30 Countries in 30 Years, Part I
ft. an explanation, the ground rules, and a recap of countries 1-8
Hello my lovely travel friends! Happy Monday! I hope this post finds you well! I myself am currently DED tired on the couch, recovering from a whirlwind trip to Glasgow’s West End with one of my besties. We were there to celebrate a milestone friendiversary - but seeing as that isn’t what I came here to talk to you about, more on that other time. Today, I’m here to share part one of an epic three part series: 30 Countries in 30 Years! With my 30th year rapidly coming to a close, I figured it was high time to get my butt in gear and share these posts already - they’ve been sitting half-written in my drafts for years!
If you’ve been following along for a while, you might remember that back in 2022, I made a new year’s resolution to visit 30 countries before I turned 30. At that time, I had already visited 25 countries, and I had about 21-months to achieve my goal. Admittedly, in theory, it doesn’t sound too hard. However, when you throw a global pandemic, a wedding, a return to the world of employment, and many other life factors into the mix, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded! By the time my self-inflicted deadline rolled around, I’d only managed to knock off 3 more countries. Deflated somewhat but determined not to be defeated, I lowered my standards and settled for 30 within 30 - which I vowed to reach under pain of death.
Thankfully, in May of this year, I finished my quest - with 3.5-months to spare! This three part series is the story of where I went and how I made it happen. Shall we dive in?
Fair warning: it’s a biggie. Buckle up!
30 within 30: the ground rules
Two main questions kept coming up as I discussed my 30 within 30 plan with family & friends, and it took me a while to come up with answers I’d be happy to debate for.
what constitutes as a country?
To answer that, I actually created my own list of countries, and you can read it here. It’s almostttt the same as the United Nations list of countries, but not quite.
what counts as a visit?
This is a hot topic, and everyone I talked to seemed to have a different view on it. One person argued that travelling through a country on a train should count – hi, Dad – another thought a coffee during a layover should be enough – cough, Husband – and others thought tipping a toe over a borderline would suffice – looking at you, parents-in-law! Personally, I don’t agree with any of them. For me, in order to consider marking a country off my list, I’d need to do at least one of the following:
visit a tourist attraction. It doesn’t have to be a museum or something you pay into, but something you make an intentional effort to go see/do
spend a few hours wandering around, exploring, and actively trying to experience the country
Obviously there are no actual rules, but these are the standards I held myself to during my quest ☺️
Now, let the recap begin! Countries 1-8 are listed below, followed by a little fun explanatory paragraph on each country/city, recounting some standout memories and the likes!
Shall we get into it? Enjoy, friends!
quick links
country #1: ireland
Starting off on a slightly controversial note, I consider Ireland to be the first country on my list. Yes, I am Irish born and bred, so while some people might think that means I can’t include it in this count, I wholeheartedly disagree. Over the years I’ve made a conscious effort to get out and explore this fair country of mine, and any intentional act of exploration counts in my eyes!
Read more: 7 Hours in Cork // 24 Hours in Galway // A Weekend in Kilkenny // Seven Days on the Dingle Peninsula // A Return to Westport
country #2: northern ireland
Another semi-controversial one, maybe, but oh well! My godfather and his family live up north, so although I can’t pinpoint the exact year I would’ve first stepped foot on Northern Ireland soil, I know I would’ve been quite young. Childhood memories of the country include: the Giant’s Causeway, being far too terrified to cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and exploring both Warrenpoint and Ballycastle with my parents.
country #3: wales
holyhead
2001, 2010
It’s sort of ironic that Wales was the first overseas country I ever visited, because for a long time I didn’t realize I’d been there. Turns out, I’ve actually been twice! Once with my family, aged eight, and years later, aged seventeen, on a school trip. Both times, I took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead – once from Dun Laoghaire, once from Dublin Port – , both times I stayed in the Welsh town over night, and both times I was en route to Alton Towers!
country #4: england
staffordshire
2001, 2010
As I mentioned above, I visited Staffordshire’s Alton Towers for the first time when I was 8-years old, and let’s just say my love for rollercoasters had yet to kick in; stories of hysterical crying on the caterpillar rollercoaster have haunted me ever since. Thankfully, when I returned nearly 10-years later, I was a rollercoaster addict.
london
2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, twice in 2016, 2017, 2018
My second visit to England was to London in 2007 with my family. I was 14-ish by then, and my Dad - who, btw, loves London and who I 100% credit with giving me the travel bug! - insisted on traipsing us alllll over the city to see the main landmarks. At the time, I remember complaining to high heaven about exhaustion and starvation, but I think back on that trip very fondly nowadays. Since then, I’ve managed to visit the city a whole host of different times, and it is never not exciting!
