The Road So Far...

*Cue Carry On My Wayward Son...

From an early age, travel has always been one of my dreams. Traveling to all seven continents has been on the top of my bucket list for years. As of August 2019 I have been to five countries on three continents. As the years go by I have found that I am unable to fully recount my past trips. I thought it would be appropriate to do a trip down memory lane and give brief summaries of some of my most memorable trips…

2005: Florida/ Disney World, USA

My first out of country trip! Back when you could still meet Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. I still remember going up to get their autographs and after I said "thank you" they acted surprised. I guess not many kids thanked them that day.

2009: Prince Edward Island, Canada

Traveling to P.E.I is a common summer trip I often made as a kid. Growing up playing soccer I often had tournaments on the island. Getting there is part of the fun as you can either drive to New Brunswick and drive across the Confederation bridge or take the ferry from Nova Scotia. I have gone both routes numerous times. Beach days are a must in P.E.I. The beautiful red sand is definitely a memorable piece from my trips. In 2009 I was even granted the privilege of being selected to attend the Vet Camp at the Atlantic Veterinary College. 

2010: Newfoundland, Canada

On top of playing soccer, I was also a competitive badminton player. One of the first big tournaments I had the opportunity to compete in was the Atlantic Junior Championships in Newfoundland. Despite only being in NL for a short period of time I still had the pleasure of zip-lining in Marble Mountain (which was the highest zip-line in Canada at the time), drive through Gros Morne National Park, and yes, see a moose. For this trip I traveled with my mom, my doubles partner, her sister and her mom. We made a lot of great memories including trying to figure out what to call a herd of moose; “meese”? “Moose’s"? After a laugh we realized plural of moose was just simply moose.

2011: Florida/ Disney World, USA

2011 marked my second time to Disney. This time however, my aunt was getting married. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was also built at this time. I had a magical time walking through Hogsmede. A truly magical experience for a Potterhead like myself. I also had the privilege to visit NASA and see real rockets. I mean what kid never dreamed of being an astronaut? 

2013: Alberta/ Saskatchewan, Canada

Another year, another tournament. This year was the Badminton Junior Nationals held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My mom had a friend living in Alberta so we decided to make it into a another short trip. We ventured into the beginnings of the Canadian Rockies in Banff. Unfortunately Banff is as far as we got. It was still breath taking to see the mountains, but I would still love to go back to see the famous Lake Louise.

2015: Moncton, NB, Canada

This was the year Canada was selected to host the Woman’s FIFA World Cup. While no games were hosted in my home city of Halifax, Moncton was just a short drive away. Despite not seeing Canada play it was still incredible to see professional woman play the sport that I love so dearly. The games we saw were the knockout rounds of France vs. Colombia and England vs. Mexico.

2015: Laos and Thailand

2015 was a special year for myself. I traveled for the first time by myself. two weeks in Laos and 22 hours in Bangkok, Thailand. The year before I had seen ads at my university for VESA, a volunteer organization that traveled abroad. Previously I did not have the money to travel. After saving for a year I was able to finance my trip. I would say it was the trip of a lifetime, but to be honest, I hope it wasn’t. Though at the time it definitely was. From volunteering on an elephant sanctuary to teaching children English and helping paint their school, it truly was a rewarding trip. I got to knock off some bucket list items such as riding an elephant and going up in a hot air balloon. I even tried Nutella for the first time, and this sparked my obsessions with the chocolaty hazelnut spread. So I can now say I first tried Nutella in of all places, Laos, SE Asia. I only wish I had started a journal and blog earlier. There are so many memories that I have forgotten. Photos can serve as reminders but dialogue shared between fellow volunteers may be lost forever. Nonetheless it was an amazing trip, a beautiful country and many priceless memories.

2016: Florida/ Disney World

Here I am back at Disney because I am a huge kid. The great thing about this trip to Disney was that my cousins were going and my grandparents. I was kind of a last minute add on. I only decided to go a month before the actual trip. The most last minute trip I had ever done. I loved it, no painfully long countdowns, or the restlessness to go. Once again I had a blast. It does not matter how many times you go, the magic never leaves. Despite my extreme introvertness and aversion to hugs, I was running around tracking down characters and giving them hugs, going along with their play acting. I like to think of myself as an energizer bunny while I am in Disney. I could go all day with little sleep or food. On this trip I got to take a photo with my favourite Disney Princess; Mulan!

2016: Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada

Over the summer I applied for the Explore program in T-R, Quebec. Which is a program where you can attend a university in various cities across Canada to learn or improve upon your French. I selected T-R as it is a very French community, some of the locals do not even know English. For a added bonus some of the weekend day trips included both Quebec City and Montreal. So if I felt as if I got the best of both worlds. I met some great people on this trip and my French did improve quite a bit. Being in a completely French environment was very helpful. I really loved T-R. With its waterfront it reminded me a lot of home. I even tried poutine for the first time! 

2018: Barcelona/ Girona, Spain

The past two years I was kept busy studying year round in the accelerated Nursing program at St. Francis Xavier University. For potentially our last family trip in what could be a long time, we decided to go to Barcelona. I may do a larger post about this trip as it is still fairly fresh in my mind. It was such a nice reward to travel here for the holidays, especially since I had just graduated December 1st. After two years with little to no break I could use a vacation. When my dad tore his Achilles tendon we almost thought it may not happen. Luckily the Orthopedist gave the okay. My dad unfortunately had to travel around Barcelona with crutches and a boot. My dad was a real sport and made the best of it. We all still had a great time and did see a lot, even at a much reduced speed. The Sagrada Familia truly lives up to its name. Words can not describe how truly sublime this piece of architectural art is. I also got to see my first pro soccer/football game and saw FC Barcelona. Messi even scored in the game we went to! Some day trips we did were to the majestic monastery in Montserrat and our own personal tour of the Game of Thrones filming locations in Girona. Overall a truly spectacular trip. Every street or alley way we turned down did not even seem real. Sometimes it felt like we were walking down a movie set. There were shops in buildings that did not look like there would be a shop and cars going down small alleyways that we thought were only for pedestrians. Very different from home, but that is what makes travel so much fun and so rewarding.