International Nesties
dulcemariamar1
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Where did you travel to in 2011 and where are you going next year?
I need some ideas for next year. Tell us where you went this year and if you enjoyed the trip and where are you going to visit next year.
Re: Where did you travel to in 2011 and where are you going next year?
I went nowhere. Well except Acadia National Park in Maine a couple times (my parents have a house there, it's like a 5 hour drive from here). Worth a visit but I don't consider it travel I guess because I go there so much and have since I was a kid.
If we can scrape together the cash we are taking Minibini to Ethiopia this coming summer to meet his grandparents/aunts and uncles. We definitely can't afford this trip but it's important to DH so we might borrow some of the money for it. He hasn't been home in like 2 years so I want to make it happen if we can.
If you're adventurous, Ethiopia is a great place to visit. It's also quite safe as African countries go (as long as you avoid the border regions, which is easy), and cheap (once you actually get there)!
Most of the year was visiting various places in Switzerland and exploring Z?rich. We went to Bern, Geneva, Lugano, Engelberg, Luzern, and Raperswil. I also went on three mountain visits. Titlis, Jungfraujoch, and S?ntis.
On our farewell tour we stayed with DH's family in Dortmund. I enjoy that city a lot. And we also managed to sneak out for the day to Amsterdam.
I regret that we weren't able to travel as much. Now we ate back in the US and I'm kicking myself that we didn't go on more trips. But I guess that's the way it is. We spent that year there saving money so we could start on a good foot in the US. Plus I just looked through a 100 picture slide show of US national parks and monuments. Some of them were so breath taking. Think I'll focus seeing those for a few years.
I want to fly to visit my grandma in south Georgia. Hopefully to pick up my kitten in the summer. Might roadtrip to Florida to see a mentor of DH's. DH might fly to visit his family on his own too. We both still have return tickets to Zurich. We just need to book a flight back to the US.
2012 Reading Challenge
Now Nesting from Chicago, IL My nail blog:
2011: Barcelona, Monaco, London, Germany, Singapore, the US, a few places around Malaysia, several cities in Switzerland, Cambodia, Vietnam
I liked them all, I've been to London and Germany several times already, but I'll always go back (and am this week). Before the year is out I will also be going to Prague and South Africa. I'm really excited about Prague because I haven't been there since we moved.
2012: All that is certainly planned is the south island New Zealand and a wedding in Salzburg. I'd like to spend a week in Laos as well. We are notoriously last minute planners so who knows where else we'll go.
Edinburgh, Oporto (portugal), San Fran (for a wedding), Barcelona, Prague, Paris, The Barbizon (a little village south of Paris), Munich, Dublin, and then loads of places around England (Brighton, Salisbury, Nottinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Portsmouth, etc) and then we will be in Kansas and Texas for the holidays. We liked all of them. If you like Port wine, Oporto is a great city! Barcelona is one of our faves though, so much to see and do and eat!
Next year we have yet to plan we are thinking maybe Austria in February or Iceland. We have loads of Olympics tix so we need to plan around that, but there will be at least a week long trip somewhere in Europe, so if you have any suggestions send em over
At the beginning of 2011 I was back home in Florida and the went on a cruise to the Western Caribbean with some girlfriends. I wasn't sure about cruises but it was such a great relaxing time! You definitely don't get to experience "cultures" as such, but if you want a good combination of sun,relaxation and fun excursions, it was great! We went to Grand Cayman, Isla Roatan, Belize and Cozumel.
Also went to Egypt, stayed in Sharm el Sheikh with a trip to Luxor which was amazing... but definitely wouldn't recommend with the current trouble they're having.
And I went to Martha's Vineyard and Boston on 2 separate trips... I LOVED Martha's Vineyard. It was so lovely and fun. Again another relaxing trip.
I need to get out and have more cultural escapes in 2012 though!
This is on the top of my must see places in the US list. I am dying to get there.
Moved here and haven't seen anywhere near as much as I thought we might have sadly.
Went to Singapore which was nice but I am hoping next year to get to Thailand and Malaysia hopefully.
In 2011, we visited Hong Kong, Thailand, Jordan, Israel, and Munich, and of course, the good ol's US of A.
