Are you ready to look back on 2015?

2015 will be remembered as the year of excessive travel. A delightful excess, in our opinion, but it was only possible because of A LOT OF PLANNING and, of course, accumulated vacation time. We left Brazil in October 2014, heading to a new life in Dublin, with the idea of traveling as much as possible, since we would be far from family and friends and in a completely unknown city. We achieved what we wanted thanks to many budget spreadsheets, tireless research for cheap flights and accommodation, saving money on a daily basis and, what I like most (!!!): a well-organized calendar.

(I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but in Ireland you can take a week's vacation every 3 months of work and you don't have to take all 5 working days at once. This means people travel a lot more – they take mini trips all the time – and don't lose vacation when they change companies. We started to hate the CLT even more after we got here.)

In addition to everything I mentioned above, at the beginning of the year we created a list of countries we wanted to visit in 2015 and we started organizing our trips based on that list. In the end, we visited the 13 countries below, some of them more than once. It was a lot of work and I confess that I even wanted to cancel some of the trips so we could rest more, but looking back now, I see that they were all worth it. 🙂

It's always hard to choose the best trip or the best ones, because each one has a special detail, but I think these were the places that left the biggest impression on us in 2015 (I couldn't include Iceland, because Celo hasn't been there yet, but it's incredible too.)

1. Preikestolen, Norway

The view from this rock in Norway is simply the most beautiful I've ever seen in my entire life! To get to the top, you need to hike uphill for about 2 hours. Not only is the view spectacular, it was the place where he proposed to me, so it has to be number 1 on this list! <3

See more details at post The famous Preikestolen and if you can, check out the rest of our trip through Norway at All posts about our trip to Norway. The country is TOP!

2. Andalusia, Spain

This region of Spain is charming and very cheap for what it offers! We loved the Mosque of Cordoba, the Cathedral of Seville, the all-white city of Vejer de La Frontera, the cliff of Round and the Alhambra, in Grenade. Centuries of history told in beautiful buildings, with great and cheap food (the famous Spanish tapas!).

See the trip summary at post 8 days in the Andalusia region of Spain or else see all the posts detailed information about our trip to Spain in All about our trip to Spain.

3. Tuscany, Italy

It’s no wonder that Tuscany is one of the favorite destinations for couples from all over the world. This region of Italy enchants anyone with its cute little towns, charming wineries, architecture and art, and of course, its wonderful Italian cuisine. It’s truly captivating, especially if you can rent a car and drive around the region at your leisure. I recommend it!

See the summary of our trip at post 14 days in Italy (Rome, Bologna, Tuscany and Cinque Terre) or else see the posts detailed in All about our trip to Italy.

4. Périgord, region of France

This delightful region of France was recommended by my mother-in-law, who is expert in France (Bote expert (Thank you, aunt!). We were enchanted by the super charming medieval towns, sunflower fields, views from lookouts and castles and we enjoyed all the dishes we tried. We chose well-reviewed restaurants and also those recommended by her and this detail made the trip a tchan more. Eating VERY well in France is the best thing... well accompanied, then, it's perfect!

See a summary of this trip at post 3 days in the Périgord and Quercy regions or else see all the posts detailed information about our trip to France in All about our trip to France.

5. Salzburg, Austria

At the end of 2014, we took a trip 16 days in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia and although Budapest and Vienna caught my eye, we visited them in 2014, so they can't make it onto this 2015 list (I take that literally, sorry). Salzburg was the third city that I loved the most on this trip, mainly because we saw it with and without snow (at the beginning and end of the trip) and it really is cute. For those who don't know, this is the city in the movie Sound of Music. It's definitely worth a visit!

See more details at post Salzburg in 5 days. If you want to see all the details of our 16-day trip through Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, Click here.

If you also want to plan better to make more trips, start using Google Maps, Google Flights and Google Sheets for that. These are the tools we use and approve of!

This is our 2015 list! Bring on 2016 <3