Christmas: Five Years Spanning Three Continents and Lots of Adventures

For the last five years, every Christmas has had an element of travel.

When I reflect back on my last five Christmas holiday seasons, I feel so much joy.

My passion for travel and adventure and spending time with Nick, have been the most central themes in my life.

Since I met Nick in 2017, we’ve had quite the unusual Christmas celebrations. From spending our first two years reuniting in Europe, and the past two in New Zealand, we’ve had our fair share of Christmas travel adventures.

Winter Backpacking from Northern Ireland to Paris in 2017

My travel partner, Jill, and I planned a grand winter European backpacking adventure one of our college winter breaks. In true budget-traveler style, we piecemealed together the 3-week trip of a lifetime. I started out at a traditional Northern Irish Christmas with my friends, Xoee, Caitlin and Caitlin’s family in Northern Ireland. We met up with Jill in Dublin afterwards.

Then, we headed to London to see Nick. Afterwards, Jill and I ventured to Amsterdam, Ghent, Bruges, and Paris.

Exploring Italy and Switzerland in 2018

I headed back to London to see Nick in 2018 for the holidays. Christmas travel round two! For my present, he bought us tickets to Rome, one of my favorite cities in the world. We also went to Lausanne, Switzerland to see a friend.

Backpacking on the Beach in New Zealand in 2019

2019 was another fun Christmas travel experience. As New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is in the summer. We were meant to meet my parents in Abel Tasman, but they couldn’t make it to New Zealand. Therefore, we re-fashioned our family-friendly vacay into an adventurous 29-km backpacking trip linking up to a kayak component. This is hands-down one of my favorite travel memories to this day.

Backpacking through the Fiords in New Zealand in 2020

In 2020, I booked the Kepler Track on a whim for Nick’s present. My parents bought him a gorgeous new pack. And we were off… Little did I know, this would be one of the most stunning tracks I would ever go on.

Fun fact: And the inspiration for the where’s wallock homepage graphic!

Snowboarding in Mammoth Lakes, California in 2021

This Christmas, we have the pleasure of walking 5 minutes from our house to grab a lift and head up Mammoth Mountain. It’s bound to be an exciting day!