Reflections

Seasonal Digest: Winter 2017

Welcome to another Seasonal Digest! Reflection is an important part of life and in my effort to be self-aware and grateful, I will go through a summary of what’s been going on in my world season by season. This Seasonal Digest covers Winter 2017/18 from December 2017 to February 2018. If you want to read more Digests, click here


Travel Summary

Flights: 4
Countries: 3
Beds: 4

Winter is always a bit of a dud for me. I tend not to want to explore too much and I eagerly wait for spring. You can easily assume I’d be happy as can be under a blanket with plenty of snacks in hibernation. It’s March now and London is still pretty wintery. We’re still getting threats of snow! But nonetheless, winter this year was pretty awesome. I was so incredibly lucky that my parents decided to celebrate my Dad’s retirement with a Delaney family tradition: Disney! We frantically planned and booked everything. It was a miracle that we could coordinate everything amongst various schedules. But first, school work for me!

December

Because of my upcoming trip to the US, I really had to buckle down and get as much work and studying done as possible. Exams are in January and so I knew I would have little, if any, time to study during my vacation. During the first few weeks of December I broke up my studying sessions with explorations around London. The Christmas lights and decorations are beautiful as always.

Christmas London 35Christmas London 38

Victor and I also went out for brunch while I worked and I hung out with friends from time to time before heading to the library (again). 

Finally, December 16th rolled around! I flew from London to Dublin and then onwards to Washington, D.C. I spent just over a week in beautiful Virginia. Not only was it great to be at home after a year(!) but one my best friends came to visit from Ohio. I got to show her around my parent’s town and also enjoy Christmas traditions. Victor flew in on the 22nd, just in time for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning! 

Later that afternoon, we loaded up the car and headed to the airport. Florida, here we come! Our flight was delayed and we almost missed our connection in Charlotte, but we got to our hotel safe and sound. I can’t wait to write about my time at Disney World and Universal. The weather was a bit colder than expected, as the US was experiencing a bomb cyclone, but Disney has a way of cheering you up. 

EPCOT 1 Disney Resort 1 Animal Kingdom 1

January

On December 30th we hopped on a shuttle from our hotel to Port Canaveral, the port for Disney Cruise Line. My family has been on a Disney Cruise three times, but it had been many years since our last trip. Plus, Victor had never been on such an adventure! We celebrated New Years Eve in style and enjoyed three wonderful islands: Saint Maarten, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay. 

Disney Cruise 1 Disney Cruise 2Almost immediately after landing in London, it was time for major exam preparation. I was a hermit for two solid weeks. The only real break I took was for Lumiere London. More than 50 artworks reimagine London’s architecture and streets, transforming the city into a nighttime art exhibition. It was incredible and I look forward to next year!

February

Probably my least favourite month of the year, I was not expecting much from February. However, several months earlier I had booked a special access pass to Stonehenge! Victor and I made a weekend trip out of it visiting Bath on a Saturday and Stonehenge and Winchester on the Sunday. It was our first time renting a car and Victor’s first time driving on the left. We opted for an automatic to make the learning curve less painful, and surprisingly we had no issues at all! 

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Lowlights

  • This exam season was not fun, though they never are. My marks were not as high as I wanted but I know I worked really hard. I’ll just have to work even harder for my exams in May! 

Highlights

  • Disney World was so much fun and I love feeling like a little kid because, let’s be honest, I kind of am. 

Upcoming

  • I just got back from a wonderful trip to Italy, which I will discuss in due course. My next trip is to Corfu! Victor has a work trip to Greece and Turkey, so we’re taking advantage of the Greek end. It’s over Easter weekend, BUT it’s not Easter in the orthodox church so we get the best of both worlds!
  • In April Victor and I are heading to his parent’s hometown for a family reunion. We’re taking advantage by making a quick trip up north to San Sebastian. Afterwards, we’ll spend several days in Barcelona. By then it will have been 8 months since we last visited! 

Ideas & Dreams

  • Victor and I have a lot of trips coming up, so at this point I feel a bit planned out. While it’s easy to catch the travel bug, sometimes I get overwhelmed with a booked schedule. I think my dream is to keep the rest of schedule pretty clear. 
  • Of course, resting doesn’t last for long. I’m thinking about heading to the US sometime in the summer. My goal is to be able to visit the US twice a year, but of course it’s expensive and time consuming. We shall see! 

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