ten favorite things : travel

Happy Monday! (And Happy Cinco de Mayo!)

I hope you had a relaxing weekend and are ready to take this week by storm! Today I am linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Brianna from Endlessly Beloved, to share my 10 Favorite Things about Travel! I thought this was appropriate since I just recently returned home from the trip of a lifetime!

One :: The Memories // After taking quite a few trips with family and friends, I have come to love the amazing memories I’ve made. I have memories of my brother and I jumping off the dock at my Grandma’s, going to a root beer factory in Milwaukee, learning how to ski in Colorado, singing in Italy … the memories are endless!

Two :: Packing // Packing is some people’s worst nightmares, but I absolutely love plannin out exactly what I am going to wear day by day. (Even though it’s hard to not over pack - I wish I could take my entire closet!) I also love to get a few fun things for the plane or car, especially books and magazines! (Unpacking is the worst. I got back from Italy over two weeks ago and my suitcase is still in my room!)

Three :: Photos // My family has always taken pictures on our vacations, and ever since we purchased our Nikon D3100 I have grown to LOVE taking pictures on vacations. Knowing that the pictures I am taking are high quality and that there really isn’t a limit is so relieving. I love taking pictures of the sights and my family, but I have to make sure I get in some of the pictures! (:

Four :: Education // Even though as a young child, and occasionally to this day,  I hate the endless history that goes into vacationing in these very educational places. But, in the end, I end up really enjoying it and wanting to read more about the people and places I got to learn about. After coming back from Italy, I have wanted to read a few more books about the people and places in Italy, whether it be reading a Non-Fiction book about the specific location, or a realistic fiction that mentions some of the locations and their history!

Five :: Exploring // Going to a new place means you have to go exploring! Even though when my family travels we like to have a set itinerary, I always love exploring around the city. When we went to NYC two summers ago, we decided to eat lunch in Chinatown. It was definitely an experience getting there and walking around, but it was so much fun exploring and being immersed in that culture!

For the last 5 items on this list, I am going to share my five favorite destinations!

Six :: Italy // There was no hesitation in my mind that I had to put Italy on this list. It was such a great experience and very memorable.

Seven :: NC Mountains // Before school started back up this year, my family took a trip with our great friends, the Boyles, to the mountains of North Carolina. We rented a cabin for 2 nights on a very serene hill and explored in the town/tubed down a river while we were there. It was very fun and definitely a great “last hoorah” before school started again!

Eight :: Pennsylvania and New York City // For the past 2 summers, we have taken a road trip to PA to visit our sweet friends in New Hope, Pennsylvania. We got to spend a few days in Philadelphia and New York City, which is always very fun and very (very, very) educational. NYC is probably one of my favorite cities - it’s one of my dreams to live there for a period of time during or after college!

Nine :: Wisconsin // Both my mom and dad are from WI, which means that the majority of their family resides there, so it is always fun to take a plane ride up North to visit them! We stay with my grandparents on the Lake, and visit Madison and Sussex to see other parts of the family. I love getting to catch up with family that we don’t get to see a lot, because it is super pricey to fly to Wisconsin these days!

Ten :: Colorado // Lastly, visiting Colorado is always super fun because it means that we get to go snow skiing! My dad’s brother and his family live in Denver, which is about 2 hours away from Keystone, a fantastic place to ski.

What are some of your favorite things about traveling?

xoxo