2025 was an interesting year. It began in Australia which was a long enough trip for me to have the time and space to decide that it was time to take the leap and prioritize travel again. Giving myself almost an entire year to reorganize my life meant that I could enjoy all the moments, knowing that it may be the last time that I did that thing.
Planning a big life change for the end of the year (as well as using a lot of vacation days in Australia) meant that 2025 wasn’t a massive travel year but it definitely had some highlights. Visiting Tasmania for the first time, returning to Puerto Rico, eating Black Forest Gateau in the Black Forest, seeing Torvill and Dean’s last tour, revisiting childhood haunts, a birthday party in Budapest, picking the winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, as well as concerts and theatre and fun time with friends and family. In summary, it turned out to be not a bad year.
January was a month of highs and lows but the best decision I made was squeezing some time in the Whitsundays into my Australia itinerary. I loved Daydream Island and would happily go back. There is something so freeing about being stranded on a tropical island (in a comfortable resort). And it was a chance for some proper downtime.
February was mostly about traveling for concerts – Snow Patrol, Sub-Radio, James Blunt and Dean Lewis. There was also an epic birthday party which was one of the best night’s I’ve had in a long time with spoken word poetry and live music and dancing and laughter and fun.
March was mostly about family with happy times and sad times. There was quite a lot of travel ending up in the US.
April took me to Puerto Rico, tagging along on someone else’s work trip. Had a wonderful time and for the first time rented a car and so explored more of the country than I had before. My annual Easter adventure with friends took me to Stuttgart with a focus on food and fun new experiences like listening to Dark Side of the Moon in a planetarium with accompanying visuals. I’d love to do it again with other classic albums.
May started with a quick trip to see Torvill and Dean. I first saw them perform after they won gold in Sarajevo so it was nice to see the final tour as well. And it ended with my now annual trip to Ticino. For the first time I stayed in Locarno rather than Lugano so it gave me the opportunity to find new things and new restaurants although I did make time for old favorites too.
June was a trip to Berlin to see the Saw Doctors but I’m still trying to figure out why Berlin isn’t one of my favorite places. There was cricket at Lord’s and a trip to Blackpool to see Tim Minchin.
July was all about football and going to watch the Women’s Euros. And a trip to Budapest for a birthday party and some quality time with friends. Having visitors also meant that I got to tread the tourist trail one last time. It was fun to share playing mini golf in Evian with someone playing the game for the very first time.
August brought a theatre trip to London and time spent enjoying the British weather, exploring Kew Gardens and a day at the seaside in Brighton. Another visit from friends was a nice way to end the summer.
September brought more visitors and a culinary adventure at Ottolenghi. There was an impromptu trip to Disneyland Paris on the flimsiest of excuses.
October took me back to Longchamps after many years for the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe. A great day and a fun weekend in Paris with good company.
November took me to see Ward Thomas and to a three year old’s birthday party. There was theatre and improv shows, a trip to Italy for lunch and lots of time spent with friends (while we still had the benefit of geography).
December was packing and getting organized. So much socializing but not goodbyes rather à bientôt. And then a lovely Christmas with my family before heading to the US for the first part of this new adventure.
It has been a fun year with lots of time with people I love. Concerts and live sports. And definitely a great year for theatre. I saw Lord of the Rings: The Musical, Book of Mormon, Mamma Mia!, Wizard of Oz (Play in the Park), Back to the Future: The Musical, Phantom of the Opera and The Importance of Being Earnest (loved Stephen Fry as Lady Bracknell), as well as local productions of Friends Help You Move, Pygmalion, Shakespeare in Love, Macbeth and Deathtrap.
I’m guessing 2026 will look a bit different although I already have concert tickets and trips with friends booked. But the day-to-day will not be the same as, when I’m not traveling, I will be living in a completely different country and so I will really have to make an effort to see all my friends. But it’s an exciting time not least because I fly to Hawaii on January 1st.
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