2024: Saying Goodbye to the Last Year of my 20's
2024 is the last year of my 20's. I wanted to make it a great year, and it was! I had so many great experiences, both with family/friends and on solo adventures. Last year (2023) while having some amazing trips, I did not visit any new countries. In 2024 I managed to more than make up for that by visiting four new countries! My top five adventures in 2024 were; family trip to Hawaii for my cousins wedding, my solo trip to Morocco where I joined an Intrepid group, my quick three day Ireland/ Northern Ireland trip with my aunt, my solo trip to London and Paris, and finally my quick less than 24 hour venture to Montreal to see my new favourite band Sleep Token!
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This trip was so much fun and I am happy I was able to make it to be there for my cousin as she got married. I have to say, they picked an amazing spot! Hawaii is a beautiful and magical place, and Kualoa Ranch made for such a lovely backdrop for their special day. (Congrats again!) Our days with the family going around the island of Oahu was amazing as we got to see sea turtles and hike up Diamond Head. After the ceremonies my mom and I got to enjoy our own little adventures as well as we explored more of the island, went snorkeling with turtles, went on more hikes, and got to experience a luau with my grandparents. All and all it was an amzing trip, I only wish my dad and brother could have been there too.
Morocco: Nov/Dec 2024
Here we are back to another of my solo adventures. I was deciding between Madeira and Morocco, and while I would love to visit Madeira, I am so glad I chose Morocco. Morocco was such an amazing experience. I have never been anywhere quite like it. I had the first couple days on my own where I joined a couple day tours to visit Agafay Desert, Ozoud Waterfalls, and cycle the Medina of Marrakech (very stressful, but so fun!) Once I joined my Intrepid group I met some amazing people and we got to experience Morocco outside the big city. From the Todra Gorge to watching the sunset in the Sahara Desert, to walking through the old city of Ait Benhaddou, to hiking the Atlas mountain. Every moment of this trip was incredible!
Ireland/Northern Ireland: August 2024
I noticed I had been given a period of four days off in August with the help of a holiday. Out of curiosity I put in that time frame on google flights and looked to see what was out there. Direct flights to Dublin for around $650 is what I discovered. I put it out to my family to see if anyone wanted to be crazy with me and my aunt is the one who said yes! While the initial plan was to stay in Ireland, prior to leaving we discovered Game of Thrones tours around Northern Ireland and knew that we had to do one! The one that left from Dublin did not fit our days so we decided to bus up to Belfast and do the Iron Islands tour from there. Our first day we explored Belfast and the next day was the amzing tour around Northern Ireland stoping at filming locations of Game of Thrones. We both loved dressing up as Greyjoys and posing with the swords! We finished our third day back in Dublin and did a short day trip from there to the Wicklow Mountains. We both had an amzing time and I am so happy my aunt decided to join me on this adventure. It would not have been as fun without her!
After not visiting any new countries in 2023 I started 2024 with a bang by visiting The UK and France. London was a beautiful city. I loved walking around and taking in the sites. It was fun to see places that were either filmed for Harry Potter or were inspiration for Harry Potter. I also loved seeing the Wicked Musical. Then heading on the train to Paris I got to see the famous Eiffel Tower and Le Louvre. I almost didn't go, but I am so glad I did. Le Louvre definitely deserves the hype! But to my main reason of adding in Paris instead of staying in the UK; I went to Disneyland Paris! I had so much fun there, while not giving off quite the same feel as Disney World, it had it's own charm. The Lion King show at the Paris park was phenomenal. I think I would have to say even better than Disney World! Both the UK and France are countries I hope to visit again!
Sleep Token in Montreal: May 2024
After hearing this band, I immediately became obsessed. I love their sound, their aesthetic, the lyrics, everything. Not long after discovering them I booked a ticket for Montreal (the only city with tickets not sold out in North America at the time). My day was almost ruined when my flight got cancelled due to mechanical issues. I got on a later flight that managed to get me there on time thankfully. Though it meant I had no time to do any exploring. I had bought a earlier flight with another airline but had no choice but to fly Air Canada as originally purchased or else my flight home would be cancelled if I missed the flight from Halifax by taking another airline. So, so stupid. Thank you Air Canada, you are soooo great. It all worked out in the end and despite my hotel reservation going missing I still managed to get a room and made it to the concert! I have never had so many issues on a trip and this one was less than 24 hours! Hearing Sleep Token live was an incredible experience. They sound amazing! There is one segment of The Summoning that Vessel (lead singer) will mess around sometimes. At this concert he got a bit carried away and missed his cue! I am glad I was there to see it, it was funny to witness. When Sleep Token come back to North America (I'm sure they will one day) I would love to see them again!
So that was my 2024 in a nutshell. Four new countries, one new state, family trips and an amazing trip with my aunt, and my first time to a concert since 2009 when I saw KISS (I think). I certainly made the most of the last year of my 20's. Excited to see what my 30's bring. So far for 2025 my mom and I will be going to Portugal/Spain to walk a portion of the Camino. We will end up back in Porto for my 30th birthday! I am already saving a week of vacation for 2026 when I visit my number one country I want to visit: New Zealand! So I am unsure yet what I will use my last week for. Maybe something in the fall or winter.
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