Where I traveled in 2022

I look forward to writing this blog post every year since I started this tradition! And ever since the pandemic, I’ve become infinitely more grateful to write it. It’s really hard to believe that we can live our lives again in a very close to normal way, including traveling again. I will never take it for granted, and I’m sure you all feel the same way.

2022 was a record year of travel for me. Especially after the pandemic, but really just in general (the only years that come close are 2017 when I was studying in Florence and 2019 when I was an au pair in Rome). It’s been a year of independence, of living my life almost exactly how I want, of making my own decisions and building relationships that matter to me across the globe. One of the most beautiful parts of all the travel I’ve done this year is the people I’ve shared it with. The friends and family I visited, the time we spent together, and the gratitude I feel make every mile of travel so worthwhile.

I travel solo a lot, but almost always there are people waiting for me at each destination—so it really doesn’t feel like I’m a solo traveler at all. Lately, I’ve realized that almost all the travel I do is based around people, and that’s how I’m planning my future travel too. I’m so grateful to have friends and family I love all around the world. And as my web of like-minded people grows, more places to visit and experience are added to the map. It’s such an exciting and beautiful thing!!

I also can look back on the travel this year and see how much I grew, matured, and gained confidence in myself and my life. It’s really incredible how it can shape you, and there’s so much difference between the me I was in January and the me I am now. 12 months may not seem like a lot of time but trust me, there’s an infinite amount of opportunity to change and transform and propel yourself forward into the life you want in that time. Even in the 2+ months I spent in Italy over the summer, I look at myself in September and see a completely different person than the one that arrived in June. The experiences of this year shaped me and helped me become even closer to the most authentic version of myself—by living in alignment and doing what I believed in my heart was best for me, even when it was hard.

As the year has gone on, I’ve blogged about some of these trips, while others I’ve kept to myself or just haven’t had the time to blog about yet. It’s been busy!! Spending so much time in Italy this year was a literal dream come true. I’ve felt my whole life shifting this year and I’m looking forward to creating the life I desire in 2023.

With this post, I always reflect on where I wanted to go or predicted I would go the year before. I dreamed big in 2021, and actually made it to a solid amount of places I had wanted to go. And of course, many places that weren’t on the list. Things happened fast this year and I still can’t believe what played out. I have a lot of ideas again for travel in 2023, but it will all depend on some things I’m working on and where I end up.

Here’s everywhere I went in 2022*, organized into a list mainly based around the times I spent living in Roma… *I didn’t link any blogs this year, but if you’re curious if I’ve written on a location, you can always search it on the blog.

Where I traveled in 2022:

• Chicago, Illinois with a friend to visit another friend
• Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia for a friend’s birthday

Rome (Italy) for my birthday and an extra month or so…

• Amsterdam, Delft, Utrecht, Den Haag, Zaandijk/Zaanse Schans (Netherlands) with friends
• Florence by myself
• New York, New York for a one-night layover because of a flight delay

Rome (Italy) again, to live for the summer

• Rhodes, Symi (Greece) for vacation with two of my friends
• Santa Severa for a beach day
• Tropea, Aeolian Islands, Scilla for two blissful weeks of holiday
• Fregene for sunset and to celebrate Ferragosto
• Polignano a Mare, Monopoli, Bari with my friend

• Nisswa, Minnesota for a day with my sister
• San Diego, California for work and time with my friend
• New York, New York to visit friends

Rome (Italy) just for a couple of weeks this time

• Florence with a friend to visit another friend  

Where I wish to go in 2023:

Already planned:

• San Diego and Palm Springs, California for work and for fun

Not planned yet:

• Italy obviously ahah, specifically back to Roma to live, plus Tropea, mainland Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, Puglia, and Tuscany
• Toronto and Montreal (Canada) to visit friends
• Poland to explore my heritage
• Sweden and Finland to explore my heritage and experience Scandinavia
• Japan, Singapore, South Korea because I’ve been wanting to go
• Seattle, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee to visit friends
• The Netherlands to visit friends and explore Amsterdam more
• New York, New York because this city always inspires me
• Spain, Greece, and Ireland just because I want to go back
• Taos, New Mexico with a friend for our own artist’s retreat
• Miami, Florida because I’ve never been and the art scene looks cool

Some of these places are always on my list, I’m just waiting for the right time to take the trip, and the right people…

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year full of travel, back to places you love and to new corners of the globe, full of fresh inspiration. xxMaggie