Read more: Four Days Avoiding the Royal Wedding in Hampstead, London // Notting Hill Workshop // London, UK
liverpool + lake district
2014
In late summer 2014, one of my besties & I made a trip to Liverpool to visit a friend we’d met on a pilgrimage you won’t read about until Part III. We actually only ventured into Liverpool city for one day, but my overarching memories are: seeing the Beatles’ faces plastered literally everywhere, visiting the Tate Modern, and going to a Wetherspoon’s for the first time in my life – a truly life-changing moment. Another day, our pilgrim pal kindly drove us to the Lake District! We hung out by the water, had afternoon tea & fudge, and walked up over Hodge Close Quarry; it was lovely!
abingdon + oxford
2015
In early 2015 I went back and forth to Abingdon a handful of times to visit my then-boyfriend. I’d fly into Birmingham, get the train to Oxford, and then a bus from there to Abingdon. The town itself was cute, with some nice walks and town centre - but it was nothing special. One day we ventured off on a day trip to Oxford, where we visited The Bodleian Library, the epic bookstore that is Blackwell’s, and Oxford Botanic Garden.
bath
2015
At the very beginning of my relationship with Husband, we visited the beautiful city of Bath together. We decided to go on a whim, and everyone thought we were crazy because we hadn’t even been together for 2-months yet, but it was great! Apart from a run in with our crazy B&B owner, we had the most perfect time. Highlights include: eating Sally Lunn’s buns, visiting the Abbey + Roman Baths, generally marveling at how pretty everything was, and seeking out the best caramel square in town.
york + whitby
2016
A year later, to celebrate our 1-year anniversary, Husband & I visited the magical city of York. It was exactly my kind of place: tea houses galore! cakes! cute topsy-turvy streets! It’s a real pity I didn’t start making travel guides until after our visit, but I’m hopeful our travels will bring us back there again. While we were there, we took the bus to Whitby for the day to visit Dracula locations. We wandered up to the Abbey, had an epic cheese board lunch in the sunshine, and were haunted by an annoying German school group on the bus there and back. Joy.
country #5: tunisia
hammamet
2002
My memories of this trip are sketchy – I was only 9-years old – but I recall a lot of pool time and an unbelievable amount of sunshine. I was with my family, my maternal grandparents and one aunt + one uncle, and we all stayed in a big resort. We didn’t really go on many holidays, and I remember thinking how absolutely huge the place was – it was one hotel in an interconnected strip of maybe 5. Other memories include: evening shows with exotic animals, going into Hammamet city one day, and a very involved ‘animation team’ keeping everyone jazzed and peppy all the time.
country #6: france
paris
2007, 2009, 2012, twice in 2014, 2017
Paris & I got off to a rocky start during my first visit with my family, aged 14. We were staying in Disneyland and ventured into the city for one day; I just didn’t “get” it. Fear not - after my second visit, shortly thereafter, I fell absolutely head-over-heels for the city! I’ve visited many times over the years - with school, inter-railing, with college, visiting ex-partners, showing it to Husband, etc. - and yet, I always find myself yearning to return for more. Some favourite memories include: visiting nearly every art gallery in the city (yes, literally!), getting sunstroke wandering Père Lachaise, and eating the most mouth-watering boudin noir with Husband.
Read more: A Wander Guide: Paris
nice + juan-les-pins // nice + villefranche-sur-mer
2018 // 2023
Husband’s uncle owns an apartment in Nice city centre, and, travel-fiends that we are, we took advantage of this to spend a few days exploring a new French city. We did all the usual tourist-ing, but our favourite thing to do was pretend to be locals. Buy daily baguettes at the boulangerie on the corner, go shopping at the market, so forth and so on. We also took the train to nearby Juan-les-Pins one day, where we ate gelato and strolled the boardwalk. Five years later, we returned to the city again and did exactly the same as before, except instead of visiting J-l-P, we hit Villefranche-sur-Mer and a tiny coastal country coming to you in Part III 😉
Read more: Five Days on the French Riviera: Nice // A Quick Guide to Villefranche-sur-Mer
lyon
2019
Husband & I visited Lyon together in December 2019. There were two reasons: 1) the Christmas markets! and 2) we were intrigued by the food scene after watching Parts Unknown. While it’s no Paris, we very much enjoyed our time there; we visited the coolest miniature museum, ate at some wonderful bouchons, and truly soaked up the Christmas market offerings.
