The Amazing Moments of 2018

Well, 2018 has been quite the year.

I mean, these end-of-the-year posts normally revolve around the epic trips I’ve had, and yeah there have been a few good’uns, but actually 2018 has been all about some pretty big life changes for me. Y’know, turning thirty, engagement, pregnancy, etc. No big deal. (Any astrologers out there think this was my Saturn Return?!)

It’s been a crazy, life-changing year for sure, and with the impending arrival of my first offspring in the next couple weeks (eek!), it looks like 2019 is going to be a pretty massive one too.

So here’s a rundown of my year and my favourite moments of 2018.

The Amazing Moments of 2018

JANUARY: Celebrating my 30th in Copenhagen

Thirty. It’s a big milestone and one I was determined to celebrate in style. I normally don’t put much emphasis on my birthday, just because it’s January and everyone’s broke / on a diet / detoxing / sober. But for 30 I went all out and booked a weekend in Copenhagen with my most favourite of pals.

The first night I arrived, my friends threw me a surprise party in our AirBnb, complete with balloons, lots of jagerbombs and 90s pop music. We then spent the next day exploring Copenhagen and that evening in a dark and smokey karaoke bar. It was pretty perfect as far as birthday weekends go and was a cracking way to start off both 2018 and my thirties. 

FEBRUARY: Learning To Love Rome

My first trip to Rome in 2017 was good but I came away thinking it was a little overrated. I felt like it was too busy and too dirty and just wasn’t for me. But at the beginning of this year I returned for the opening of a new hostel – The RomeHello – and surprisingly I learned to love this ancient city.

I think the first time was just down to it being the middle of June and really hot and overcrowded. On my second visit in February it was a much more pleasant experience. I explored local street art and had a night out with new blogger friends and generally just enjoyed myself a lot more. Rome definitely has more than meets the eye.

FEBRUARY: Four Thieves Bottomless Brunch

It was actually the ‘year of 30ths’ in my friendship group, so another one of my highlights of 2018 was actually Josh’s 30th birthday weekend. We got a nice AirBnb with the gang, went to a gig and had a fab night out in Camden. But the best part was the next day when we went to Four Thieves for Boogaloo Stu’s Bingo Bottomless Brunch. (I mean, that says it all but you can read my full review over here).

It was such a fun day. There were dance routines and conga lines and games and unlimited mimosas at the brunch, then we went up to the arcade in the Four Thieves for video games, remote-control car races, mini-golf and a ridiculous amount of prosecco. It’s a boozy day/night that sticks in my mind for 2018 so it goes down as a highlight  in my book.

MARCH: Always Sunny St Paddy’s Day

Lol ok yes, another one of my highlights is a boozy night out in London…

But this year for St Patrick’s Day, me and a group of pals went to the ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ themed night at the Macbeth Of Hoxton. It was very niche and you would only appreciate it if you love the TV show. But we had a very fun night doing the Wade Boggs challenge, aka counting how many drinks we’d had by writing on our t-shirts. I bloody love weird events like this!

APRIL: Getting Engaged in Cinque Terre

This really is two highlights in one.

In April I got to revisit one of my favourite places on earth, the gorgeous and colourful Cinque Terre in Italy. A place that I fell in love with in 2015. A place that offers beautiful views, awesome hikes and some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. (My full guide is over here FYI.)

But it’s also where Josh asked me to marry him this year! I obviously wrote a whole post about our engagement story (read it here) but I’ll just say it was kinda surreal and weird but also amazing and perfect for us. And was of course one of the biggest highlights of my 2018. And y’know, of my life.

MAY: Finding Out I’m Pregnant!

Lol yep, don’t get too carried away with the wedding planning just yet because a couple of weeks after returning from Italy, we found out I was pregnant! It was unexpected and changed my whole year (I mean the highlights up to this point have been very boozy!), but obviously it’s another massive, life-changing thing that happened in 2018!

I announced my pregnancy a couple of months later (read the announcement here) and my pregnancy updates have been a big thing on my blog this year. It’s definitely been tough but I’m so excited to meet this kid soon and for my new adventures in motherhood to begin in 2019!

