Travel 2013 - My First Year in Mexico

Every year I do a year-in-review of my travels; mostly it's to remind me where I've been, but it also serves as a personal wrap-up photo album of my favorite travel photos from the year.

New Year's Eve 2012-2013: New Orleans, my favorite city in the world. There's the live music at Fritzel's, the great food (Restaurant August, Emeril's, New Orlean's Bistro), and the history. I even caught the Sugar Bowl parade! New Orleans is the city I always go back to when I can, and I can't wait to go again for Jazz Fest this year!

March 2013: For the first week of Semana Santa I was off to Merida for the second time! This time, the trip included a tour of the Yucatan to the pyramids of Uxmal and Kabah, and a trip to Celestun to see the flamingos. Despite the clouds and occasional rain, the sites were amazing and Merida was as laid back and fun as usual: I rode bikes on their Sunday Paseo, ate Panuchas and Cocinita Pibil, and got lots of sun and rest.

April 2013: For the second week of Semana Santa, it was time to explore Oaxaca in the South of Mexico. Oaxaca was full of great food and great shopping. I got to take a cooking class (where I cooked with agave worms, crickets, squash blossoms and local ingredients from the market), visit ruins at Monte Alban and elsewhere in the state, and dipped my toes in the natural mineral springs at Hievere de Agua.

Ceviche made by my cooking class

The Semana Santa trip ended with a two-day trip to Mexico City (just so I could try the food at Pujol, one of the top ten restaurants in the world); which led to the discovery of some surprising treasures, like the gorgeous deco Palace de Beaux Artes below and some amazing Diego Rivera murals.

June 2013: A week in Baltimore and a trip to Hershey Park with my second-family was a nice break after a long school year.  Then it was off to Florida for a few days to prepare for my European tour.

July 2013:  A flight to London and two weeks in England seeing dear friends and touring around places like:

Belton House:

Skeggness:

Tattershall Castle:

Birmingham & London:

My drink at VOC in London came with a six-shooter cap gun 

Then there was a quick ride on the chunnel to the the chaos of Paris:

and a day's escape from Paris to Chantilly.

From Paris there was a 12-hour, several train ride to the Cinque Terre in Italy (one of my favorite places on Earth) for nearly a week of eating Italian seafood dishes and exploring the coastal towns of Linguaria.

From the Cinque Terre another multi-train journey (and one sprint from train-to-train in Milan) took me to Venice.

From Venice, a vaporetti took my friend and I to Murano:

and Burano:

Then a ferry boat took us to Croatia, where we met up with another colleague and her friend and spent a week relaxing by the sea and exploring the old towns of Porec and Rovinj.

It was back to school time in August, but it wasn't too long before it was time to travel again...

In September, two friends and I went back to Merida for Mexican Independence Day (I even stayed up for the fireworks this time!).

October 2013: a shopping weekend in Guadalajara led to a great find: the Mile-long market at Tonala!

 

In November, a cheap flight to Chiapas (in the South of Mexico) lead to a great four-day vacation in San Cristobal des las Casas, though it was cold and gray. Thanksgiving was spent with a large group of friends at an Argentinian Steak House.

From San Cristobal, a friend and I took an all-day tour of two waterfalls (Misol-Ha and Agua Azul) and the ruins of Palenque.

Finally, it was off to America for Christmas and New Year. A few days on the beach and a few days in the cold with family and friends was a great way to wrap-up my first full-year living in Mexico.