road trip in our vintage yellow mustang to palm springs desert californiaIf you read my post from earlier this month, you know this year was a big one for us. It’s also one of those years that completely flew by! Though our home base is now in Amsterdam, we spent most of 2017 traveling. Some of the places we visited were completely new to us (Romania, Canary Islands, Dominican Republic), and some we’d been to before (France, Spain and Kauai).

Overall, the year was filled with plenty of new experiences and memories. We also finally feel settled in Amsterdam after this year, despite being gone so often, and we’re lucky enough to have made some good friends in the city. When I look back at 2017 I’m filled with nothing but happiness. I can tell it’s one of those years that I’ll look back on as being fairly significant in my life, since it really solidified our love for living in Europe, and for each other! Here’s a look back at where we visited this past year and some of my favorite photos that didn’t make it in previous posts…

January – The Netherlands

We started the year off in Amsterdam and took day trips to other places around The Netherlands, including a visit to a Dutch castle (Kasteel De Haar). We also experienced snow in Amsterdam for the very first time!

Street corners in Amsterdam The Netherlandskasteel de haar castle in the netherlandskasteel de haar castle in the netherlandsboating amsterdam's canals at sunset snow from our amsterdam apartmentsnow from our amsterdam apartment

February – Romania & Switzerland

In February we headed to Romania to explore the Transylvania region, an area that’s intrigued me for a long time. I wrote a Complete Romania Travel Guide that covered the cities we visited, including Brașov (which I loved). We also shared our first video!

rooftops of brasov poiana pastel town in romania rasnov Râșnov town fortress citadel in romaniaBrasov, Romania town squaretown square pastel city of poiana brasov romanialookout over poiana brasov romania

Next we visited Gstaad, Switzerland for a job and had the best time staying at Huus Gstaad, a boutique hotel nestled in the Swiss Alps. I wrote about our experience here and Jacob cut together a video of our trip.

lobby of huus gstaad switzerland boutique hotel ski triphot chocolate in the snow in gstaad switzerlandSnow at Huus Gstaad in Gstaad, Saanen, SwitzerlandDowntown Gstaad Switzerland Quaint Swiss Townlobby of huus gstaad switzerland boutique hotel ski tripsnow covered rivers and trees in gstaad switzerland

March – Paris & Tuscany

I started the month off in Paris, France with a good friend of mine visiting from California. Jacob met me after she left and we both unfortunately ended up getting food poisoning! Thankfully we recovered enough to fit in new sights around the city, and I wrote a Complete Paris Travel Guide with our favorite places.

parisian balconies in paris overlooking french rooftopsmacarons and the eiffel tower from the Shangri La Parisparisian restaurants in paris francePalace rooms at the Shangri La Paris Hotel - Complete Paris Travel GuideFrench croissants for breakfast in our paris airbnb - Complete Paris Travel Guide

Next we flew to Tuscany, Italy for a job. It was our third time in Tuscany but our first time visiting the Southern region, and it completely blew us away. We stayed at the newly opened Borgo Case Bardi and drove around the countryside. I shared a post here about our experience and we put together a Tuscany video with the natural hot springs we visited!

Wine tasting at our tuscan villa in southern Tuscany, ItalyA natural thermal bath mineral hot springs in Tuscany, ItalyA natural thermal bath mineral hot springs in Tuscany, Italytwirling in southern tuscany by the vineyards italytuscan villa, southern Tuscany, Italypicnic lunch in southern tuscany italyA natural thermal bath mineral hot springs in Tuscany, Italy

April – Spain

In April we met Jacob’s family in the northwestern region of Spain for a mini getaway, and visited a number of beautiful Spanish towns including Valladolid and Segovia. We ended the trip with a few days in Barcelona and Madrid, and I wrote a 24 Hour Guide to Barcelona with our must-see spots.

pink castle Alcázar of Segovia in spainCañón del Río Lobos Natural Park rooftops oldest town of spain calatanazorsteps and pastel buildings in zamora spain spanish townRooftop views in Barcelona, Spain

May – Dominican Republic & Canary Islands

In May we flew to the Dominican Republic to produce videos for a hotel chain and fell in love with the Caribbean’s white sand beaches. It was a crazy trip with a fun group, and I shared a recap of it here. The videos are all up on our Youtube channel.

Clear blue water and white sand, Dominican Republic | Clear Blue Water in Punta Cana | Tropical Paradise Beach Getaways in the Caribbean | Islands Near North Americaunderwater pool in the dominican republicon the beach together in punta cana dominican republic

We had a quick 24-hour layover in Amsterdam after the Dominican Republic before we headed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Tenerife was completely unique, we really enjoyed the small towns on the island and the day trips we did to the volcano and out on the water. Here is where I shared our photos in a post from this trip!

Black sand beach in Tenerife, Canary Islands, SpainSpanish tapas and red wine in Tenerife, Canary Islands, SpainExploring El Teide Volcano in Tenerife at sunrise, Canary Islands, Spain

June – Japan, Kauai & California

We started off June in Japan for a conference, which I’d really been looking forward to. Japan was one of my favorite trips of 2017, I couldn’t get enough of Kyoto and Tokyo (both for the food and culture!). I wrote a Complete Tokyo Travel Guide and a 24 Hour Guide to Kyoto from our trip.

