?)

In autumn 2023, Ian and I flew to Spain for two weeks. We started in Valencia, which we previously visited in 2018. We were relieved to see it hadn’t lost any of its charm and character. Valencia’s highlights include the world-famous aquarium, the beautiful Old Town, the city beach and long promenade, and the many fantastic bars, restaurants and cafes. After three nights, we took the train to Seville. It is a really beautiful city, and we particularly enjoyed the gorgeous architecture at the Plaza de España and Royal Alcázar, and the incredibly well-preserved Roman ruins and mosaics at the Amphitheatre of Italica. 

From Seville we travelled to Granada, a small city with a rich history. It was the final occupied city in Spain before the Moors were pushed out in 1492, and has maintained its strong Moorish influence. The Alhambra is the main attraction; a stunning fortress and palace of the Moors monarchs with pristine gardens and more colourful, painted tiles that you can count.

Our final destination in Spain was Madrid. Capital cities can be overwhelming and overcrowded at times, but November was the perfect time to visit Madrid. We went to lots of art galleries and museums for free (or very low prices), ate an incredible variety of Spanish food, drank innumerable glasses of vermouth, and explored many of the city’s cool neighbourhoods. 

The 2023 Christmas market season starts in Germany in late November, and we really made the most of the markets in Hamburg this year. We also visited Lübeck and Lüneburg, two historic cities known for their beautiful architecture, hanseatic history, and adorable festive markets. We browsed market stalls while consuming copious mugs of glühwein (mulled wine) and snacking on typical Christmas market grub like grilled sausages, fried potatoes, fried dough balls, and roasted almonds. 

Ian and I flew back to London mid-December to round off 2023 with our families. We spent the pre-Christmas days visiting some markets, buying some last-minute gifts, visiting some art galleries and museums, and soaking up the festive atmosphere in the city. Seeing the street lights, decorations and trees in the main squares never fails to get me in the Christmassy mood! On and around Christmas, we spent quality time with Ian’s family and mine; talking, laughing, playing games, enjoying delicious meals and tasty drinks, and watching a staggering number of cheesy Christmas films! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful time!

I’d like to end this post by thanking you wholeheartedly for all the support you’ve given my blog throughout the year. I have really enjoyed sharing my holidays with you and every comment, like and share is very much appreciated. Stay tuned for exciting 2024 adventures…

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Izzie, the Curious Sparrow