Read more: Lyon, France: The Highlights
bordeaux + saint-émilion
2021
Two years later, Husband and I returned to France, this time to see Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion. It was the lure of the region’s wine that appealed to us, but gosh, we ended up really enjoying our time there! We ate some truly fantastic meals, drank more great wine than we’d care to admit, and were generally blown away by how beautiful the area was! Aside from wine & cheese - but seriously, wowza - standout memories include: the quirkiest Christmas themed pub, epic local treats Dunes Blanche + Macarons de Saint-Émilion, and, a fierce Covid-19 antigen test that gave me a nose bleed. Oy.
Read more: Eating Our Way Around Bordeaux, France // A Quick Guide to Saint-Émilion, France
country #7: germany
munich
2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018
Ahh Munich, my most favourite place in Germany ❤️ I was 15 when I first visited with my parents and sister for an extended family member’s milestone birthday, and I remember loving it straight away. My parents had lived there for nearly a year way back when they were just dating, and it was lovely getting to experience the city through their eyes. We visited the English Garden, the Hofbräuhaus, a mini-Oktoberfest celebration in Fürstenfeldbruck, ate salty pretzels the size of our heads, and so much more! I’m always looking for excuses to return - be it to visit the Christmas markets, to re-coop after a pilgrimage, for downtime at the end of an epic cross-Europe trip, etc. etc. You get the picture.
Read more: Munich City Guide
berlin
2012, 2014, 2018, 2019
I actually didn’t like Berlin the first time I visited in the summer of 2012 while inter-railing. My ex-boyfriend & I accidentally stayed in a hotel too far out of the city, and generally just couldn’t find our feet. However, since that first visit, every return trip has made me love it a little more. When I returned with one of my besties two years later, we stayed in a hostel boat literally beside the East Side Gallery and loved it! Four years later, when I returned with both besties to celebrate a birthday, we tourist-ed allll over the place & left feeling totally smitten. During my last trip, when I visited with Husband for an anniversary, you better believe I hauled him all over town to my very favourite spots. It’s one of those cities that really grows on you!
Read more: Berlin Travel Guide | 4 Days in the German Capital
bremen
2017
Our trip to Bremen was actually Husband’s first time in Germany - meaning I got to be there the first time he visited the land of great beer! We loved Bremen; it’s quaint, hip but not overtly so, small enough to walk around etc. etc. We ate so much good food, but a real highlight was the local specialty: flammkuchen! Like a pizza, but thinner, crispier, with cream cheese instead of a tomato base and no actual cheese on top. Okay, on reflection, it’s nothing like a pizza, but it’s so good!
Read more: Bremen, Germany
cologne
2022
I won’t lie to you, there is no love lost between Husband + me and Cologne. We had a short stopover in the city en route home from Italy one summer, and it just didn’t vibe with us. We did the main touristy things, ate delicious sausages, and drank many a glass of Kölsch - but neither of us really connected with the city. That said, our feelings could’ve been influenced by a) the fact that Husband was just getting over Covid, b) I was just about to come down with Covid, or c) the fact that I had the nose bleed of all nosebleeds in a Five Guys. I mean, anything’s possible!
Read more: A Stopover in Cologne, Germany
country #8: united states of america
new york
2009
The big apple! I visited ‘the city that never sleeps’ in late October/early November 2009 with my sister, mother, two aunts, and one uncle. My dad, who couldn’t join us due to work, had visited the city previously and made it his mission to send us over to see it with our own two eyes, and my goodness, what a place! We did all the touristy things - Times Square, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Grand Central, The Lion King, and so! much! more! - but also got a feel for local-life when we visited in-laws of my aunt in the suburb of Yonkers. Honestly, it was just like walking into a film: there were pumpkins on every stoop in their neighbourhood, it was picture perfect pristine, and their local Italian restaurant literally looked like film location.
Oh my lord - told you it was a biggie! I hope you enjoyed reading Part I of my 30 Countries Within 30 Years series half as much as I enjoyed getting to relive some of these earlier trips! As always, hit me up with any thoughts, comments, or questions using this box below.
Stay tuned for Part II and III - coming to a blog near you soon!
Hugs,
Vicki xo