With an unexpected weeklong gap in April between projects at work, I had just enough time to head off to Japan to visit one of my best friends from college. It was just my luck that the trip coincided with cherry blossom (sakura) season! My friend graciously indulged my excitement and we trekked across Tokyo and Kyoto looking for the best viewing spots.
While we caught the end of the flowering in Tokyo, we arrived in Kyoto at the perfect time when most of the blossoms were in full bloom. I loved seeing the classic Japanese sights shrouded in a beautiful veil of pink flowers. The atmosphere in the city was vivacious. Everyone was out and about, enjoying picnics in the park. Given that many tourists try to time their trips to Japan during sakura season, I was so lucky to have fortuitously caught this cultural experience!
A few days after returning from Japan, I was off again, this time, on a business trip to London. Known for its perpetual rainy weather and overcast skies, the city was kind to me as I found spring in London quite pleasant and sunny. Over the weekend, I booked an aggressive and exhausting day tour to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. Maybe because everywhere was so crowded and other stops felt rushed, visiting Stonehenge was the perfect reprieve and the highlight of my British adventure.
Although considered overrated by many (yes, it is just rocks), Stonehenge is still an iconic site known worldwide (ie. a famous set of rocks). The monument is staggering in its size and the innovation behind its construction is undoubtedly impressive. After a long day battling hoards of tourists, I reveled in the open space at Stonehenge. I could finally enjoy an attraction (and a photo) without others jamming right up against me. The English countryside of the area was also bucolic and refreshing.
Late July and early August found me in the Land Down Under for work. Over the weekend, I paid more than I should have to visit Melbourne. As it was winter in Australia, Melbourne was alas rainy and miserable. Looking to escape the frigid and wet weather, I discovered the city’s delicious brunch scene and café culture.
Armed with a long list of recommendations from coworkers, I ate my way through the weekend and rolled back to home a pound or two heavier. Rather than serving the usual eggs and toast, the Melbourne cafés offered creative, Instagram-worthy dishes. At Higher Ground, I received a visually-stunning plate of ricotta pancakes decked out like a meadow with edible flowers, puffed rice, and pine nuts. Of course, the coffee was excellent too! I tried the bubble coffee with tapioca pearls at Industry Bean and got an unexpected lesson from the barista on how to achieve the best photo for social media.
I was back to Europe again in September for my family’s annual vacation. I am close with my parents and, every year for as long as I can remember, we have always tried to take a trip together. This time we ended up in Amsterdam (my dad’s first time in Europe). Hoping to see the famed windmills, we booked a stupidly inexpensive day tour to the Dutch countryside.
Our guide was phenomenal and seemed to be on the same wavelength as me as she kept providing tips on all the free and discounted things there were to do in Amsterdam! The tour first brought us to Zaanse Schans, a popular attraction filled with historic windmills, and then stopped at the most picturesque views in some small Dutch towns. We visited the old marketplace of Edam where Gouda cheese used to be sold, the quaint fishing village of Volendam, and Marken, a true picturebook town by the sea with lots of wooden bridges. To top off our experience off, the weather was remarkable with blue skies all day long!
A month later and I was on a plane again to Europe for a week and a half excursion in Spain with a friend from high school. This was an attempt on both of our parts to utilize our remaining vacation days at work. Traveling through Sevilla, Madrid, and Valencia, I got to see the regional differences of the cities and also practice my very rusty high-school Spanish.
In Madrid, we took a day trip to El Escorial, an old monastery that was once the royal residence of the Spanish monarchy. Today, this UNESCO heritage site is a popular tourist attraction and museum. It houses works by Spain’s great masters and features elaborate painted ceilings, a magnificent library, a basilica, and numerous murals. El Escorial has some more peculiar features as well, such as an elegant rotunda beneath the building filled with the coffins of the deceased royal family (super creepy). Behind the monastery was a quaint garden with a spectacular view of the mountains.