2023 Travel Review
2023 was FULL of travels! I visited 12 locations across 8 trips, learned so much about new and old (to me) spots, and learned a lot about myself and my traveling style. I was forced to try new things and let go of some behaviors I cling to (like planning a ton), but ultimately I loved 2023.
Locations
New Orleans (March 2023)
I went to New Orleans with my sister and we had the best time! We tried a bunch of new places and went back to some tried-and-true favorites.
Favorites:
Cure (award-winning cocktails)
La Petite Grocery (amazing blue crab beignets)
Dat Dog (best hot dogs, especially when drunk)
Vampire Bar - don’t recommend unless you want to laugh the entire time at how tremendously shitty it is lol
Posts from New Orleans:
Homestead (March 2023)
I went to Homestead with my other sister a couple weeks later for a funeral of my Great Aunt. I grew up going to Homestead in the summer and it was such a lovely time visiting again.
Favorites in Homestead:
Robert’s Fruit Stand (a must!)
food from Taqueria Morelia
quick trip to Key Largo!
30A Florida (May 2023)
I went to 30A in Florida with BF901 and his family in May. We spent a week in Destin, but mostly worked remotely.
Favorites:
getting gyros from Aegean Restaurant in Miramar
getting publix subs every day (current order: half white maple honey turkey, spicy mustard, lettuce, deli dressing, and gruyere toasted - you’re welcome)
cocktails at Daytrader in Seaside and kale caesar salad at Bud and Alley’s.
Costa Rica (June 2023)
BF901 and his friend group have dreamt of going to Costa Rica, so we all went as a group in June 2023. I had to let go of a lot of control I usually seize when traveling with others, and it was a great exercise. We flew into Liberia and spent 5 days in Playa Flamingo.
Favorites:
massages at Margaritaville
catamaran!
visiting Las Catalinas
breakfast at Surf Box
driving golf carts around the beach
dinner at Sentido Norte
clubbing in Tamarindo
hiking La Leona (even though I rolled my ankle and saw a tarantula)
Posts from Costa Rica:
Asheville (August 2023)
BF901 and I went to Asheville, North Carolina for a wedding at the end of August. Asheville is gorgeous! We only had one free day to explore, so I visited Downtown Asheville and shopped around. I didn’t have the time nor wanted to spend the money to see Biltmore, so I didn’t see that this trip.
Favorites:
not even in Asheville, but the Bush’s Baked Beans museum in between Asheville and Pigeon Forge was awesome :)
New York City (September 2023)
I went to NYC with my best friend as a positioning flight to Paris. We flew in a day early so we spent almost 36 hours in NYC. Ro had never been to NYC, and I hadn’t been since 2009, so we had so much fun exploring New York together :)
Favorites:
rooftop drinks at our hotel (loved our stay at Hilton New York Fashion District)
Harry Potter Exhibition near Empire State Building
The Cursed Child on Broadway!
Chelsea Market
Ro seeing Times Square for the first time!
Friendship permanent bracelets from Catbird
Window shopping luxury stores
Paris (September 2023)
Ro and I flew La Compagnie over to Paris and we were so excited! We spent a full day in Paris on the front-end of the trip, then went to the south of France for 3.5 days, before coming back to Paris.
Favorites:
Private boat ride with Boat in Paris! We went to Le Grand Epicerie prior to the boat ride and grabbed cheeses, meats, breads, fruit, wine, and caviar. The boat had macarons and wine for us, as well.
Steak at Alcazar
Cocktails at La Suite Girafe - I don’t recommend the food
Cocktails at The Ritz
Drinking a million pornstar martinis
Shopping at Galeries Lafayette - I love visiting Jo Malone and getting fragrances engraved as gifts
Truffle raviolis at Siena
Crazy Horse!!!! We went twice in 4 days!
Disneyland Paris
Dior Museum + shopping at Dior’s flagship store
Steak sandwiches at Le Baguette du Relais
Paris posts:
Nice (September 2023)
Within the same trip as Paris, Ro and I took the train 5 hours southeast of Paris to Nice. We looooved it. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel and had such a relaxing time in Nice. If you have the time, the train is definitely worth it.
Favorites:
Le Part de Anges - a natural wine bar with freshly shaved cheeses and meats for you!
Bocca Mar - great cocktails and beach club
Gina - the best meal of the trip for me!
