In Shanghai on the Crystal Symphony
It was daunting to whittle down thousands of pictures and a year’s worth of memories to a reasonable number. Hopefully, this shortened list won’t challenge your attention span but here are some of our favorite places from a wonderful year in travel.
In all, we flew some 84,000 air miles; visited 10 countries, took four cruises (two on riverboats and two on ocean liners); and made a road trip between New York and Charleston with stops along the way. We still had time for a relaxing month at home at the end of the year.
We were blessed with good health, the love of family and friends and wonderful opportunities to travel. We wish the same to you for the coming year!
Take a peek at some of the places we visited in 2015:
Charleston, South Carolina
Iconic mural at Charleston City Market by artist David Boatwright
Jetty near the house where we stayed on Johns Island
We spent three weeks in this charming city that is so richly influenced by the culture of the South and its proximity to the water.
Cancun & Riviera Maya, Mexico
One of the oceanside pools at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach resort
Colorful place settings on the patio for a festival event
We were here to attend the Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine & Food Festival but were again captivated by the beautiful colors and warmth of the Mexican people.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Revelry on King’s Day in Amsterdam
A peaceful canal in Amsterdam AFTER King’s Day
We arrived on King’s Day when the canals are filled with revelers and the entire city seems to be painted orange.
Lisse and Mollenwaard, Netherlands
The windmills at Kinderdijk
Keukenhof gardens
Our tulip cruise took us to two of the most famous tourists attractions in the country, the windmills at Kinderdijk and the spectacular Keukenhof gardens.
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Brant Point LIghthouse in Nantucket
Nantucket Harbor
We learned about the history of whaling just in time for the release of In the Heart of the Sea, which is set in this town with a long whaling history.
Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’an, China
Our cruise in China stopped at both Shanghai and Beijing with excursions to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Great Wall and the site of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
Shanghai skyline at night
View of the Great Wall
Some of the Terracotta Warriors
Antwerp and Bruges, Belgium
Antwerp’s Grote Markt
A canal in Bruges
Both these cities felt like they could be backdrops for fairytale stories.
Lisbon, Portugal
Praca do Municipo with Lisbon Town Hall
One of the tourist trams in Lisbon
We absolutely fell in love with this vibrant city of hills, which was reminiscent of San Francisco.
Pietrasanta & Forte Dei Marmi, Italy
Gargantuan sculpture, part of the “Mitoraj Mito e Musica” display in Pietrasanta
Landscape of the marble mountains of Carrara
How fortunate we are to have friends who live in Tuscany, and who love sharing the beauty of the art and countryside with us.
Monte Carlo, Monaco
View of Casino de Monte-Carlo from the harbor
Changing of the guards at the prince’s palace in Monaco
Quite a different lifestyle than the one we are accustomed to but interesting to view close up and from the deck of an ocean liner.
Genoa, Italy
Approaching the old port of Genoa
Sculpture at maritime station in Genoa
The largest seaport in Italy with a rich maritime history offers an interesting cityscape.
Orvieto and surrounding areas in Umbria, Italy
View of Orvieto poised on the tufa
Vineyard and olive trees in Umbrian countryside
The town of Orvieto seems to rise out of the cliffs. We also had the chance to drive through the region of Umbria and admire its breathtaking landscapes.
Silicon Valley, California
Visiting the Google campus with its primary color bicycles
Google Take Your Parents To Work Day 2015
When our son headed West to work in the Silicon Valley last summer, it wasn’t long before we made two trips to see him, one of them to transport his cat and the other to attend Google Take Your Parents To Work Day.
Bordeaux, France
Vineyard in Bordeaux
Cave du Marche, wine store in Saint Emillion
Our last trip of the year was a river cruise that took us to one of the most famous wine-growing regions in the world. The food wasn’t bad either!
Chappaqua, New York
Sunset in Chappaqua from our back deck
How fortunate we are that we are always as happy to return home as we are to go away!
Places we’ve been on Google Maps…
And this is where you, the visitors to More Time To Travel have come from…
Screenshot from Jetpack
35 Comments
Josie
January 1, 2016 at 9:14 amHappy New Year Irene!
Bravo on a fabulous year of travel, captured in this lovely photo essay. Thanks!
Josie
Irene S. Levine
January 1, 2016 at 10:00 amThanks, Josie! It’s been great getting to know you and read about your housesitting adventures.
Lauren
January 1, 2016 at 1:13 pmThanks for sharing these great pictures which bring back some wonderful memories for me also. Have a wonderful 2016,filled with many more happy travels!
Irene S. Levine
January 1, 2016 at 4:30 pmThanks for following my blog, Lauren! Wishing all the best for the New Year to you!
