Our 2015 Travel Year in Review

We started completing a travel year review in 2014, which made for a fun recollection of the places we’d visited.

While our travels during 2015 were not quite as exotic as those in 2014, we explored quite a few new places and reconnected with some favorite destinations.

Here’s a recap of our travel highlights of 2015

After ringing in the New Year at sea on Holland America’s just-out-of-dry-dock ms Volendam, we spent the first two days of 2015 exploring Kuala Lumpur by taxi from Port Kelang, Malaysia. To maximize our time in port, we spent the night off of the cruise ship, in the Hilton Kuala Lumpur, giving us plenty of time to explore some of the city’s highlights such as the Petronas Twin Towers, Batu Caves and the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall with its Egyptian-inspired sphinx architecture.

During the end of our cruise when we had two nights in Singapore, I took a quick ferry trip to Batam in Sumatra Indonesia. Why? When I got my passport stamped, I achieved my 100th Country for the Travelers’ Century Club. I became a member later in 2015, and enjoy meeting like-minded travelers in my hometown at quarterly meetings. Since the Traveler Century Club (TCC) counts countries, territories and islands with distinct different cultures, the organization has a list of 324 destinations to visit. As of the end of 2015, Mr. Jones has visited 101 of them, while I’ve traveled to 103 of the destinations. You can view our list here.

Mr. Jones and I visited three other new countries and/or unique destinations as defined by the Traveler’s Century Club in 2015:

• Panama
• Northern Ireland
• Prince Edward Island, Canada (Mr. Jones had previously visited PEI during his childhood years.)

Fun Facts 

Before we visit a new destination, we try to learn a little bit about it in advance. Often, we compile a list of “Fun Facts” about a destination, such 25 Fun Facts About the Azores (which, sadly, we didn’t get to visit, but want to now more than ever.)

Here are more Fun Facts posts from 2015:

• 32 Fun Facts About Barcelona, Spain

• 17 Fun Facts About Bar Harbor, Maine

• 33 Fun Facts About Prince Edward Island, Canada

• 14 Fun Facts About Quebec City, Canada

• 15 Fun Facts About Halifax, Nova Scotia

• 17 Fun Facts About Ghent, Belgium

• 20 Fun Facts About Antwerp, Belgium

• 20 Fun Facts About Panama City, Panama

• 30 Fun Facts About Fort Worth, Texas

• 15 Fun Facts About Alicante, Spain

• 53 Fun Facts About Key West, Florida

• 9 Fun Facts About Costa Maya, Mexico

• 16 Fun Facts About San Juan, Puerto Rico

• 18 Fun Facts About Albuquerque, New Mexico

• 34 Fun Facts About Belfast, Northern Ireland

• 33 Fun Facts About Turks and Caicos Islands

• 15 Fun Facts About Malaga, Spain

Cruising continued to be one of our favorite ways to explore the world

We sailed on five different cruises on Holland America Line in 2015:

We started the year on a 14-day Asian Holiday cruise on Holland America’s Volendam. The attraction for this cruise was spending 2-nights and 3-days in Myanmar (Burma) which did not disappoint.

In early March, we sailed on a 7-Day Western Caribbean Cruise on Holland America’s ms Nieuw Amsterdam to warm up and forget that I was turning another year older. The BB King Blues Club, the Cabana Club, the Signature Beverage Package and the Le Cirque dinner all worked wonders.

We celebrated Canada Day and the U.S. 4th of July on a 7-Day Canada and New England cruise on Holland America’s ms Maasdam. Finding the best lobster roll among all of the port destinations was our mission.

In early November, after spending a couple of days in Barcelona, we headed to the port to catch our 13-Day Transatlantic cruise to Florida on the Nieuw Amsterdam. A planned call in the Azores was a big attraction, but rain and high winds kept the ship from reaching our port and we remained in Barcelona overnight. Our cruise became a 12-day Transatlantic voyage with a record eight straight sea days after port days in Alicante, Malaga and Cadiz, Spain.

After spending Christmas Day at home with family before heading to Florida, we caught a 7-Day Holiday cruise to ring in the New Year on Holland America’s ms Zuiderdam.

2015 was our year for Europe Visits

Over the U.S. Memorial Day holiday, we visited the delightful Belgium cities of Antwerp and Ghent, with an overnight in Amsterdam before flying back to the U.S.

We used the Labor Day holiday to explore Belfast and the Northern Ireland countryside. Little did we know that Brad Pitt would be in town at the same time, filming a movie he is producing.

We explored the Palau de la Musica Catalana, new neighborhoods and a new hotel in Barcelona before our Transatlantic cruise.

Hotels

Road warrior Mr. Jones spent a significant number of nights in hotels for work in 2015, which provided some of the points for us try delightful hotels:

• A Look Inside the Hilton Panama Hotel

• A Peek Inside the Hilton Antwerp Old Town Hotel

• A Look Inside the JW Marriott Marquis Miami Hotel

• A Peek Inside the Ghent Marriott Hotel in Belgium

• A Look Inside the Cotton House Hotel, Barcelona

• A Look Inside the JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square Hotel

• A Look Inside the Wit Hotel, Chicago

Weekend Wanderings

With the help of the Companion Pass from Southwest Airlines, we met up or traveled together for quick Weekend Adventures in these cities during 2015.

• Albuquerque, New Mexico (green chili cheeseburgers and a side-trip to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico)
• Clearwater Beach, Florida (picture-perfect sunsets)
• Chicago (two visits with opposite weather extremes; one in August and one in December)
• Fort Worth, Texas (bluebonnets, sushi and good friends)
• Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Florida
• San Francisco (celebrating our wedding anniversary)

Food & Wine

We ate memorable meals at a range of eating establishments:

• A Delightful Dinner at Ristorante Gallo Nero in Antwerp, Belgium
• Dinner at the James Street South Bar + Grill in Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Presidential Dim Sum in San Francisco
• A Taste of Tokyo at Shinjuku Station in Fort Worth, Texas
• Dining at La Taberneta in Barcelona’s La Barceloneta Neighborhood
• Not Your Average Hotel Restaurant: Chynna in the Hilton Kuala Lumpur

We also discovered that cocktail bars are trendy in Europe (and elsewhere): 

• The 2 Best Cocktails Bars in Antwerp, Belgium
• 3 Favorite Cocktail Bars in Ghent, Belgium

Tours

We explored culture, history and food on tours in a number of locations:

• A Visit to the National Airline History Museum in Kansas City, Missouri
• Exploring Chicago’s Architecture by River Tour
• A Visit to the Titanic Quarter and Titanic Belfast
• Eating Our Way Through Barcelona’s Gracia Neighborhood With Devour Barcelona

We Explored by Walking and Counting Those Fitbit Steps:

• Climbing on the Giant’s Causeway in Antrim County, Northern Ireland
• Crossing the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in County Antrim, Northern Ireland
• A Walk Around Halifax, Nova Scotia During Our Visit By Cruise Ship
• A Walk Around Bar Harbor, Maine via a Cruise Ship Visit
• 15 Views From Walking Around Belfast
• A Do-It-Yourself Port Day in Quebec City

Finally, we increased our use of technology, putting Pinterest to use for our travel planning, and finding Favorite Podcasts to Listen to While Flying or Exercising.

As we look back, we realize how incredibly grateful we are to be able to travel and experience new cultures, make new friends, try new things outside of our comfort zone, and go with the flow when plans go awry.

If you want to travel more in 2016 and beyond, don’t wait.  Start by making your destination wish list and then take little steps to figure out how you can get there.

Where did your travels take you in 2015?  We’d really like to hear.  Please share in comments below.

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