2019

2019 was a bananas year for some serious adventures:

Jan - Berlin, Istanbul, Cappadocia

Feb - Egypt, Greece

Mar - Greece, Crete, Bulgaria,

Apr - Istanbul + bicycle trip through Turkey

May - Turkey, Georgia

June - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Dubai, India

July - India, England, States

Aug - States (New York, Tulsa, Kansas City, OKC, Boston)

Sept - England, Amsterdam, Berlin

Oct - Vienna, Paris, Bordeaux, Orleans, Pyrenees

Nov - The Camino

Dec - The Camino, Ireland

Jan - Istanbul

Any year that begins with a flight to my favorite city in the world is bound to be a good year. Straight to the Grand Hotel de Londres and then down to the water...

... and a week later, we hop a flight to the only-could-exist-in-Turkey

mesmerizing town of Cappadocia...

... and then back to Istanbul...

... and from there, we hop a flight to Cairo - a country I always swear I'll never go back to, but somehow always do.

February

We spend a few agonizing days in Cairo before hopping on the rickety old overnight train to Luxor, meeting Mohhamed - who would quickly become a dear friend - spend lazy days on the Nile and eating all the good things, before train-ing it back to Cairo and hopping a flight to...

...the island of Crete - of which I'd been wanting to get to for forever.

March

We begin the month on the island of Crete with our friend Kelsey, renting a car, drinking all the wines, seeing all the churches and even dancing for Zorba on his beach...

... from Crete to my beloved Bulgaria - still one of my most favorite places - to see Alexandra & Co., a few days in Sofia and then onto Plovdiv, of which I've become quite smitten over the years...

... and yet another friend Sarah pops in from Berlin to ride the old narrow-gauge train up to the northern country.

April

Back to the 'bul to meet up with my sista-from-anotha-mista Kelly for a week in the glorious city, before packing up Miles the Bicycle, hopping on a ferry and beginning a huge cycle across Turkey....

... and what a cycle it was! More kindness than I've ever experienced, long gorgeous paths, seasides and mountaintops, strangers only for the first minute and so much tea given to my by locals, I'd end up getting a tattoo about it...

... so much kindness, in fact, I'd nearly overstay my visa and had to hoof it to the border.

... it was a grand adventure across the (very large) country. Kind of cool to have left in Europe and ended up now in Asia. But the wines and the cheese of its neighbor were calling!

May

We cross over into Georgia - the birthplace of wine and a country I'd been wanting to get to for a while now. Over the border, and into the cheesy + grape-y + old-meets-Soviet designs and some genuinely friendly locals...

... I find a cheap apartment for the month, give Miles the bike a rest and head out exploring the country by bus, train and the occasionally terrifying cable car...

... before returning to Tbilisi and to my apartment for a week...

... and then taking another bus - this time, to the land of Armenia!

June

We fall in immediate love with Yerevan, Armenia (also the "birthplace of wine") - much in part to the kind Hayk, who took me under his wing, who I'd pop by to see daily, who opened doors - both culinary and cultural - and who remains someone very dear to me...

... from there, we cross over into Azerbaijan - with its carpets and color and old caravanseris...

... and then a flight - possibly over illegal airspace - to Dubai for a long weekend with friends.

... and then a flight to (pause, breathe, relax) India, again.

July

Three weeks in India - taking the same route I usually do: Calcutta-Varanasi-Agra-Delhi-Bombay, but this time, Lou joins!

... then it was off to Little Britain for a week - blowing through London (never my favorite) and making my way down to my old stomping grounds of Southampton - where we continued our yearly tradition of The Championship of the World and I continued my yearly tradition of being really shit.

... back to another old stomping grounds of New York for a weekend...

... and then to Tulsa to hang with this bunch of Queens.

August

It was a month of birthdays (mine and my sister's), anniversarys (Mum and Dad's) and of my nephew getting his port taken out - officialy having beaten cancer. Add to that wonderful day, lots of Mexican food, Route 66, pals, nieces and nephews, the old neighborhood, quick trips to Kansas City, more Mexican food, old friends, more family and a great (but hot!) month. Next, we board a flight to...

... Boston for a fun little weekend. But we say goodbye, once again, to the US and head back to...

... back to the UK - London and Southampton - for friends, pubs, golf...

... to Amsterdam, where I spend most of my time in one of Europe's best bars - "brown bars" I should say - Cafe Hoppe!

... and then onto Berlin, for the last days of autumn, spent either with The Hoff, or down on the water...

... before catching another flight to go meet up with my besties TJ & Rachel in Vienna!

September

A near-month in Vienna - spending time with TJ & Rachel, as well as really getting to know a city I'd always been smitten by. Big meals, big buildings, ornate everywhere and I get to meet the incredible Magdalena - of whom would quickly become one of my dearest friends.

October

Was spent at my French godparent's home in Bordeaux - with incredible meals every night and even more-incredible wine(s) also every night. On a road trip west, however, I would ask them to stop so I could take a photo of my dream car - a photo/car that would one day haunt me...

... but more on that later, as we headed to the west coast - namely to a tiny island called O'Leron, for days-upon-days of oysters, wine, more oysters, more wine and even vending machines with oysters and wine. A forever favorite spot of mine in France.

... from there, I headed back up to Paris to meet up with my friend Ashely, who'd just flown in from Tulsa. We did all the Paris things.

... and then headed back down to Bordeaux for more adventures and wines.

... Ashely would fly back a week later, and then I would hop a train to the Pyrenees, to see my old pal Nicky and her wife, for some proper mountain air - something I would need soon...

... seeing how, for some reason, I found myself back on the Camino. Oh boy.