In addition to my aforementioned incredible year with New York City, in 2013 I got to explore the world further. In recent years, I’ve only taken one small trip a year: St. Thomas a few times, London, Amsterdam. This year I took two bigger trips and I don’t want to stop anytime soon.

I spent a full month with my older sister as we traveled through Thailand and Hong Kong in January and Italy in July. My parents joined us in Italy for our first family vacation in a decade. Hopefully we don’t wait another decade before our next.

Our trip to Thailand made Asia my fourth continent. I rode elephants. I held tigers. I fed monkeys. I freed birds. I got accosted and interviewed by Thai schoolchildren. I discovered egg tarts, egg waffles, dim sum, and hot pot in Hong Kong. I took a jello shot out of a plastic syringe. I visited holy places and got blessed by Buddhist monks. I made wishes.

In Italy, I saw ruins from thousands of years ago. I wandered around Pompeii, a city I’d been wanting to experience since I was six. I saw masterpieces by some of my favorite artists that I never thought I’d see. I got close enough to Michelangelos to touch them. I didn’t touch them. I ate fresh pasta, tomatoes, seafood, and pounds of gelato. I made more wishes.

Here are some of my favorite travel posts of the year:

xx