I thoroughly enjoyed each location fully. I would recommend Israel, specifically Jerusalem, to everyone. It was fantasting regardless of your religious beliefs and we felt incrediablity safe.
Thailand was also amazing and so relaxing. We went through the jungle, rode elephants and just enjoyed the sea.
This year so far the only thing we have planned is a bike and barge tour across Holland during tulip season. We are also thinking of Japan, Spain, and Malta for 2012!
This year completely got away from us travel-wise. Our only two international trips were to the US (well, I went to South Africa for work). At the start of the year, we had planned either Asia or Israel/Jordon for a big fall trip but then I got pregnant and we went back to visit my family instead.
Next year, even though we'll have the baby, we're hoping to do Berlin and Israel. Fingers crossed that works out!
This year I went to Tallinn/Helsinki in March, Slovenia/Trieste/Croatia in April, Portugal in May, back to the states in July, India in October and Brussels in November. Loved it all. I can really recommend Tallinn as a random destination - super pretty and incredibly affordable.
I have trips booked to Prague, Budapest/Bratislava and Portugal for a wedding next year. We're waiting to book our big trip until DH finds out about 2 conferences he's applying for in China and Brazil. Barcelona is on our short list along with Marrakesh and possibly Turkey.
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
We went to Slovenia/Croatia for our summer holiday and I travelled to Birmingham, Lyon and Berlin for work.
Next year we are going to Australia, I am suuuuper excited!!
Same for us! We did no international travel (boo) but will be going to England, Belgium and Scotland in about a week. We did Tampa, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Destin (a few times), DC, the mountains here in GA, Asheville, Vegas this year. Next year we will probably do Destin, DC, Nashville, somewhere out West, I am planning a girls trip to NYC, back to the UK, and hopefully somewhere else in Europe. We are last minute planners a lot.
This year, we started it in Israel, then we went to Australia, Lisbon, Croatia, Paris, Loire Valley, and Berlin. We went back to the US twice, once to Seattle and now in NYC, and I did a side trip to Ottawa. Did a bit of traveling around the UK, going to Cornwall and Cambridge. We really liked all of the trips!
Next year, the only thing we have planned solidly is the Maldives at the end of January. Also thinking about spending a week in Italy, and want to go to Amsterdam, back to Spain, potentially Asia, Iceland, and Baltic cruise. Things are still up in the air for a number of reasons.
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
2011: Norway (Tromso), Czech Republic (Prague, and hiking), Switzerland (Brienz and Grindelwald), France (Paris), Italy (Verona, Pompeii, Florence, Orvieto), Spain (Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca), Germany (Munich), Poland (Krakow), and US (only me - back to Indiana).
2012: The only thing we have booked is our trip to London for the Olympics. But, we're planning on going to: Russia (Moscow), Spain (Sevilla / Andalusia region), Croatia (Plitvice National Park and Dubrovnik), Italy (Cinque Terre - if they get it all back together after the flash flooding), Hungary (Budapest) and Portugal (Madeira and Algarve).
We're trying to cram in as much as possible before we go home.
2 times to the US, All over England (mostly in the north, but London 3 times), Edinburgh, Cork (and surrounding towns), Venice, Florence, Rome, and Paris. We booked and paid for a trip to Germany, but had to cancel cause H was in the hospital. We're bummed about that one.
I'm hoping to go on an Alaskan cruise in May for our anniversary. We're also planning on other long weekend trips to Chicago, NYC, etc.
Our travel was limited this year: parts of South Korea and Seoul and then a major trip to the States from Korea.
Next year: I think we really need to make it to South Africa for ILs to meet the next baby, but if we live in a bigger house, we might fly them up instead. Nothing is planned because so much is up in the air.
Due to dog ownership, not wanting to leave him often and the expense of having him stay with his dog walker (it's ?35 per night), we haven't really gone too many places this year, nor will we in the future. We did a long weekend in Suffolk with the dog, went to a friend's wedding reception in a different part of England, and went to Cornwall this summer with my parents. We're heading up north to visit a friend next weekend.