Drinks al fresco on Place du Anglais
Monaco & Eze (September 2023)
We took a day trip from Nice to visit Eze, a medieval mountain village about 15 minutes away from Nice, and Monaco, about 20 minutes away from Nice. It was such a fun day trip and recommend adding it to your south of France itinerary.
Favorites:
hiking up to Eze lol - it is very steep! We were dropped off at the village basically, but still had to walk up quite a bit. It is not accessible to those with difficulty walking.
Shopping in Monaco! Ro bought a Dior bag and the experience was so amazing to watch! My experience at Celine was not as enjoyable, but I’m happy to have the purse :)
Cocktails on a rooftop bar overlooking the Mediterranean :)
Dinner at Giacomo on the beach in Monte-Carlo
Monaco and Eze posts:
Key West (November 2023)
I visited Key West for a solo trip in November and had such a restorative time. I stayed at The Perry in Stock Island and rented a golf cart for the first 2 days, then moved to The Reach for the last 2 days, and it was all perfect.
Favorites:
Riding a golf cart and listening to Megan Thee Stallion
Seeing dolphins up close on a boat ride
Key Lime crepes at Banana Cafe
The Cats at Hemingway’s House
The butterfly conservatory
Dinner at Cafe Marquesa
Night time wanders with key lime pie
Reading on the beach
Lots of solo dinners
Key Lime lobster roll from the Lobster Shack
Key West Posts:
New Orleans (December 2023)
BF901, my sister, and her boyfriend all went to New Orleans in between Christmas and New Years. We stayed at the Virgin hotel and LOVED it. We, again, hit some tried-and-trues and also some new spots.
Favorites:
Sazerac House museum - it’s free and so beautiful!
Latitude 29 tiki bar!!! New favorite for me!
La Boulangerie - always a must for breakfast
Hotel Saint Vincent patio bar
Jewel of the South - award-winning cocktails!
Turkey and the Wolf chicken pot handpie and burger
Manolito’s for late night espresso needs!
Union Ramen on Magazine St- BF901’s fav of the trip
St. James Cheese Company - been on my list for years and we finally went! Highly recommend.
Travel Items
These are items I used on every trip and is a must for me when traveling!
Beis packing cubes - I love packing cubes. I have some cheap ones from Amazon, and these nicer ones from Beis. I can definitely tell the difference in quality and love the Beis packing cubes. They also offer compression packing cubes now, but I’m unsure if I’ll make the switch quite yet.
Boston bag - I bought the Celine Boston bag in Monaco, and while I know absolutely this bag isn’t in everyone’s budget, I have loved this bag dearly since buying it. It is tiny, but fits so much. It’s been a great and chic travel purse. It came with a crossbody strap, as well, which has been awesome to use when traveling to keep my hands free. It’s also small enough to fit in my backpack when needed. I love it.
Beis backpack - Ever since I got this backpack, I bring it on every single trip. There is not one thing I use more than this backpack. They have lots of new cute colors now, so take your pick! It is absolutely worth it’s price. I’ve tried other backpacks, but this one is my favorite.
iPad - I got my iPad Air from Best Buy on an open box deal for like $150 and I use it so much when traveling. I update posts on BV901, I watch movies and shows, read books on the Kindle app. I love my iPad.
Travel Wallet - I always bring a neck wallet when traveling to big cities. It is not cute, but I can usually hide it under my clothes and you wouldn’t even know! I keep my wallet, passport, and phone in my neck wallet, and really only keep my lipsticks, portable chargers, and other small things in my purse.
Travel Experiences
I feel so lucky for everything I got to experience in 2023. I really hit some amazing places, did some incredible things, and saw some beautiful spots with my favorite people.
La Compagnie - being able to fly on such a luxurious airline with my best friend was such a once in a lifetime experience. I have a full review here, but we loved being able to do this together.
Costa Rica with my love - BF901 was so excited for Costa Rica, and seeing him so excited about traveling was so much fun. I love traveling with him, and this was so fun and such an incredibly beautiful place to experience with him.
Boat in Paris - woweee I will never stop talking about Boat in Paris. I took my best friend and my sister on a private boat on the Seine in Paris??? Who am I?! We drank and ate and laughed and cried. The best travel experience of my life!
Catherine & Mary’s wine dinners - BF901 and I, along with friends and family, have been to quite a few of the wine dinners at Catherine & Mary’s in Memphis and we have the best time every time :)
Solo time in Key West - I really needed this trip, and being able to take myself on a relaxing and restorative solo trip to just sit with myself and cry/just feel, was such a luxury.
Favorite Photos from 2023 Travels