The GypsyNesters
January 4, 2016 at 10:27 amWow, 84,000 miles! Always fun to read these recaps of the past year. Here’s hoping 2016 is even better!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:04 pmThanks! Even recapping the year was fun~
Kay Dougherty
January 4, 2016 at 11:26 amGorgeous photos! I want to return to Amsterdam and also get to Keukenhof gardens. I would appreciate it if you would curate my 1000s of travel photos from 2015 – it’s such an overwhelming task! May you have happy travels and continuing good health in 2016
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:05 pmGiven how overwhelming the task was, sorry, but I’m not doing it again until December 2016! 🙂
Suzanne Stavert
January 4, 2016 at 1:43 pmI have thoroughly enjoyed becoming part of your world! You experienced a stellar traveling year! I have been to a few of the cities you visited and some of them I want to go to because of your descriptions and photos! Happy New Year Irene!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:19 pmThanks for your warm wishes! Hoping you and the family have a wonderful New Year!
Janice Chung
January 4, 2016 at 6:00 pmWow! You’ve been to a lot of places in 2015! I had to zoom in on the colourful tables in Mexico as I didn’t know what I was looking at, at first. Nice picture. Two places you visited that might be on the horizon for me would be Lisbon in March and China in the Fall. I may look into a cruise like you have done.
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:23 pmWould love to help if I can!
Rachel Heller
January 5, 2016 at 2:16 amThanks for sharing your 2015 pictures. I look forward to following your 2016 adventures! And next time your planning a trip to the Netherlands, let me know beforehand and maybe we can meet up and I can play tour guide!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:03 pmThat sounds wonderful!
jenny@atasteoftravel
January 5, 2016 at 2:56 amWhat a fabulous year you’ve had Irene. You’ve certainly been to some exciting places. Fabulous photos too! All the best for 2016. I’ll be following along to see where the year takes you!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:24 pmThanks, Jenny! Wishing all the best for a great New Year for you!
Anita @ No Particular Place To Go
January 5, 2016 at 6:06 am2015 looked like an amazing year for travel and experiences for you and I loved reading your recap of some of it’s high points (I’m sure there were many more!) as well as seeing a few of your photos.I can imagine what a task it was to sort through your pics and pick out just a few. Here’s wishing you an even more spectacular 2016 loaded with just as much travel as you want. And maybe our paths will cross along the way.
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 9:44 amWriting it was looking through a year’s worth of memories! Yes, I hope our paths do cross, Anita~
Jackie Smith
January 5, 2016 at 8:51 amIt has been a pleasure ‘traveling with you’ during the last year and look forward to the adventures you will take us on in the coming one! Happy New Year and Happy Travels to you, Irene! Hope one of these days our paths will cross.
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 1:30 pmLikewise! I’m hoping we’ll meet too~
Rossana at lifeisfullofadventures
January 5, 2016 at 8:56 amHappy New Year! Wow, what an amazing travel year and experiences you had! You captured some great photos and moments. Looking forward to what 2016 travel will be!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 9:44 pmThanks for visiting, Rossana!
Sheryl
January 5, 2016 at 3:26 pmHow amazing to see how many wonderful places you visited lat year – loved taking the trip with you through Jerry’s beautiful photos.
Welcome home…and bon voyage, as I know your suitcase is probably already packed for your next adventure!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 9:47 pmHope we have the opportunity to travel together this year!
Carol Colborn
January 5, 2016 at 7:50 pmThree continents in 84,000 miles! We did 16 countries but only in Europe and North America. We would like to go to China on that tour you took because it covered the most important destinations!
Irene S. Levine
January 5, 2016 at 9:47 pmThe China trip was an incredible experience! Hope you get there too!
Suzanne Fluhr
January 6, 2016 at 3:58 amI was shocked at how long it took me to do my “our year in review” post and choosing photos was one of the more difficult parts. I look forward to virtually tagging along on your 2016 travels. Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2016. Write on!
Irene S. Levine
January 6, 2016 at 8:05 amYes, we took thousands of pictures and looking through them was both a joy and tedious! Best wishes back at you!
Anne Woodyard (@MusicandMarkets)
January 6, 2016 at 9:03 amWhat a great roundup – so many intriguing places and modes of travel! I’m already looking forward to your 2016 😉
Happy New Year!
Cathy Sweeney
January 6, 2016 at 2:34 pmWhat a year! Here’s to more great travels ahead for you in 2016. We also visited Lisbon and Tuscany in 2015. Loved the art of Pietrasanta — very striking, isn’t it?
Irene S. Levine
January 10, 2016 at 2:28 pmWouldn’t it be great if we were ever in the same place at the same time?
Nathalie
January 10, 2016 at 2:26 pmWow you really got around in 2015, looking forward to following your travels in 2016. Happy new year!
Irene S. Levine
January 10, 2016 at 2:28 pmWe feel so fortunate of having had these opportunities! Hope we meet up to taste some of your husband’s delicious cooking in 2016:-)
Sue Reddel
January 10, 2016 at 2:48 pmWow! That’s a lot of miles kiddo. Hope your travels bring you to Chicago in 2016 we definitely have lots of choices for really great food and travel experiences.
alison abbott
January 10, 2016 at 9:39 pmWow, what a lot of ground you covered in 2015. I hope if you get back to Nantucket, we will have the opportunity to rendezvous! Your photos of Orvieto are positively dreamy! Can’t wait to see what you have on tap for this year’s destinations.