In 2012, I'm hoping to do a long weekend in Barcelona, we're going to Paris for my MIL's 80th, we'll do a trip somewhere in England with the dog, perhaps camping with some INs, and then go to Rehoboth beach/NYC this summer.
This year we visited Wroclaw and Carcassonne and spent a week in Brighton.
I've no idea where we're going to head to in 2012, but at least one trip somewhere warm and sunny.
2011: Not enough! We went to New York for a week and Rome, Edinburgh & London for long weekends (twice in Edinburgh/London as it's to see family & friends).
2012: We're booked for Australia in spring and I'm hoping to add some "proper" (ie no ILs) holidays to that later in the year as well as a couple of long weekends. At the moment, we're thinking Marrakech just us and perhaps Barcelona with our mothers.
2011: Dubai, as normal. Also, India and we're headed to Switzerland in 3 weeks.
For next year, France and maybe Greece and Lebanon in the summer.
ETA: India was great - really enjoyed Kerala, not such a fan of Mumbai, and Agra was beautiful.Travel Blog
Little Miss Lulu playing on the beach
2011's big trip was Buenos Aires, Argentina and I love it there. It was my 2nd time there, first time with DD.
In 2012, DH and I would like to escape to Corsica or the running of the bulls in Pamplona for our 10th wedding anniversary, provided we can figure out what to do with DD. We would take her to Corsica if there was no option to have someone watch her.
I plan on trying to take DD to Turkey to visit a friend there at some point in the spring. I love Istanbul and would love to explore other parts of Turkey.
I'd love to try to make it to Mozambique on my own as I have a friend working there for the year, but it could be tricky.
2011: Malta, New Orleans, Munich/rural Bavaria, DC, southern/basque France (Marseilles, Carcasonne, St Emilion, St Jean Luc), San Sebastian, Madrid, Toledo, Valencia, Barcelona, Paris/Rheims, Ireland (Dublin and a bit of the south/west coasts) and stayed in lots of nifty places around Italy (AC, Ischia, Verona, Venice, Padua, Orvieto, Chianti, Montepulciano, Bologna, Florence, and Rome).
On the way to Crete the week before Xmas and Verona for NYs
2012: Marrakesh early Jan. Nothing else firm, but realistically hope to go to Israel, Prague, Brussels, and probably a bunch more places I'm forgetting!
2011: Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, R?union Island, Colorado, Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Antarctica
In January, we did a cruise to Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, and R?union Island. Mauritius didn't wow me as much as I was expecting, though if you're after a lazy upscale beach holiday there are plenty of resorts. Seychelles was unbelievably beautiful - especially the little island of La Digue. There's a reason they do so many photo shoots there! And the water was so warm and so calm you could just sit in it forever, enjoying the scenery. And we didn't even get the chance to try the world-renowned scuba diving! Madagascar was also incredible, and while it's a little difficult to get around, trekking through the national park and seeing wild lemurs is definitely near the top of my incredible travel moments! And the snorkeling near Nosy Be was like being inside a high-end aquarium. R?union Island reminded me a lot of Hawaii in its landscape, and it would be good if you're after adventure sports (they have a lot of paragliding, trekking, etc. in the mountains). However, the beach we went to was disgusting with lots of trash and so many cigarette butts! Yuck!
Over the summer we went to Colorado for a wedding. Denver's a nice city, and I haven't been since I was very young, but I find most US cities to be a little boring. This was also my first trip back to Rocky Mountain National Park since I was 3, and it was lovely! It's so easily accessible, and the scenery is wonderful! I would have like to spend some more time there.
After Colorado I made my first trip to Las Vegas. I expected to hate it, so it surprised me a little. It's definitely bigger than I thought, and it takes ages to walk anywhere. Thanks to the ventilation systems, the casinos weren't quite as smokey as I was expecting (especially the newer ones), and we had some great food and saw a few good shows. Mostly I just liked walking around and seeing the elaborate decorations and the scale of the hotels. My travel companion complained that it was "too Disney" and was expecting the Strip to be seedier, but I think I knew going in that the Strip hotels were pretty Disney-fied with their crazy themes. I'm not sure I would make a special effort to go back, but if something took me to Vegas (a conference, wedding, etc) I think I could enjoy a few days there.