MAY: My Game Of Thrones Trip To Northern Ireland

Ahhhh I loved this trip! I’m a big Game Of Thrones fan so was super excited when I was booked onto a GOT tour of Northern Ireland. Despite a bit of morning sickness at the time, I had a really amazing trip, meeting actual real-life direwolves, seeing all of the cool filming locations and going to the GOT Live Concert. Oh and I was also pleasantly surprised with how awesome Belfast is!

It was for sure one of my fave trips of 2018 and I can’t recommend enough both the Game Of Thrones tours and Northern Ireland in general – it’s bloody gorgeous there.

JUNE: The Eastern Europe Extravaganza

Another fab trip of 2018 was my makeshift Eastern Europe overland extravaganza! I decided I wanted an overland trip so I could string together three awesome cities that I wanted to visit – Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.

Not gonna lie, this was the trip where I was really suffering from first trimester nausea and fatigue, so it was harder than I was hoping. But I still had a really great time. Highlights include having lunch at Cafe Regatta in Helsinki, getting the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, discovering the very cool area of Kalamaja in Tallinn and drinking watermelon lemonade in the sunshine in Riga‘s Old Town. Three awesome cities that I would totally recommend!

AUGUST: Our Engagement Party / Gender Reveal

In the summer we had a little shindig in our local pub to celebrate all of these big, amazing things that were happening in our lives. It was an engagement party with just our close friends and family, and we decided to use it as an opportunity to do a little gender reveal.

Yes I know, gender reveals are tacky / Americanised / whatever. But we wanted to share the news with our favourite people and what the hell why not do it with confetti cannons? And hooray, it’s a girl! Such a lovely celebration with our faves.

SEPTEMBER: Being Featured In National Geographic

With all of the things that have happened in my personal life this year, I haven’t really been focusing on my blog side hustle. I haven’t been pitching this year or trying to raise my profile in the slightest. But sometimes life is kind and good opportunities just come to you. And that’s what happened when National Geographic Traveller magazine asked me if I would write a lil something for their Ask The Experts feature. Me, an expert!

Obviously I jumped at the chance and wrote a small little thing about food in the Deep South USA. But it was so amazing to see my name and photo in print. And in such a prestigious travel magazine too! I’m thrilled and this is totally a highlight of my blog career so far.

SEPTEMBER: Going Llama Trekking!

I did a few cool UK-based experiences in 2018 but my fave was definitely the llama trek I went on in Northamptonshire with my pal, Sam. Llamas are very cute and it’s a lovely walk through the countryside and seriously, isn’t that the best way to spend a Sunday morning?!

Seriously, I recommend it if you’re looking for something to do that’s a bit different. So much fun!

OCTOBER: Our Babymoon To Portugal

All of my travels in the first half of the year were pretty active and full-on. They all involved exploring cities or hiking rural areas or moving from one place to another. So for my last holiday of the year, before I wasn’t allowed to fly anymore (on account of being heavily pregnant), Josh and I headed to The Algarve for a relaxing Babymoon holiday on the beach.

It was a package holiday with Jet2, so was super easy and laid back. And honestly, I needed it. I read and swam and ate and generally just had a lovely time in the sunshine. Definitely a highlight of the year. (Here’s my tips for planning your own Babymoon holiday if you’re interested!)

DECEMBER: My Lovely Baby Shower

The end of the year has predominantly revolved around preparing for the baby to arrive. So y’know probably not very exciting from your point of view. But one of the highlights for me has definitely been my baby shower. My best friends completely spoiled me and I just feel very lucky to have such babes in my life.

It’s weird, I started the year with them throwing me my boozy 30th birthday and ended it with them throwing me a cute baby shower! It’s good to know that no matter how life changes, they’re still there for me.

I think you’ll agree, 2018 has been a helluva year for me. And I mean, they’re just the highlights.

I should also add a caveat here that there is still a few days left of 2018 and who knows, if the baby is a little early, she could make this year even more special! But hey, only time will tell. Either way, I know 2019 is going to be eventful.

Have you been following along on the adventure in 2018? What have been your highlights of the year?

Let me know in the comments below or head on over to my Instagram and Twitter channels for more regular updates on my travels, my pregnancy and life in general.