Nara Deer Park, day trip from Kyoto, Japan Nara Deer Park, day trip from Kyoto, Japan Backstreets of Shijo Dori in Kyoto, Japanauthentic green tea Shijo-Dori street gion near geisha districtShrine in Kyoto, Japan arches near tenjuan garden kyoto japan

From Tokyo we flew straight to Kauai to meet with our wedding planner!

hanalei bay beach in kauai hawaiidrone shot of hanalei bay beach in kauai hawaii

We ended June in California visiting friends and family before flying back to Amsterdam.

laguna beach california at sunsetcalifornia vibes at home swimming in malibu with pink heart floatiepool in california at sunset

July – Amsterdam

In July we stayed home to finalize wedding plans. We had a number of people visit us this month so we enjoyed taking them to some of our favorite spots around Amsterdam! We also hit 100,000 followers on our Instagram this month, which was a huge milestone for us.

sweet cup roastery in amsterdam netherlandsBoating down Amsterdam's Amstel riverBoating down Amsterdam's Amstel riverBoating down Amsterdam's Amstel river

August – Kauai

A couple weeks before our wedding weekend we flew into California and then Kauai to get everything ready. This was a crazy couple of weeks as we pulled everything together and started to greet everyone flying in!

eating fresh ahi poke kauai hawaii paddleboarding in hanalei bay kauai hanalei bay beach sunset in kauai hawaii

September – Kauai, Honolulu, Tahiti & Las Vegas

We got married on September 3rd on the North Shore of Kauai. It was incredible and I’m so grateful to our friends and family who helped make it so amazing. I’ll be sharing photos from our wedding day soon! 🙂

Right after our wedding we jetted off to Honolulu for a few days before continuing on to Tahiti for our Honeymoon.

ho'omaluhia botanical garden entrance on oahutoast and coffee at arvo cafe oahuFour Seasons Bora Bora at sunset in Tahiti HoneymoonFour Seasons Bora Bora at sunset in Tahiti HoneymoonFour Seasons Bora Bora at sunset in Tahiti HoneymoonFour Seasons Bora Bora at sunset in Tahiti Honeymoon

Just a couple days after our Honeymoon we headed to Las Vegas for a job. I loved this trip because we also got to bring friends with us for photo and video shoots!

welcome to las vegas sign nevadadesert outside of las vegas nevadabellagio fountain in last vegas at venetian hotel

October – Palm Springs, Mexico, New York, Washington D.C. & Maryland

For the next couple of weeks we used our family’s home in California as a home base for a couple jobs nearby. First up was Palm Springs – we rented a vintage car for our drive to the desert!

vintage yellow mustang road trip in the desert to palm springspool time in palm springs californiabirds eye view of pool time floaties in palm springs californiasipping coffee in palm springs california

Next we hopped on a plane to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I shared a video from this trip here!

boating in puerto vallarta mexicosecret beaches in sayulita mexicococktails by the pool grass huts in puerto vallarta mexicopool time in mexico with cocktailspink walls in sayulita mexico   We ended this month in New York since Jacob had a couple conferences nearby. We also had a wedding this month in Maryland, so we flew in for the weekend to Washington D.C. and visited some picturesque East Coast towns.

backyard in fall upstate new york brick houses in georgetown washington dc

November – Amsterdam & Utrecht

We flew back to Amsterdam for November after being away from home for nearly 3 months! We caught up on work, visited friends, and relaxed after a whirlwind Summer. I holed myself up at home this month and worked on our new website and updated content, including our Complete Amsterdam Travel Guide. We also took a couple day trips to other towns in The Netherlands, like Utrecht.

vondelpark in fall amsterdam vondelpark in fall amsterdam vondelpark in fall amsterdam holiday dinner at de luwte in amsterdamsmall streets of utrecht netherlands

December – Germany, France & Finland

To get in the Christmas spirit, I planned a last minute road trip this month to the Christmas Markets in Germany and France. We had the best time visiting quaint towns during the day and indulging in delicious food at the markets. I wrote a Guide To Europe’s Best Christmas Markets with lots of tips to plan your own winter getaway!

Pastel streets pink and blue town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber German town GermanyHot gluhwein at the Stasbourg Christmas Market in Francechristmas lights in front of the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersburg in germany

To ring in the New Year, we spent the end of December in Lapland, Finland! Finland has been on my list for a long time, and this trip did not disappoint. Stay tuned as I’ll release a guide from this trip…and maybe a video too. 😉

icebreaker sampo ship in kemi lapland finlandicebreaker sampo ship in kemi lapland finlanddog sledding husky safari in lapland finlandviews of lapland from kemi seaside glass villas

As another year comes to a close, I can’t help but be even more excited about what’s to come. Some destinations that we’re hoping to visit in 2018 are: Sri Lanka, Norway, Faroe Islands, Estonia and Kenya. But before then, we have a couple more winter trips in Europe coming up….

Cheers to an amazing 2018!

What’s on your travel bucket list for 2018?