In October, I made my first trip to Rio de Janeiro for work. It's a beautiful city and definitely worth visiting once, just to see it. However, I find there isn't a lot to do, and while the beaches are huge, the water is pretty cold, so it's more a place to lie in the sun than to swim. I would plan to visit Rio for a few days as part of a larger Brazilian or South American itinerary.
Last month I explored Buenos Aires and Ushuaia on my way south. Buenos Aires really impressed me, and it felt like a very safe city to explore even on my own. Lots of good wine and good meat. A very old-world European charm compared to Rio, which (at the street level) is a bit dingier and more modernly urban. Ushuaia (and Tierra del Fuego in general) was a lot more beautiful and dramatic than I expected. On a clear day, the scenery was lovely, and I can understand why so many people head to Patagonia to go trekking. (And if you're interested in back-country skiing and other adventure sports, there's a huge community for it.)
And obviously, my last trip this year was Antarctica, which was OMG INCREDIBLE!!! *swoon* I'm not a huge wildlife watcher, but penguins and seals are adorable, and I could watch them for hours. It was too early in the season for much whale-watching, so it didn't even come close to Alaska on that front, but the other big draw is the ice itself. They say that the people who truly fall in love with Antarctica love the ice more than the wildlife, and I can understand why. For the most part, penguins are all kind of the same (especially within a species), but ice is always unique. Its forms, its structures, its landscapes, and even the noises it makes are all different. The early explorers talked about the ice having "Little Voices" that called them back, and if you let it, this spectacularly remote continent will definitely whisper to you.
2012: Rio de Janeiro, somewhere in Europe, maybe Greenland
The only thing I have booked so far is Carnaval in Rio in February. It should be crazy! So I'm glad I will have a local guide to help me get around! I'm looking forward to it, but since there isn't a lot of planning to do, it's not really soothing my travel itch.
The boyfriend is coming to Oslo at Easter, and we'll probably travel somewhere else in Europe together, but I don't know where yet. We've talked about Belgium (maybe Ghent) and Berlin, but who knows.
And I'm kind of thinking of doing a trip to Greenland in September. It would be $4000, but if I start saving now... The plane ticket up to Svalbard is only $175, and the plane ticket back from Reykjavik at the end would only be $150. I might book the tickets anyway, and watch to see if I can get a good deal, maybe last-minute, on the trip itself. The ship in Antarctica had just come from their annual Greenland trip, and some of the expedition staff said they like Greenland even better than Svalbard.
2011 for work: Copenhagen, Sorrento, Dublin, Paris and Fontainebleu, Orlando, and loads of places around the UK (including Glasgow, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, Macclesfield, Plymouth, and many more)
2011 for pleasure: County Kerry Ireland, US (Ohio), Switzerland (Bernese Oberland region), Hamburg, Stockholm
I can't say enough good things about County Kerry in Ireland. We went for a wedding but also rented a car and spent a day after the wedding in Killarney National Park and it was all just so stunning. We had such a great time and it was relaxing with a good mix of cultural and natural sights. Switzerland was also wonderful--really nice people and just stunning views where we were.
For 2012, I'm starting with a trip to Vienna for a sales conference, and I'm extending my trip to take in Budapest and possibly Bratislava as well. It's looking like I'll be in Slovenia for work in May, so I'm hoping to extend that into some time exploring there, and possibly some nearby countries (Croatia, Bosnia and perhaps Montenegro are on my list). And there will be the inevitable trip home. If DH and I both make our bonuses, we might be able to afford a trip somewhere else for the two of us--something we would really appreciate.
Not much this year, Milan twice, London, Colorado and Denton TX.
We're planning a trip to London (for an exibition FH wants to see) before feb 5th and probably Washington state next summer, otherwise it'll be Italy (as always Milan, but adding Tuscany as well) and besides that I really don't know, possibly NYC if FH has to go for work and I have enough vacation time to join him there and go shopping.
My food blog
What I'm looking forward to in 2012:
Eating our way through (northern) Italy on vacation
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DIn 2011, with a little one in tow, we visited: Hawaii (2x), San Francisco, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, London and Amsterdam.
