-21°C today, a very cold January day that keeps me from wanting to go out too much and got me thinking about summer and warm days again. A perfect opportunity to have a look at what new places we discovered last year. So for all of you out there in search of some vacation plans, here’s a list of our 2018 destinations in Europe.

Belgrade, Serbia

First destination of 2018 happened on a weather similar to the one today. We spent 4 days in Belgrade and although we left home thinking it’s not going to be too much of a deal this city, we quickly convinced ourselves of the opposite. We enjoyed the whole trip, from beginning to the end, even if the weather was not very friendly. Instead, the city itself, the mixed architecture, the stories about the country, the food and the places we checked out, made us put Belgrade on out favorite cities list.

[Serbia] Sightseeing and dinning in Belgrade

While in Belgrade, we also had a one day trip to Novi Sad. Only one hour drive, it’s a small town on the side of the Danube, nice to visit if you’re looking to get away from the Serbian capital city.

[Serbia] Pit Stop in Novi Sad

Turin, Italy

In March we did a city break in Turin, main purpose being a Juventus Torino football match, but we also took the time to explore the city. As we’re big fans of Italy and everything that has to do with it, every time we visit it we’re happy that we discover new Italian regions with their culture, architecture, gastronomy and landscapes. This was of course, the case with Turin as well and as we haven’t been in the Piedmont region so far, our first experience was excellent.

[Italy] A Bit of Piedmont in Turin

[Italy] Discovering the Piedmont Cuisine in Turin

Toulouse, France

France hasn’t been too much on our travel list, maybe because we’ve been only to Paris several times and each time it turned out to be too much for us in terms of size, high prices and too many tourists around. But, due to a special concert, we booked a weekend in Toulouse. We only got one day to actually explore the city, but we enjoyed its vibe and appearance enough as to open our appetite for seeing more of this country.

A glimpse of France in Toulouse

Bari, Italy

I did say that we’re big fans of Italy, so here we are again, beginning of May on a girls trip in Bari and a few surrounding attractions. Sunny days and south of Italy with its charming towns, sea side, food and culture. Bari was a very nice surprise for us, with its old town, with narrow streets, freshly washed laundry hanging on the balconies and fresh pasta waiting to be dried in the shade.

[Italy] A glimpse of Puglia in Bari

While in Bari we also had two day trips, one in Alberobello, the beautiful trulli houses village and one in Polignano a Mare, just to have a nice walk on the beach and get our feet in the Adriatic Sea.

[Italy] The beautiful trulli houses of Alberobello

[Italy] Day trip in Polignano a Mare

Calabria, Italy

Last Italy trip for 2018, I promise. For our main summer vacation we chose Calabria and a road trip to discover the South Western part of this region. We fell in love with Calabria on the spot and for ever. It’s probably one of the most beautiful and authentic destinations we have been to in Europe so far (competing with Algarve a bit, but I might say that Calabria surpassed it). Beginning of June, perfect weather, very few tourists around and a mixture of everything we’re looking for when going on a vacation – fascinating small villages, beautiful small and sometimes remote beaches, Mediterranean looking and feeling like towns, fresh and super diverse food and drinks.

[Italy] Summer roadtrip in Calabria

[Italy] The Villages of Calabria

[Italy] The Beaches of Calabria

[Italy] The Calabrian Cuisine

Lithuania

The Baltics seem to be getting on the radar as the new hype destinations of Europe, so we thought we give Lithuania a try last summer. We got there due to a music festival, but we decided to extend our trip and have a 6 days road trip around the country. Lots of lakes and forests, small villages with colorful houses, a couple of cities that are becoming more and more attractive for tourists and an interesting gastronomy. We enjoyed the trip also because the country was relaxed, not packed with tourists photographing every corner, allowing us to enjoy and relax. We chose to camp for most of the nights spent in Lithuania and that gave us the chance to enjoy more nature than concrete.

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 1: Kernavė, Trakai and Zervynos

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 2: Kaunas Lagoon and Rumšiškės Museum

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 3: Kaunas – Fort IX Museum – Klaipeda – Palanga – the Baltic Sea

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 4: The Curonian Spit

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 5: Cold War Museum – Hill of Crosses – Etnocosmology Museum

Road trip and camping in Lithuania Day 6: Vilnius

The Lithuanian Cuisine

This was 2018. Plans are already shaping up for 2019 and we’re heading towards new destinations and experiences.