Countdown to 30: {A decade of wanderlust}

I'm 12 6 days away from 3 days past a big birthday. I'm actually totally ok with turning 30, and have a feeling my 30's are going to be a pretty fabulous decade. But I sure did have fun in my 20's, regardless of the stress and trials that come with figuring out who you are. I figured I'd do a little series about what my 20's were all about, for a fun little trip down memory lane.

I got bit by the travel bug at a pretty young age. Within months of my birth I was on my first airplane, traveling from California to New York to meet my grandparents. My parents were from both coasts, which meant there was always somewhere to visit. And a few years before I was born, my parents had first connected over their own travels, as they shared experiences of their study abroad experiences during college (Dad: Paris, Mom: Rome). We moved around a few times as I was growing up, and my parents made it a point to travel with us as often as they could. When I was 14, they really showed us the importance of exploring different corners of the globe as we took our first family trip to Europe. By the time I graduated from high school, I'd been on three trips to Europe with my crazy family.

As anyone would hope, my opportunities to travel have only gotten better during my 20's. I spent my 21st birthday in the Champagne region of France, and then closed out the decade with our fantastic trip to London and Barcelona. I have been so. damn. lucky. But I've also committed with Joe to making it happen, especially knowing that our 20's would be the best time to take advantage of travel opportunities. I hope to continue to travel throughout my life, but I'll always look back fondly on the carefree and frequent travel that I enjoyed during my 20's. 

How about a photo montage of my favorite travel experiences during the last decade? Here ya go!

Christmas Market in the Netherlands
2005

Visiting the President
(Don't knock a segway tour until you do one!)
2010

A trip back to Colorado
2007

The trip to Chicago that started it all!
Spring Break 2005

Springtime in Germany, visiting my family
2008

Our first trip to Paris!
2008

Getty Museum in Los Angeles
2007

Will Travel for Beer
Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee
2010

Playa del Carmen, Mexico
2008

In the Wild West town of Rapid City, SD
2013

Spanish Cava, fresh from the source.
Penedes Wine Region, Spain
2013

Seafood doesn't get much fresher than this!
Wilmington, NC
2012

After a decade of threatening, I finally visited my friend Michelle.
Seattle, WA
2010

Newsies on Broadway!
NYC
2012

I only have a few specific goals for the next decade, and a big one revolves around travel. We're already planning to celebrate our 10 year anniversary on a romantic trip to Italy, but it's also about time for me to expand my horizons further. I'm promising myself that in the next ten years, I will visit another continent. There are so many places to go, but I think I'm putting Asia or South America as my top choices. Any suggestions for where I should go? Wanna come?