Yesterday, I turned 26 and today, I’m officially relaunching the blog. One thing that I consistently have done the last few years is a birthday post, and I wanted to keep that going. (If you’re interested here’s 25, 24, and 23)

25 was a good year, the best one in while. I went to England and Scotland and graduated with my Master’s Degree just to name a couple of the highlights. It’s been a relief after a several years of turmoil. I’m thankful for some of the big changes like being done with school, but I’m also looking forward to what’s next.

I have been blessed in my life to be able to travel and have gotten to go to some pretty incredible places, and I wanted to share 26 of them with you in honor of my 26th birthday.

Jerusalem, Israel: I got to go to Israel while in college with SLU, and it was an experience I will never forget. Someone told me it felt like home, and I didn’t believe them until I was there and experienced it for myself.

Cape Town, South Africa: I spent six weeks in Cape Town on a mission trip before I moved to North Carolina, and I loved every minute of being in this beautiful place.

Florence, Italy: When I was in college, Jackie and I traveled through Italy, and Florence was by far our favorite. One of our favorite things we did was climb the Duomo Tower at sunset.

London, England: I got to study in London during JanTerm in college and got to go back last summer with SEBTS. It’s one of my favorite places.

St. Andrews, Scotland: Last summer, I went to England and Scotland with SEBTS on an incredible trip. One of my favorite days was the one we spent in St. Andrews. This is me and my friend, Annie, that I met on the trip.

New York City, New York: NYC is one of my favorite places in the world, and I want to go back so bad. It’s been seven years since I have been.

Cairo, Egypt: When I graduated high school, we went on a two week Mediterrian cruise and one of the stops was Cairo which was just amazing. To get to see the pyramids and ride camels was a once in a lifetime experience.

Mykonos, Greece: Our favorite stop on the cruise with the all the traditional Greek blue and white.

Bethlehem, Israel: Getting to go to Bethlehem was a special treat on the Israel trip. I got annointed and prayed over by Dr. Jay while I was there.

Venice, Italy: Getting lost in Venice was the best advice we got, and other than it being freezing the entire time we were there, it was a great.

Chicago, Illnois: I went to Chicago for the first time to go to the American Girl Store when I was in elementary school, but I also spent my 21st birthday there and had a blast.

Hauraz, Peru: My first mission trip with SCA when I was in High School and it was an incredible experience.

Rome, Italy: I’ve been to Rome twice. The first time I was severely jet-lagged so I don’t remember a lot but, it is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been.

Paris, France: Paris will always hold a special place in my heart and let me just say, after you spend a day walking around in rain in Paris, rain doesn’t really bother you.

Caperaum, Israel: This is just a special place on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus’ ministry was based.

Kennebunkport, Maine: Our trip to Maine was so special and a lot of fun, but Kennebunkport was one of my favorite places.

Nashville, Tennesee: I love Nashville and really hope to live there someday.

Petra, Jordan: Petra is a city of rocks is that just incredible to see for yourself because of the beauty.

Edinborough, Scotland: Scotland might be cold and rainy most days, but it’s still incredibly beautiful.

Windsor, England: The Castle just a little outside of London and one of my favorite places.

Bath, England: If you’re a Jane Austen Fan, Bath is a must because of the Jane Austen Centre, but the Roman Baths are pretty cool too.

Athens, Greece: Athens is an incredible place full of history, and I loved getting to be there.

Ephesus, Turkey: I loved getting to see where John wrote Ephesus and getting to see the famous library.

Normandy, France: For this WWII nerd, Normandy was just incredible to see where the soldiers stormed the beach.

Oxford, England: After last summer, Oxford will always told a special place in my heart. I got to spend a whole week living there and exploring.

Pompeii, Italy: Pompeii is just an incredible place that is stuck in time because of the volcano eruption. 

I hope you enjoyed getting to see some of the places I have been! I’ll be back later this week with a new post, I’m excited to be back.