We have plans in 2012 for: Hawaii (March-May & then again at Christmas/New Year 2013), Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Singapore and possibly another trip or 2.
We travel with our son - he'll be 2 in July - and even though it's not the most ideal travel "vacation", it works for us.
I couldn't leave him behind, anyhow, it's just NMS.
a girl from Hawaii, living the expat experience in India.
Wow! Everyone on this board has gone to some amazing places! I love being surrounded by people who travel a lot
DH and I did a lot of traveling in 2011, but it was less than the smaller trips around Europe we did in 2010. Now we are more focused on the BIG scuba trips that keep coming up through the club.
2011:
- Big Scuba Trip (Tofo, Mozambique + Kruger National Park, South Africa)
- Skiing Bad Gastein, Austria (not an easy place for my lack of skills)
- Weekend in Milan, Italy
- Skiing Garmish, Germany (would recommend to any beginner - great place! so much more fun!)
- Edinburgh, Scotland and Belfast, UK (visit the Giant's Causeway over Easter weekend - great trip, did whiskey tour, saw the castle in Edinburgh)
- Week in Amsterdam with friends visiting from the US (rented an apartment, not so epic since we have been to amsterdam a few times now, but it was cool for the visitors)
- Hiking in Stavanger, Norway - DH went for work so I joined him on the weekend, but this was in early May and the hike we wanted to do was not open, too rainy & cold
- Billund, Denmark (LEGOLAND!) DH went for work again and I joined him
- Weekend at the beach in Den Haag (pretty nice, fun aquarium!)
- Ernst & Cochem, Germany (Cochem was a great small town, castle was beautiful)
- Vienna, Austria + Bratislava, Slovakia (would recommend these two cities together, you can visit inbetween them by bus, or speedboat - which we would have taken if we could have found our boat in time! whoops)
- Touring around the Loire Valley, France (love this region, so many castles and chateaus)
- Weekend scuba diving in Malta (every dive was unique in its own way, swam through a sunken ferry boat, did bus tour of the island of Malta and visited Medina - pretty cool)
- "Oktoberfest" in Stuttgart, Germany (the festival is called something else, but its just as fun!)
- Home to the USA for my sister's wedding (VA, TX and DH went to visit CO where his Dad lives)
- Paris, France (visiting cousins - cannot wait to see Paris at Christmastime! I hear its beautiful! Paris is pretty much my most favorite city to visit)
- MALDIVES! and SRI LANKA (We leave for this trip in 2 weeks. I am so excited to go on an epic trip just the two of us instead of with the club, hopefully it turns out alright but I cannot wait to see all the pretty fish, turtles and scenery. Sri Lanka will be a fun 3 day tour - elephant orphanage and sea turtle hatchery!)
2012:
I cannot believe how much we already have planned for next year. Technically our contracts are up end of March, so we have not planned anything past April - just in case. We should get renewed though, fingers crossed! Right now I cannot imagine going home in 2012.
- Thailand with scuba club (6 day liveabord dive boat called a Junk, and then 3 days in Bangkock. I am really looking forward to trying the thai food and seeing some temples!)
- Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland! (this should be a crazy party weekend, got an awesome hotel right in Temple Bar area, excited for the parade)
- Borneo dive trip with scuba club (this will be amazing, just signed up this week! staying at a scuba diving resort which is wooden huts on stilts in the middle of the ocean - 2 hour boat ride to get there, scenery will be out of this world! some of the best diving at Sipadan island - cannot wait to see all the beautiful underwater life!)
- Thinking about an overnight in Paris for our 2 year wedding anniversary in May, might pay to see the Moulin Rouge show with DH (something special to do) DH proposed in Paris, so an anniversary there would be appropriate! haha
2012 is going to be an awesome year!!!
We're headed to the Maldives on Christmas Eve!
The northern coast of Spain, Santiago de Compostela (I love Galicia!) to the French border.
Lourdes and Luz-Saint-Sauveur France to ski. I so wish I had time off to go back this year!
We did Las Vegas - Yosemite - San Francisco for our honeymoon. We rented a car and put some serious miles down. We loved it! Las Vegas kind of sucked though. It was like a drunken zombie theme park once the sun went down. The hotels sure were nice, though!