For years since the time I was in University, all my holidays, every vacation, would be spent going to visit my parents and family back in Tanzania. My fiancé R is also originally from Tanzania and ever since we started dating we’d also end up going back together. After some time, we took our first trip (outside of Tanzania) together to New York City and discovered our mutual love for travel. From then on, we made lists and lists of places to visit, which we slowly ticked off.
This year we were lucky enough to mark off several places from our list:
- Montreal, Canada
- Orlando, Florida
- Paris, France
- Banff, Canada
Plus we got to travel back to Tanzania for a quick trip as well! I was also fortunate enough to travel for work to St.Petersburg, Florida and now I’m headed to London for 10 days during Christmas! R is pretty bummed he can’t make it this time with me, but he’s been to London several times before so he won’t be missing out on too much!
A few things on our travel bucket list for the next couple of years are:
- Road trip through the Canadian Rockies
- Visit the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia
- Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu
- Witness the northern lights in Iceland
- Explore Japan and eat our way through the country
- Witness the beauty of Russia in the winter
- Sail and swim in Greek Waters
- Sunbathe on the beaches of Indonesia
- Explore the charming historic cities of Portugal
These may take some time to tick off from the list, and of course by no means is this list ending here. When I asked R if I was missing anything or if I should add anything to our list, he told me to look at the world map and list all the cities we hadn’t yet been to! So there you have it, the world is our grand bucket list!
We absolutely can’t wait to take more trips together but for now I’m focusing on my London trip this month!
So how exactly am I planning for my trip?! Well, by going through other blogs of course! What better way to see a new city then by going through words and pictures of others who have documented their trips and experiences! Also, who else scrolls through endless Instagram pictures making a list of the most picturesque spots?! Because I totally do and absolutely cannot wait to capture the streets of London adorned in Christmas lights!
A few spots that are a must on my list:
- London Eye
- Notting Hill
- Trafalgar Square
- Leadenhall Market
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- The Shard
- Covent Garden
- Buckingham Palace
- Hyde Park
- Tower Bridge
- Piccadilly Circus
- Oxford Street
- Big Ben
And of course, I love taking the hop on hop off bus like a typical tourist and go to all the other popular spots!
Believe it or not, I've got a whole excel spreadsheet going with a breakdown of days and times for all the spots I'm hitting while I'm there. I guess you pick up a few habits along the way when you've been dating an engineer for the past 7 years - like creating detailed spreadsheets for absolutely everything! And yes, I HAVE heard of Tripit! But initial plans are best made on a spreadsheet and then transferred into the app once finalized!
With my LonelyPlanet London Pocket edition by my side, I am ready to discover!
Currently, I am making a list of the best coffee shops to visit in London by area; Do you guys have any suggestions? Comment or DM me on Instagram, I’d love to hear about your adventures in London and what places you recommend!
xo