It’s 2019! And it’s already April! Argh!

I had lofty goals to get this review out of my head by Jan 1, but in reality it didn’t even see the light of day until mid-January and probably won’t be finished until February…or March…or April. But that doesn’t really matter because 2018 is in the past no matter when I log my thoughts on it 😊.

But man, January and February AND March were rough in Belgium. I’m sure everyone is familiar with those memes that say something along the lines of “January was a long year”. It seriously was, but then February was no better…and barely March. I can not deal with the Belgian weather – the SADs is no joke. There were weeks that I never left the house (partly because of a broken car, partly because of the weather). Then I was super quick to bail on trips – backing out of a Spain trip, rescheduling a Germany trip 4 times.

Travel has become a hurdle for me. It overwhelms me. It’s all anyone talks about! I think I’m just ready to be “home” (USA! USA! 🇺🇸).

But then there’s Justin, who I like to tease with a line from my favorite movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “this one is dedicated to a young man who doesn’t think he’s seen anything good”. And while that is clearly a joke, because he LOVES EVERYTHING he’s seen, he just wants MORE. He compares it to a drug addict – one hit just won’t do, you’re always left wanting more.

Anyway, this review is dedicated to him, because he thinks he hasn’t seen enough. I mean, in 2018 I personally visited 9 NINE new countries. NINE! I Segway’d, I saw Stonehenge, the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Berlin Wall, Mont St Michel, Normandy beaches, Auschwitz, the Sistine chapel, St. Peter’s basilica, the Sound of Music!

January 2018 – started the year in London! Driving right through town all on the wrong side of the road.

Tower Bridge from Tower of London

February 2018 – Carnaval break or “ski week” as it’s affectionately called here – Tour de France: Bayeux, Normandy, Mont St Michel, Paris, Disneyland, indoor water park!

March 2018 – hit the road for the most epic spring break ever! East France to see Belle’s Village (Eguisheim) and Colmar. Then Lucerne, Switzerland and on to Italy! Holy moly we saw so much amazing Italy!

April 2018 – Italy, more Italy! Then Slovenia, Germany, and Austria. Best part: the Sound of Music bike tour!

May 2018 – French beaches and cool aquariums (lost passports 😳). Then our 15th anniversary in MALTA and GOZO!

June 2018 – I headed to Africa (he would claim this doesn’t count because I traveled alone), but he hit up Paris and Amsterdam and lots in between.

July 2018 – England: Stonehenge, Bath, Highclere. France: Chantilly (Chantilly cream! OH EM GEE it’s delish!)

August 2018 – Germany: Berg Eltz castles, Bernkastel-Kues, Ramstein (PF changs!), France: Chantilly (again!), Paris – Sacré Cœur, Montparnasse, Les Invalids, pirate hôtel, Disneyland! Belgium: Brussels flower carpet, Ath festival of the giants

September 2018 – Belgium: tanks in town and Oktoberfest, France: more Disneyland! Denmark: Copenhagen trips (and Justin made it into Sweden!) and I Segway’d 😂

October 2018 – Justin and Wesley looked for Dracula in Romania! Belgium: a whole host of new cities – Leuven, Mechelen, Liege (so many stairs!), Germany: Quedlinberg and Berlin (the Berlin Wall! Stone brewery), Poland: polish pottery in Boleslawiec, gnomes in Wroclaw, sadness in Auschwitz and Krakow, mountains in Zakopane, hiking in Polish mountains. Slovakia: Trenchin. Czech: PRAGUE!

November – More Czech and Prague and rounding back through Germany for Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Ramstein. France: more Disney!

December 2018 – I hit up Christmas markets in Lille, Brussels and had a day trip to Canterbury, while Justin also visited Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp Christmas markets. Then as a family we visited Durbuy (the smallest city in the world) all before heading to France (Dijon! Pardon me sir, do you have any Grey Poupon?) to ring in a whole new year that I am sure will be equally *blessed* with travel.

All of this while still being a fairly “normal” family with kids in seasonal sports, summer camps, plays and other activities, and hanging out at the best local zoo ever.